Complaint Review: PepBoys - Austin Texas

If working on cars was so easy, wouldn't everyone do it????? Most of the cars made today the only thing you can do to align them is a "toe and go", there isn't any caster and camber adjustments that can be made. I think that most of the people before me already made the points about 4x4 alignments. If you are in law school, why haven't you learned to have you facts straight and well thought out, proven facts before you begin argueing the case. That is the first thing they taught me in business law. Know the facts before you open your mouth!! It all goes to credibility. Since you failed to argue this intelligently, I hope for your sake, no potential clients are reading!

Sounds identical to my dealings with Pep-Boys here in FTW...After Wheel Alignment I noticed the tires were wearing funny. I went back and they told me it was the tires-BFG's-and thats they way wear.... I laughed and then told them that no its not. I have had BFG's on all my Trucks and that is not normal. They then checked the wheel alignment again and you won't believe it. It was off. They didnt know how it happened. I then left and kept hearing scraping sounds on front brake area. I went back and they test drove it and said yep, "somethings not right" well when they took the front tires off the calipers were the wrong size. Funny thing is the "Expert" brake person worked on my truck. Oh just to let you know, those prices they have there are not carved in stone. They can knock off a lot of $$ if they want too. Oh I am not a PepBoys customer anymore ...

Dearest Mark in Salt Lake City, I have read you comments about Pepboys employees. Being one of them for 15 years, I can only say that I am insulted by your assumption that all Pepboys employees fall under your opinion umbrella. I have been trained(very well I must say),I do care about my company and my customers, I have never had sex in a public restroom, etc. If you are so disgusted with the people that you work with, and the company you work for, let me ask you- does the harrassment you claim include holding a gun to your head to stay? Please, for the sake of all loyal and hardworking, honest employees, and our customers, I ask you to resign, and seek other, more fulfilling employement.

If anyone's going to know dirt on a company, you'd think a former Area Director would. Now, somebody who's apparently got an axe to grind made a lot of unsupported allegations. And, he made some claims about what's going on his store on the west coast. I had hundreds of Pepboy employees working for me in over 6 states. I had the opportunity to visit Pepboys in 15 states, under different area directors and regional VPs. Never once did I find a store that intentionally tried to rip off customers. Pepboys, and CEO Larry S.(I'm not a fan of Larry) have very strict guidelines about customer care. Every store has manditory training on customer care. Every store has training available for the services they provide. Plus, Pepboys provides reimbursement for it's employees outside training and certifications. Most of these stores see a hundred vehicles a day with an average of 100,000 miles plus on them. That's their customer. They drive cars that have a myriad of problems and some believe that every problem is related to some service previously performed by Pepboys. Some of them are. Sometimes the managers are overly sure of the quality of their work, so they don't listen to the customer. I saw lot's of mistakes made over the years. It happens, you put guidelines and policies and procedures in place, but people still mess up. Some times they own up to their mistakes. Sometimes, they don't. That's what the DM's for. His bonus is heavily determined by customer satisfaction (thanks to Larry S.) A large portion of his day is spent trying to solve issues related to customer satisfaction, either after the fact or proactively, before they happen. One of the previous rebuttals mentions two people whose names and reputation deserve a review. I knew John Shulist and worked with him on a few projects. He's dedicated, hard working and was handed a district that was in shambles due to a string of previous poor DMs. It's a big company and it happens. That's how Tom Balash, a VP from Chicago, ends up with stores on the west coast. He's got a well deserved reputation for cleaning up stores and making them run well. No, Tom doesn't have a college degree. But, a lot of people who worked for him did. They worked for Tom because Tom knew his business, he could read a balance sheet and look at key indices and tell you what was wrong. He knew how to run a store and build a loyal customer following, because that's what he's done all his life. In fact, he ran the largest store in the company, at one time. He's hard headed, stubborn, and a driven work-a-holic. I'd hire him in a minute. Because, Tom's learned the lessons you can't get from a classroom, only from experience. Unlike a lot of people who know a lot about running a business, Tom can actually do it. Did I always agree with Tom? I don't always agree with anybody, but I listen. I evaluate and I look at both sides. Obviously, Larry Stevenson has yet to show that he knows what he's doing. Look at PBY stock, and look at their profits. So, I'm not going to defend him accept to say, what did Jack Welch know about MRI's, or Jet Engines, or Plastics, or finance companies. Yet, Jack built GE into a great company. Personally, I don't think Larry's a Jack Welch. Hopefully, somebody else will figure that out. If you've got a problem with Pepboys here's how you fix it. Call 1 800 pepboys. If that doesn't work call your AG or the BBB. If you've got a poor store or service manager, and there's bound to be a few, that will get you over their heads. If the Area Director doesn't take care of it, his boss will. Those customer complaints are followed religiously and the complaint department constantly e-mails complaints up the line till it's handled. And, having been on the other side, consider this. You may be wrong, oh, I know the customer is never wrong; but the reality is they sometimes are. What some customers want is someone besides themselves to take responsibility, there are many times when Pepboys should, sometimes they shouldn't. Let me give you a case-in-point. A couple of weeks ago a customer went into a Wal-mart in Owasso, OK for an oil change. 7 miles later his car burned down to the ground in a Target parking lot. He's an acquaintance of mine. He's uninsured for comprehensive coverage. Is Wal-mart at fault. Most people would say, yes. Now, I know there's nothing they would have done during the course of the oil change to cause that fire. The oil change was done properly, everything's tight. No other maintenance was performed or suggested. It's likely that it's just bad timing for Wal-mart. Who's going to pay?

