Complaint Review: Tire Kingdom Ntb - Baltimore Maryland

as of yesterday 12/10/12 i was paid for 70$ + of unpaid labor oF 1 of the matters i mentioned---the rest is just bullshit complanits by me as an employee---again--there is bulls**t everyehere

here i am --almost 3 years into my employment at TK----it is not the best--but not the worst---it seems all employers are scumbags which is why i stay cause there is no escaping shadiness employers-they are everywhere in all fields!!!------this is how it works for me-----1--they dont give a $hit about my schedule!!----how many times where i have been there simce 7 am-it always seems as though these customers come in around 4 30-5 wantin major repairs done to there vehicles--and it always seemed like i had to stay to complkete the job cause it is company policy to take in the vehicles until close-----tire kingdom sales managers suck!!!!!!!!(all)----what they do not realize is that bill has a life!----i am scheduled from 7-5--at 5 i want to go home--none of this crap where someone comes in a minuyrte before close and wants hours worth of work done and i am there tioll 9-10 at night just so they can have there car back the same day!!!!!------UMMM-LAST I CHECKED---I AM AN AUTO MECHANIC---I AM NOT IN A WAR AND I AM NOT A DOCTOR SAVING PEOPLES LIVES TO REQUIRE ME TO BE THERE ALL DAY AND NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!--if your car is broke and it breaks around 5 pm---then ypou may get your vehicle tommorow-not same day-----c tire kingdom cares more about there customers than there employees!!!!----------finally 1 day---some fu$kin jerk off on saturday shows up at 4 30 with a broken brake line---he said he needed it back today-----he thinks he ius going to come to TK and magically his car will be fixed by close---this was my last straw cause it is constantly with these people comin in late like that wantin there cars the same night---and they inconsiderate sales mangers(only thinkin of there sales) say--yea--well finish tonight without even askin me----knowing i am scheduled till 5 and this person comes in at 4 30-----it would have taken hours to get the parts and to work on the car----also--an unknown fact is there parts suyppliers(advanced and auto zone_ really suck in finding the right parts---there was a couple times i stayed late like that and couldnt get the right parts and i stay l;ate waiting for wrong parts for nothin----SO I DONT STAY LATE ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)------are they payin me for my time there!!!!----NO--------they pay me to work on the car-----and in some cases---they do not pay commosions for certain things!!!!!!---AND I AM A FLAT RATE MECHANIC-----they no pay for tire rotations(which they give away for free)--so if i do an oil change and tire rotation and inspect the car-they pay 2.5 tenths of an hour---= to around 5$---they do not pay to replace air filtewrs either--i guess air filters are a courtesy you give to tire kingdom to check it and replace it so there sales guys make money??--same with cabin filters 2!!!!------AND LET US SAY THEY ARE SUPPOSTO PAY--THEY DONT--there sales mangers take things in there own hands and try to threwten you and scare you if no conform----the night i told them to go f**k themselves---that customer was so pissed that someone was not willing to stay there all day and night to fix his truck--in the end--the parts took a few days and he had no choice but to leave it overnight-----it seems if there is no chpoice there is no problem leavin a vehicle overnight-----if not there choice is make bill stay all day and night-----UMMM----why could they not wait till the next mornin--i got no problem with lookin at the car and tellin you what it needs at 4-30-5-------but with that--it gives you time to order parts and when i come in the next morning i can work it----nooo---these inconsiderate sales people for there "budget win" ands close everyhtung tonight!!!!!!!---------THIS IS ONE OF MY ASPECTS OF EMPLOYMENT---not given a s**t about my schgedule!!!!!!!!