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  • Report:  #70386

Complaint Review: Les Schwab Tire Center - Gresham Oregon

Reported By:
- gresham, Oregon,
Submitted:
Updated:

Les Schwab Tire Center
East Burnside Gresham, 97060 Oregon, U.S.A.
Phone:
503-666-9476
Web:
N/A
Categories:
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10/28/03

TOM REBER, Customer Service Manager

Les Schwab

PO Box 667

Prineville, OR 97754

Dear Mr. Reber:

I purchased a used car, 1992 BMW 318I and noticed it needed some balancing and I wanted the brakes checked due to squealing noise. I stopped in at the 21st and North Columbia store in Portland after work on a Monday. I had spoken someone earlier that day and felt confident they could handle what I needed.

After letting the receptionist know what I needed, I turned around just in time to see one of Les Schwab's guys' drive a customer's car straight up to the side of my new car. He drove up very fast and parked the nose less than 2 feet away from the passenger side door of my car. He jumped out and left it running and got the owners of the car. I hurriedly went out and moved my car before they possibly could run into it.

I was left feeling uneasy by this display of hot-rodding and un-professionalism. I was uncomfortable leaving my car with these guys. If they drove that car like that right in front of me, how could I be confident they would handle my car properly in private? Well, I didn't and I ended up leaving and driving to my side of town and went into the Gresham store on East Burnside. My bad experiences just seemed to get worse from there.

The people at the counter in the Gresham store seemed to lack that Les Schwab professionalism that I'd been used to. They were very jovial amongst themselves, behind the counter, unprofessional playing and joking amongst themselves.

I had been a customer of this Les Schwab since the store was built in Gresham. I've lived in Gresham 25 of my 45 years. I'd always been impressed by the professionalism of the people there.

This time it was very different. A woman finally stopped gabbing long enough to ask me if I wanted something and I told her I needed my brakes checked. She replied that we don't do that hereyou'll have to drive your car to the back buildings. I'd never done that before.

I followed her directions and drove to the back. The guys back there seemed a little miffed that I had brought my car back there and asked me who told you to drive back here? I told them what the girl told me and they said that wasn't right I was supposed to get a ticket up front and wait there. I felt like a ping-pong ball and that the communication between the two departments was chaotic and I was right in the middle of it.

I left the car there and walked back up to the front again. The girl said, oh, your back again? I told her what the guys told me and she said, they're wrong you're not supposed to be up here. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. I thought why was I being involved in their problems with interoffice procedures? This was getting ridiculous. The floor manager Tony (I didn't know he was over-seeing the store at that time) but he was there during this entire fiasco and didn't offer to help or say a word. He was busy goofing off and flirting and joking. I was shocked when I found that out later he was a manager.

I went back outside and got my car and started to leave. I thought, how can I find a reputable place that I can depend on to fix my car without going through all this?

I parked the car off to the side across from the tire area and just sat there. A guy walked over and asked if I was ok. His name was Devon. He actually took the time to listen to what I'd been going through and then took it upon him to get everyone organized (like they should have been in the first place) and get my brakes checked.

A couple guys ran right out got my car and checked my brakes right in front of me. They got a second opinion from the guy from the brake shop who had originally told me not to bring my car back there. I was told that my front right rotor needed to be replaced and the rest of my brakes were fine. I was quoted $75. The guys also rotated my tires and balanced the front ones at no charge.

At that point I was happy with Les Schwab and especially impressed with Devon for going out of his way to turn this situation around. He'd done more than all the people that had been talking to me and watching me be treated poorly who had done nothing.

I came back in for my appointment on a Friday afternoon. I parked it near the brake shop and gave the guys my keys. I asked them if they had to test drive it and they said they didn't have to.

I NEVER told them not to test drive it. I wanted to go with them when it was test driven. This comes out later in this story. I went to the waiting room completely happy with my decision.

About 30 minutes later, Hal (who first did my rotors) came in and told me that all my rotors were under safety-specs and had to be replaced at an estimate of $326. I gave him the go ahead and asked how long it would take. It was 4:20pm. He said it should only take as long as it takes the parts guy to pick up the back rotors from the other store in town.

As time went by and customers came in and sat next to me and then their names were called as their cars were being finished and they left, I started to wonder what was happening. I was trying to ignore the constant silliness of the group behind the desk. I was surprised they would act like this in front of so many waiting customers.

One time the outside guys came in and asked for Tony's help. Tony was busy sweeping up popcorn. The guys obviously needed some help with a customers car and Tony was just being rude on purpose. He refused to help them and kept telling them to wait until he was done. He took his time sweeping up the popcorn around our feet in a slow and obnoxious manner. I was hoping it wasn't my car those guys needed help with.