If anyone's going to know dirt on a company, you'd think a former Area Director would. Now, somebody who's apparently got an axe to grind made a lot of unsupported allegations. And, he made some claims about what's going on his store on the west coast. I had hundreds of Pepboy employees working for me in over 6 states. I had the opportunity to visit Pepboys in 15 states, under different area directors and regional VPs. Never once did I find a store that intentionally tried to rip off customers. Pepboys, and CEO Larry S.(I'm not a fan of Larry) have very strict guidelines about customer care. Every store has manditory training on customer care. Every store has training available for the services they provide. Plus, Pepboys provides reimbursement for it's employees outside training and certifications. Most of these stores see a hundred vehicles a day with an average of 100,000 miles plus on them. That's their customer. They drive cars that have a myriad of problems and some believe that every problem is related to some service previously performed by Pepboys. Some of them are. Sometimes the managers are overly sure of the quality of their work, so they don't listen to the customer. I saw lot's of mistakes made over the years. It happens, you put guidelines and policies and procedures in place, but people still mess up. Some times they own up to their mistakes. Sometimes, they don't. That's what the DM's for. His bonus is heavily determined by customer satisfaction (thanks to Larry S.) A large portion of his day is spent trying to solve issues related to customer satisfaction, either after the fact or proactively, before they happen. One of the previous rebuttals mentions two people whose names and reputation deserve a review. I knew John Shulist and worked with him on a few projects. He's dedicated, hard working and was handed a district that was in shambles due to a string of previous poor DMs. It's a big company and it happens. That's how Tom Balash, a VP from Chicago, ends up with stores on the west coast. He's got a well deserved reputation for cleaning up stores and making them run well. No, Tom doesn't have a college degree. But, a lot of people who worked for him did. They worked for Tom because Tom knew his business, he could read a balance sheet and look at key indices and tell you what was wrong. He knew how to run a store and build a loyal customer following, because that's what he's done all his life. In fact, he ran the largest store in the company, at one time. He's hard headed, stubborn, and a driven work-a-holic. I'd hire him in a minute. Because, Tom's learned the lessons you can't get from a classroom, only from experience. Unlike a lot of people who know a lot about running a business, Tom can actually do it. Did I always agree with Tom? I don't always agree with anybody, but I listen. I evaluate and I look at both sides. Obviously, Larry Stevenson has yet to show that he knows what he's doing. Look at PBY stock, and look at their profits. So, I'm not going to defend him accept to say, what did Jack Welch know about MRI's, or Jet Engines, or Plastics, or finance companies. Yet, Jack built GE into a great company. Personally, I don't think Larry's a Jack Welch. Hopefully, somebody else will figure that out. If you've got a problem with Pepboys here's how you fix it. Call 1 800 pepboys. If that doesn't work call your AG or the BBB. If you've got a poor store or service manager, and there's bound to be a few, that will get you over their heads. If the Area Director doesn't take care of it, his boss will. Those customer complaints are followed religiously and the complaint department constantly e-mails complaints up the line till it's handled. And, having been on the other side, consider this. You may be wrong, oh, I know the customer is never wrong; but the reality is they sometimes are. What some customers want is someone besides themselves to take responsibility, there are many times when Pepboys should, sometimes they shouldn't. Let me give you a case-in-point. A couple of weeks ago a customer went into a Wal-mart in Owasso, OK for an oil change. 7 miles later his car burned down to the ground in a Target parking lot. He's an acquaintance of mine. He's uninsured for comprehensive coverage. Is Wal-mart at fault. Most people would say, yes. Now, I know there's nothing they would have done during the course of the oil change to cause that fire. The oil change was done properly, everything's tight. No other maintenance was performed or suggested. It's likely that it's just bad timing for Wal-mart. Who's going to pay?