-------next--the mangers tried to schedule me for 6 days a week 10 hours a day for me to do more(unfortantly i am a good worker which is why i think they puilled that crap)----then to make 500% in commision???--what a joke---thaZt is almost 10$ an hour on average with no overtime pay ;ets keep in mind--------------------so they want you there all day and night with no overtime--whci according to my information is illegal pay plan(i went through this with firestone)-----NOW--what brings me to write this--is this:--this is the second time--where i had a warranty job from another store--apparently i have to rely on another manager to pay me for work perormed-----the first time i had to do valve cover gaskets on a mercedes engine cause a store in pt st lucie did it and now here is the guy in ft lauderdale with no oil in engine and you see the rubber stickin out of the valve cover where it all leaked out---i didnt get paid to fix that----a couple days ago---there was a jeep liberty in there for a noise--CUSTOMER says he did 1300 worth of work 5 months ago--new ball joints,upper control arms----so he comes back 5 months later with a noise(it was a creeking nloise)---so he goes for the noise and they sprayed the bushings with lube and they said that got ride of the noise and a couple days later it was back(that is the info they told me)----so this customer came back 4-5 times aBOUT THIS NOISE----the mechanic at that store didnt know what to do hence it was dumped on me!!!!------now----where there sales mangers are not the greatest--is this car--also had brand new strurs put on somewhere else-not even a tire kingdom store!!!---so this manger and mechanic fails to realize the struts are brand new--just liusten to the customer b***h about he did all this work and now there is a noise but neglects to mention the fact he had new struts put on spomewhere else!!!---so at first--they wanted me to just replace the upper control arm and ball joint--so i did--the noise was still there---i took the strut out and was able to get 5 turns on the bolt--no more noise after that!!!---would you believe--i doidn NOT get paid for that!!!!----the managers at my store called him and put him on speaker so i can hear and they said-hey-you dont pay our guy-whats up---he says--oh--i;m waitin to c if the guy comes back and i didnt close the ticlket out(this was the next day after the customer is gone)--so the manger there said he would pay me the next day(asi heard on the pohone)--------this mamager also mentioned that he wasnt happy that he had to pay me"the thief kid" as he called me----------if what i think is true--he is callin me a thief cause of somethin that happened at another store which he knows nothing of!!!!!----in any case--this f*ckin jerk off calls me the thief kid and he cant even pay me to fix his fd&ck up!!!!---i tried callin yesterday to ask about it----HE picked up the ohone and said he is a different mark and he was just fillin in for mark the manger-yeah--i'm sure-----this manger has no intention of payin me due to him takin za hit on his paychjeck due to the fact that tire kingdom corporate takes money out of his check for any stupid thing--------it is a trickle down get f&uked-------in any case-------i decided i was goin to contact the area manger and see if i can get anything accomplished---if not--i got to call corporate avbout this issue--this is $70 worth of labor that i am not paid for-------final point------the pay plan they give to there sales guys is shafy hence why they do shady things to customers and empl,oyees-----------and these sales guys are scumbags to screw you and not just take there sh*tty job with all the pay cuts like aman---they want to cut me the worker---WORKIN ON CARS  i may add which is not easy-----i saw an internal e mail about instead of just firin people just train them cause there turnover rate is "excessively high"------GEEE---I WONDER F#CKIN WHY JER*K OFF CEO OF TIRE KINGDOM!!!!!--SIGNED-A PISSED OFF EMPLOYEE