At 6pm, I walked up to the counter and said I'd been waiting two hours could someone check on my car. Tony just stood there blankly looking at me he clearly heard everything I was going through but never tried to help. One of the girls (a redhead) said she would walk over and check on it for me. She came back about 5 minutes later and told me that nothing had been done on my car. I about fell off my chair.

I said, you mean I've been sitting here for 2 hours and not one thing has been done? Couldn't someone have told me this? Tony just gaped and the girl just shrugged. The girl continued her personal story with Tony and they went back to their personal conversations.

When they started turning the lights out I got concerned. They knew I was sitting there. I asked Tony if they were going to give me my car back before they locked the doors and all he said was, I hope so. He didn't even bother to check on it for me I told him, if it's going to be another hour, I don't want to wait, could they put my car back together and I'll go home. He didn't answer me, he just picked up the phone and said to whoever answered it, put that BMW back together the lady doesn't want to wait for it! Again, I was astounded by this guy's lack of tact and communication. I didn't tell him that.

About 15 minutes later, Hal walks in and hands me the keys and then starts to shake my hand. I couldn't figure why he'd be shaking my hand if he'd done nothing to my car. Then another guy started ringing something up and said I owed $175. I asked what for and he said, they put in the front rotors.

So you see I was misinformed by that girl who told me nothing had been done at all. I felt misinformed, but asked to shake Hals hand with a little more enthusiasm, as it wasn't his fault for this comedy of errors that was taking place at Les Schwab. He said I could just come back on another day and get the back rotors put in.

You know what was missing besides all the miscommunication and lack of professionalism here? It was not an I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to wait. I'm sorry we didn't complete the job. I'm sorry we've been treating you like you don't exist.

The worst mistake I've made yet is coming back for that second appointment. I wanted Hal to finish the job he'd started as I felt he was already familiar with my car. When I made the appointment I specifically asked for Hal. The person I spoke with told me he would be in Monday the 27th at 5pm. I was under the impression I was getting what I'd asked for.

I came in for my appointment on time and parked back at the brake shop. I left the keys with the guys (I still don't know any of their names except Hal). I went up to the front to wait. I saw Devon and talked to him a bit, he assured me that Les Schwab is concerned that I'm a happy customer and they want me to be taken care of. I showed him that Tony was the person who didn't help me from the very first night and that's when he told me that he's the manager. Devon assured me that he spoke to the Brake shop guys and I would be treated right and my car would be fixed properly.

In less than an hour, a guy walked in the customer waiting area and called my name. My work order says Hal did all the work. I asked who he was and was once again disappointed to find that Les Schwab had pulled a fast one on me by ignoring my request to have Hal finish the job.

When I tried to explain to him that I'd asked for Hal for that appointment, I found his response disturbing. He said, no one said that I'd requested Hal and it wasn't noted on my appointment request. So, the person who had assured me on the phone that I was getting my car finished by Hal was lying to me. That gave me a sinking feeling at that very moment that I was dealing with a bunch of nuts that could care less about me as a customer or the safety and professionalism of the job they were doing on my car.

I was more disappointed than that word can convey. I asked the guy for the manager's name and he said it was Tony. I said I didn't want that managers name who is the person who over sees the store. He would only say his first name, George. It was like pulling teeth. I finally had to ask 3 times and right it on a card myself. I asked if they had a comment card I could fill out and he said no.

I'm surprised since Les Schwab prides itself on customer satisfaction. Also, on the Website there isn't any contact information whatsoever for help with a consumer complaint. I had to dig around until I found out which store was the main one and then call and ask. I left the store last night feeling dejected and like I'd just wasted $326 and that'd I'd probably never go back. I did not feel good about spending my money at Les Schwab.

As I drove away from Les Schwab, I noticed a difference in my car right away and it wasn't a good difference. I felt a drag and a vibrational shudder and could hear a squeal coming from the back. I did NOT want to go back to Les Schwab.

They treated me unprofessionally just getting regular items done, how are they going to treat me if I complain? I only live about 4 miles from that Les Schwab. As I got closer to home, the car started shuddering and rocking so hard that I had a hard time handling it. I got it home and immediately called the store. Tony answered, listened to me explain and didn't say anything just put me on hold.

Finally someone picked up the phone and talked to me about balancing the tires. I was being treated like I didn't know what I was talking about. I wasn't being taken seriously and I had to depend on these people to fix this expensive work they'd just done that I felt had just done damage to my beautiful, perfectly smooth running new car. This car drove smooth as glass before this and the brakes worked just fine. I didn't have vibration or shudder or shake.