If anyone's going to know dirt on a company, you'd think a former Area Director would. Now, somebody who's apparently got an axe to grind made a lot of unsupported allegations. And, he made some claims about what's going on his store on the west coast. I had hundreds of Pepboy employees working for me in over 6 states. I had the opportunity to visit Pepboys in 15 states, under different area directors and regional VPs. Never once did I find a store that intentionally tried to rip off customers. Pepboys, and CEO Larry S.(I'm not a fan of Larry) have very strict guidelines about customer care. Every store has manditory training on customer care. Every store has training available for the services they provide. Plus, Pepboys provides reimbursement for it's employees outside training and certifications. Most of these stores see a hundred vehicles a day with an average of 100,000 miles plus on them. That's their customer. They drive cars that have a myriad of problems and some believe that every problem is related to some service previously performed by Pepboys. Some of them are. Sometimes the managers are overly sure of the quality of their work, so they don't listen to the customer. I saw lot's of mistakes made over the years. It happens, you put guidelines and policies and procedures in place, but people still mess up. Some times they own up to their mistakes. Sometimes, they don't. That's what the DM's for. His bonus is heavily determined by customer satisfaction (thanks to Larry S.) A large portion of his day is spent trying to solve issues related to customer satisfaction, either after the fact or proactively, before they happen. One of the previous rebuttals mentions two people whose names and reputation deserve a review. I knew John Shulist and worked with him on a few projects. He's dedicated, hard working and was handed a district that was in shambles due to a string of previous poor DMs. It's a big company and it happens. That's how Tom Balash, a VP from Chicago, ends up with stores on the west coast. He's got a well deserved reputation for cleaning up stores and making them run well. No, Tom doesn't have a college degree. But, a lot of people who worked for him did. They worked for Tom because Tom knew his business, he could read a balance sheet and look at key indices and tell you what was wrong. He knew how to run a store and build a loyal customer following, because that's what he's done all his life. In fact, he ran the largest store in the company, at one time. He's hard headed, stubborn, and a driven work-a-holic. I'd hire him in a minute. Because, Tom's learned the lessons you can't get from a classroom, only from experience. Unlike a lot of people who know a lot about running a business, Tom can actually do it. Did I always agree with Tom? I don't always agree with anybody, but I listen. I evaluate and I look at both sides. Obviously, Larry Stevenson has yet to show that he knows what he's doing. Look at PBY stock, and look at their profits. So, I'm not going to defend him accept to say, what did Jack Welch know about MRI's, or Jet Engines, or Plastics, or finance companies. Yet, Jack built GE into a great company. Personally, I don't think Larry's a Jack Welch. Hopefully, somebody else will figure that out. If you've got a problem with Pepboys here's how you fix it. Call 1 800 pepboys. If that doesn't work call your AG or the BBB. If you've got a poor store or service manager, and there's bound to be a few, that will get you over their heads. If the Area Director doesn't take care of it, his boss will. Those customer complaints are followed religiously and the complaint department constantly e-mails complaints up the line till it's handled. And, having been on the other side, consider this. You may be wrong, oh, I know the customer is never wrong; but the reality is they sometimes are. What some customers want is someone besides themselves to take responsibility, there are many times when Pepboys should, sometimes they shouldn't. Let me give you a case-in-point. A couple of weeks ago a customer went into a Wal-mart in Owasso, OK for an oil change. 7 miles later his car burned down to the ground in a Target parking lot. He's an acquaintance of mine. He's uninsured for comprehensive coverage. Is Wal-mart at fault. Most people would say, yes. Now, I know there's nothing they would have done during the course of the oil change to cause that fire. The oil change was done properly, everything's tight. No other maintenance was performed or suggested. It's likely that it's just bad timing for Wal-mart. Who's going to pay?