this guy is telling the truth if he didnt pay for plugs you let him do it and you are guilty of stealing plain and simple i have seen tire techs dig through the trash to put wheel weight s on peoples cars hook up gas line to power steering ling water line to gas SMART

i am the last poster on this thread----tire kingdom has corrected my pay situation and payroll ackowledged there was a mistake and i have been paid my back wages and am now paid what i am supposto to be paid based on what they told me--23$ an hour flat rate--i am happy and i will be looking to stay

i have been working at tire kingdom for a little more than a month--i am a mechanic with 2 ase certifications(the only certified mechanic in this shop)--i had a job with good year(just hired didn't even start working) and was called by tire kingdom corporate office(or something of this nature)--the guy i spoke with told me cause i have 2 ase certifications they will pay me 23$ an hour flat rate an they will gaurantee me 400 a week so no matter what i would come out of there with 400 gross a week--after talking to this person i was then called by the area manager and spoke with him in person(but never discussed pay)-after that i spoke to the store manger where i will be working--he also confirmed they will pay me 23$ an hour--to be fair i never brought up the issue of what about this 400 a week guarantee--i also figured at 23$ an hour-it will be very easy to surpass the 400 guarantee------i started in the middle of a pay cycle--so my first check was for 1 week and i made 26 flag hours(it was a little slow) and i got paid 275 gross-250 net--this is not 23$ an hour!!!!!!---the next week(slow) i flagged 28 flag hours-the week after that 42(it was busy and the other mechanic on vacation)--the point--for those 2 weeks i flagged 70 hours and was paid 412$ gross-net 377---the next couple weeks were very slow(like 8 cars a day in the store) and i was paid 655 gross and 559 net--this is not 400 a week guaranteed---i have not been mailed my pay stubs and recently registered so i can view them online--when i view them online the info is vague and does not show my clock or flag hours--basically-i have no clue as to how i am getting paid--i am more concerned about the check were i was paid 377 for the 2 weeks cause i know i did a lot of work(wheel bearings/using the press,shocks and struts,brakes exc)-highly skilled work-----i keep getting blown off by the manager--he says he has to research it--granted it has only been 2 days and he was busy yesterday and i do not want to be a ball buster given the fact i need this job--some may say go somewhere else--but these days it is not that simple--this and the fact i have a couple speeding tickets on my licesnse so dealers will not touch me--my license will be clear in less than a year---on another note--SOME TIMES the service manger can be annoying with his need to have the car out very quickly--on another note--maybe i will get paid more caUSE our alignment machine/lift has been broke for 1 month and was fixed a couple days ago-i can do alignments again and can clock more hours--i have no compliants except for the fact i feel i was lied to about how i will be paid--given my last check was 655 gross--and i put in roughly 50 hours a week--this is roughly 6.50 an hour and i know this is what they pay the tire techs--so am i basically just a highly skilled tire tech with the title of mechanic???

This is for Chris in 802:

I sincerely want to wish you the very best of luck in your career with NTB/TK. As a former employee of over 12 years, both as a Tech and Management, I certainly envy your cheery optimistic point of view with respects to this company. I would be very, VERY interested to hear what your opinion is by the time you have about 3 or 4 years in. I'm guessing that you are relatively young, and from the sound of things, in one of the better managed stores. I was in the top producing store in the northeast for many years, and since the acquisition by TK things have gone downhill exponentially. By "things" I mean pay, working conditions, training, customer service, attitude (of management), cleanliness and most significantly: the product knowledge of associates. When I first came to the company it was still NTW and the sales people were salesmen. By this I mean that they were sales professionals who knew the products and services they represented, and they helped the customers to make an educated, informed buying decision. What do you have in your store today? What is the background and the training of your sale staff? Are they "Sales Professionals" or are they people willing to conform to the company policy of "sell more of X this week"?

I'm honestly not trying to bash you, but if you had seen what I've seen and been through what I've been through with this company you would likely have a different opinion of it. I totally believe that if you work hard you can achieve anything you want in life, but I had to leave NTB after many years because I realized that they were draining that belief out of me. I've seen people get promoted to management levels who had no idea what they were doing, but they knew how to make themselves look good on paper. I've seen these people make huge bonuses, then quit...leaving a store in ruins...only to be re-hired (at management levels!) again a year or two later.

This company rewards greed, I hope you do not become a victim of that. Again, it sounds as though you are in a good store, see if you can get a transfer to another store in another district to get another perspective on how this company operates. I used to be proud of where I worked, now I am actually embarrassed of it.