What had just happened was very unusual and frightening. I felt it was a safety hazard as it made the car hard to steer. The guy told me to bring it back in that he would wait for me and he'd look at it. All the while though he was defending the fact that he knew what he was doing as far as balancing tires and it couldn't be the balance job. I had never questioned his balance job and never once thought it was because the tires were out of balance.

I've owned 36 cars in my 30 years of driving cars and I've never felt a shudder like this. When I got back to the shop, unfortunately the car didn't shake at all so I couldn't tell him what happened. I thought it was a fluke, or hoped it was. Tony was standing in the front of the bay while I was talking to this guy and just staring at me. He didn't say a word.

I drove off hoping that the shudder was a one-time thing, but it wasn't. I got about 3 miles away and was going about 40mph when it hit hard again. I was in an inside lane and had to grip the steering wheel with both hands to hold it straight. The shudder started from the rear and I could feel it in the seat and it was literally rocking the car.

As I finally wrestled the car to a stop, it quit and when I started out again, didn't do it again all the way home. The rear brakes squealed and made some odd noises that weren't there before. Keep in mind that I have never had these problems until this night. When I got out of the car at home I noticed a terrible smell coming from the left rear brake. I felt completely hopeless. I thought Les Schwab is never going to help me now. I need my car to be safe. I can't drive this car to work like this, what could I do? I have to drive 50 miles roundtrip 5 days a week. My car must be safe!

I decided to be at Les Schwab first thing in the morning and just put up with their treatment no matter how bad it felt. I arrived at 7am and drove up to the brake shop. There was one guy in the shop, I'd talked to him several times before and I think he may run that area, but I'm not sure of his name, it might be Rich.

I told him what happened and also said, if you guys couldn't fix this car wouldn't you have told me. He just kind of looked at me like I was an idiot and didn't respond much. He was not responsive or even friendly or sympathetic (nor any other time I'd dealt with him). He didn't seem to care that I was having so many problems. I asked him if they test drove it and he said that I wouldn't let them. What?

I never told them that. So they've done all this brake work and not once tested it? I told him then that wasn't so. He didn't respond. I asked him if he would take if for a drive right then and see if he could figure out what it was. I could tell by his mannerism and facial expressions that he didn't think much of me or care about what I had to say. That shouldn't have mattered since I am a customer whether he didn't like people who drive BMW's or blonde women or whatever his problem was.

We drove around for about 10 minutes and the shudder never happened. He acted like he didn't believe me and he kept defending the shop as if what happened to me was completely impossible or I imagined it. That's about the worse feeling I could get from a company. I dropped him back off and he said, if it happens again be sure to document exactly what was happening and then bring it back in. Just the fact that he said if after all I'd explained to him made me feel that he doesn't believe a word I'd told him. As I nodded to him I thought to myself, I will never set foot on this property again.

I like to feel great about spending my hard-earned money and frankly Les Schwab has done everything but make me feel great! I haven't inequality like this since the 80's. Nowadays most shops treat a woman with a professionalism that doesn't make you feel like you should be on the arm of a man to get your car repaired right. I felt this way in the Gresham store.

I've been ignored, misinformed, and unprofessionally treated. I was going to contact George, but felt that if George is ignorant enough to put someone like Tony in charge of that store, then my story would mean nothing to him.

I hope you will take my story seriously and teach your employees something from it. Les Schwab may be rich from all his satisfied customers, but I am one unsatisfied customer that could have sent him more customers. I will forever have a very bad taste in my mouth when I see the Les Schwab name because of this ordeal. Nothing has ended for me and I'm left with a car that I'm very concerned that something is still wrong with the job Les Schwab did. I've gone back twice complaining of a serious shudder and they didn't even look at the brakes or take the tire off. Whatever it was that was overlooked or incorrectly done is just waiting to go wrong and my safety and my daughter's safety will always be threatened by that until I have someone fix what Les Schwab didn't do right in the first place.

I can't feel safe until someone confirms that nothing is interfering with the proper working systems of the brakes and tires that Les Schwab workers were handling. You might want to offer for me to go back to this store and have them look at the job again, but frankly I don't think I could bare it.

The mistake large companies like Les Schwab make is thinking that a story like mine is inconsequential and doesn't happen often enough to worry about or take action for. I'm telling you it's the worst kind of advertising for any company.

My story has already been told to many people, my family, and my co-workers. My car working is a huge priority in my life! My job depends on it and my family depends on me keeping my job; my livelihood depends on that car working 100%.

So the next time one of your employees thinks that a customer is being too serious about wanting to be informed or wanting to be treated professionally, maybe they should be trained to realize that customers depend on their automobiles that's why they take the repairs so seriously. Maybe Les Schwab doesn't care, but I'm thinking they do, otherwise they wouldn't advertise 100% Customer Satisfaction. It's something I have yet to receive.

J

gresham, Oregon
U.S.A.

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