All you have said is that it is a 4X4. Give us the year, make, and model. There are several out there that DO get all 4 wheels done. Tell us which one you have and you may get more accurate information here. Give me the info needed and I will provide you with the exact specs for the vehicle.

Chuck your response disappoints me. Quite transparent! Larry Stevenson-ish (C.E.O) I think. TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC: BUYER BEWARE!!!! I AM A CURRENT STORE MANAGER. PEPBOYS, IT'S EXECUTIVES, REGIONAL AND AREA DIRECTORS IS THE MOST DISHONEST, MISLEADING AND CORRUPT ORGANIZATION ALLOWED TO CONTINUE OPERATING. I WILL LIST NUMERICALLY WHY NOT TO STEP FOOT IN ANY OF THEIR LOCALES. 1) - OUR EMPLOYEES RECEIVE NO TRAINING. 2) - OUR EMPLOYEES DON'T CARE ABOUT PEPBOYS 3) - OUR SERVICE DEPARTMENT IS ILL-EQUIPPED TO PERFORM MOST REPAIRS. OUR ALIGNMENT MACHINE IS RARELY IF EVER CALIBRATED. 4) - OUR TECHINICIANS ARE VERY SUB-PAR, WE RARELY ARE ABLE TO ATTRACT TOP END HELP. 5) - OUR AREA DIRECTOR, JOHN SCHULIST HAS NO MANAGER, EMPLOYEE OR CUSTOMER SKILLS. 6) - IT IS A COMMON OCCURENCE FOR OUR EMPLOYEES TO BE CAUGHT HAVING SEX IN THE PUBLIC RESTROOMS 7) - OUR EMPLOYEES STEAL FROM CUSTOMERS 8) - EMPLOYEE TIMECARDS ARE ALTERED BY UPPER MANAGEMENT WITHOUT THE EMPLOYEES KNOWLEDGE 9) - ALL FORMS OF HARRASSMENT TAKE PLACE ON A DAILY BASIS 10) - OUR ACCOUNTING METHODS ARE PREHISTORIC. OUR PROPORTED REVENUES AND SALES NUMBERS ARE VERY MUCH FUDGED. MANAGERS PERFORM AND THEN REPORT THEIR OWN INVENTORY VALUES. 11) TOM BALASH, OUR REGIONAL V.P., OVER 80 STORES, HAS NO COLLEGE EDUCATION. 12) LARRY STEVENSON, OUR C.E.O., HAS NO AUTOMOTIVE BACKGROUND. 13) THE SCOOTERS WE SELL ARE JUNK. WE LITERALLY HAVE A 100% RETURNED DEFECTIVE ON THEM PLEASE HEED MY WORDS, THIS COMPANY IS HONESTLY THE WORST. DON'T BUY FROM THEM. DON'T WORK FOR THEM. I FEEL BAD THAT I HAVE TO SAY THESE THINGS ABOUT THE COMPANY I WORK FOR, BUT I CANNOT GO ALONG WITH THEIR CHARADE ANY LONGER