 To Chris, I was the one who wrote the "SELL! SELL!SELL!..." one. Well at least somewhere it's doing good. Trust me, I was like you too. In fact, at first I was inexperience in working with cars but did have a interest in cars. And the store manager, and coworkers then was great and very helpful in getting me in tune with things around the shop. We had a great time on and off work. I was great with customers too. A bit too much in fact that the regulars that come often and do kind of annoy me at times. All of us did have fun working together, and running a business. Even now when we're all separated, we still contact each other.
 I dunno how they run in Texas, but once you seen how things done in Maryland, I think you might get the essence of what we were dealt with. I do noticed when I was there, sales in your state were much better than ours, but I'm unsure to make a judgment on whether it was management, geographical location, avg. household income, and etc. But all I know from experience, I've worked hard as I possibly can with all my effort in 4 1/2 years as a Tire Tech in Store 571. I was actually the only Tech that ACTUALLY complete the PMA process! Everyone else just pen whip it. And when I do see a problem, I notify on paper and inform the service writer plus the customer what I found that needed attention or mostly recommended services. So I do tried to help make money not just for the company, but mainly for my mechanics and the (well some)guys up front h*o looks out on me too.
Working alone for at least 7+hours until the next guy shows up for the next shift, I was running around in circles in the store, working on multiple cars at a time, and other things that also has to be done in the shop/warehouse/parts as you would know. This will wear anyone out over time; mentally and physically. And while doing all these free alignment checks, free 22-point inspection checks, free brake checks, etc. on ALL vehicles regardless of whatever they brought to get done. You noted yourself, "Take some business classes and the first thing you'll learn is that running a business isn't free...." So how are potentially earning money in giving away free service I ask? Okay, maybe one out of rest might an alignment or brake service, but is it worth it when maybe the majority of our customers just want whatever they initially intended? Isn't a disservice to not serve a express service when they requests to?
Plus, you mentioned the company pays for cable, coffee, snacks, cleaning supplies, electricity, shop tools, + more? Well first they do pay for electricity, and coffee. But our store actually never paid for cable for over a decade apparently. and snacks are usually done by 3rd parties and not affiliated with Tire Kingdom nor do they pay these vendors for the machines; at least that I'm aware of. And what do you mean by, "....who is paying all this and more? You? No. And definitely NOT YOUR OVERTIME?"
Are you saying, dude?! I can see your statement is true if someone is running the clock and doing nothing, but overtime is an equal right to workers that contribute their own time to stay and help out or earn more for BOTH parties; mostly we're short on staff all the freakin' time! Man this statement ticks me the most. I stay a few hours getting cars completed, stacking/organizing tires in the warehouse, cleaning the shop, and whatever nick nacks thats needed to be done.... hit O/T and I'm in deep trouble. What?! maybe I should've just done the work I did and left on the dot so many times. But if was late all the time, and work 37hrs./week. all is strangely good. Some reward system.
And why I haven't just moved up to sales like Chris, and left all this tech b/s behind? Well I would, but I pay would drop from $7hr+160weekly/avg commission, to $6/hr+100avg. sales. with that new discount/warranty adj. added that "eats" out on the sales peoples. Again at least in my store I worked and in Maryland. This is just my side of the story. But whatever you doing there, Chris, keep at it. Well too much too little space to write what i really want to express about, am i right?