..because You obviously have no clue about vehicles. I can assure You that Pep Boys did not make any adjustment on your rear camber. Thats a good one. ha ha. I can assure You that they did make adjustment on your front. I agree that the remark from the svc. mgr. was bad, about someone sabotaging Your truck. Pep Boys has the most knowledgeable people in the business. More than the small guys by far. They have no time to try to rip somebody off. They do not work on commission. In fact, they conduct "stings" on themselves periodically to make sure things are done right. Are You going to say that Your pharmacy is ripping You off because You got sick again 3 months later and they wont refund Your money for the original prescription? Pep Boys guarantees the alignment for 6 months or 6000 miles. If You had an alignment done in March, that does not mean that, in May, your truck is still aligned. Especially with four wheel drives. Adjustment sleeves get knocked loose by hitting potholes, "four-by-fouring," or bumpy roads. Alignment gets thrown off by the same or by bumping curbs. Pep Boys is dedicated to customer satisfaction. I know this as one of their many expert employees. We are not all experts. Thats for sure, I am not proud of some of our associates, but there are enough of the best automotive experts with us. You should have received a free re-alignment, but not compensation on the tires. I have been doing this too long. I know better. Good luck with Your career, and happy letter writing to ya!

They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report: Their email: [email protected] Their relationship to the company: Consumer Suggestion Rebuttal: Even though this is a year and a half later, I thought I should add some information. Most 4X4's have a solid rear axle and cannot have a 4 wheel alignment. Some (Older Pathfinders) have to have the ride height adjusted. Let me give you my background. After being a mechanic in the Army, I worked as a mechanic for Nissan. I did most of the alignments. I worked as a Service Writer for Acura. I went back to college and during my education, I worked at NTB(formerly NTW). So I know plenty about vehicles. The alignment machines are accurate but you can fudge the readings. At NTW, an associate would take a reading, if it wasn't far enough out he would bump the tire, alignment head (the tool that connected to the rim) or the car. One of these bumps could send a reading off a degree or two. Anyway, the front tires have wear on the outside. Most people believe that too much positve or negative toe will cause tire wear. Actually, too much/little toe will cause the tires to feather (and your steering wheel to be off center). Having too much/little on one side will turn the wheels so they can still go straight down the road giving you a crooked steering wheel. Bad suspension will cause bumps in the tread and caster will cause the car/truck to pull to one side or the other. Camber causes tire wear (which results in tire squealing). Looking at the tire from the side of the vehicle, positive camber is when the top of the tire is leaning out. Negative camber is when the tire is leaning in. Since the wear was on the outside, you might of had both toe out of alignment and way too much positive camber. Camber is not that easily adjusted and people just don't go around loosening up struts or control arms to get back at people. Most of the time you have the vehicle in the air to loosen the nuts and bolts. I don't know what kind of vehicle you had, but my guess was it was a Ford. They were notorious for having alignment problems. At NTW, I was doing alignments on Ford trucks/SUV's that were nine months old. If you ever have a problem like that again, keep going up the ladder unitl you get someone who listens to you.

They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:

Their email: [email protected]
Their name: MIke

Their relationship to the company: Consumer Suggestion

Rebuttal:
You should probably contact the district manager for some kind of
explaination. You can not adjust the rear on any 4x4 vehicle that i'm aware of. What was the year and make? All a 4x4 can show is thrust angle and how the rear of the vehicle currently sitting. If in fact the tie-rod sleeve was never tightned back up after the alignment was performed you definately have a claim as well as a safety issue. You should call the 1-800-pepboys number and get the distict manager envolved.

They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:

Their email: [email protected]
Their name: dave

Their relationship to the company: Owner

Rebuttal:
i have to tell you that you probably got screwed on your alignment because there is no adjustment on a 4wheel drive rear axle onmost trucks.camber and or toe cannot be adjusted on a solid rear axle truck.pepboys is required to do a 4wheel alignment to ensure that the rear wheels are staight,and in line with the front, if they are not ,you may have a serious problem.this should have been noted by the tech who was perfoming
the alignment.he should not proceed until you are made aware of the problem.