I have been working for NTB of Tire Kingdom for a year now and am going to have to disagree with most of the comments and accusations on here. First off I am a happy employee who likes his job. At my store we have fun running a business everyday. I started off as a tire tech ad after a month was promoted to sales. I deal with angry employees at times who feel the company is unfair and not right however I will tell the people on here the same thing I tell them. If you do not like the job or feel that you deserve a promotion then work harder. By that I don't mean complain or work faster disliking the 22 point safety inspection process we offer or the free alignment check. The sales associate is supposed to ask the customer if they are interested in those and both are key to making money and earning.. yes earning promotions. Working faster as a tire tech and skipping key parts of the job to speed things up or because you don't like company policy does nothing. Again I spent a month as a tech before moving to sells and I did it not by going extremely fast but by following every company procedure and caring about what we call the pma process. Not only did I finish the process 100% but if I found an issue with a car I would alert a sales associate. If it didn't get sold I would try to sell it myself. You know what that did? It showed I was good with people, quick on my feet, and had sales associate skills. So guess what? I moved to sales. There is an equal opportunity for eveyone with this company and complaining is not taking advantage of that hard work and striving to be better is. Currently I am one of the top sales associates in the houston area and I feel that my knowledge and numbers plus education give me the right to a position in management. You know how I will do this? I will not complain, instead I will work harder, more efficiently, and ensure I continue to produce better and better numbers until I am noticed which is already happening. Not only will I show that I am a good salesman, but I will and have started to show that I am management material by doing things like handeling customer complaints or taking care of issues that management usually deals with. When something is happening and the customer wants to speak with the store manager I will nicely say he's not here or he's busy.. whatever the situation may be. And politely ask them, Is there anything I can do for you? 9 times out of 10, the situation gets handled, the manager doesn't have to deal with the situation now, and what could have just been a complaint turns into a compliment to corporate. How is that bad? Also as far as employees not being trained.. I did start as an inexperienced individual, however I was taught and followed by experienced emplyees plus Tire Kingdom offers a performance academy readily available to any employee in which they are able to learn more about becoming a better individual. Also as far as I have known management does care and a lot of people that have worked their way up started at the bottom and got to where they are much like how I will, so these uncaring managers as people are calling them who only care about bonus.. In factuality worked hard and dealt with many of the things that are being complained about. So, I wouldn't be so quick to say they don't care about us and yes bonus is important. Who is going to say I have a chance to make more money but i'm not going to try to make that happen? I mean aren't alot of you all saying pay is unfair? And isn't a lot of this about money issues as well? Don't judge management for trying to take advantage of the money opportunities they have earned, they worked to get there. And lastly about our pricing.. Like stated earlier mark up is what keeps a business thriving. It is normal and our prices ARE competitive. I know from experience that our pricing and quality service is very reasonable compared to other businesses in the car repair industry. Not too mention.. over time.. Regulating over time and pushing for sales are all key points to working around a business budget. Do you think the facilities we have are free, the electricity we use is also, what about all the money we spend to keep our shops clean with good working tools and machines not too mention a nice waiting room with drinks, snacks, and even cable television for our customers to enjoy? Who is paying for all this and more? You? No. And definetly not your over time. Take some business classes and the first thing you'll learn is that running a business isn't free. In actuality it's very hard, something that takes time you can't imagine to plan, run, and budget. So the next time you think Bill Inkhen or any type of upper management is hanging out all day playing golf, know that maybe they are maybe their not but at the same time they are dealing with running a huge business which is very stressful and in my opinion much harder than hammering wheel weights to balance tires. That is why they are paid more, that is why they are in charge and it's because they worked to earn their status and you can too. Work hard and if nothing seems to work out work even harder. If it becomes just a lost cause then maybe you're not doing what you should be in life. Its called work for a reason so with that into consideration do some thinking and make some changes. Good Luck.

Chris

NTB

Store 802

people should just leave when they get mad, tk has this new program where when you come in you get a free brake check, rotation, and alignment check, on top of the free vehicle inspection, well all this turn your simple oil change 15 minutes tops, into 45 minutes, ive been yelled at by at least 4 customers daily for doing an alignment check and the customers are like," i didnt ask for it why the heck are your doing it" and im like its policy sorry, im only authorized to apologize lol, thats my motto, so ive stopped doing pretty much every thing besides the oil change and the rotate and oh guess what, no more angry customers, but the mangers not so happy but i always say pay me the minimum wage and i might think about doing some of this i mean a good 7. 25 would be awesome, but yeah nope, and there is still no training program for the noobs, and they get mad at us in the shop when a wheel pops off, or an oil out happens, my stores brake lathe has been broken for over 7 months i mean gah, but we got one working tire machine and two working balancer tho no wheel weights lol, oh well, i first started after working at firestone and i was so mad everyday, i went over to another store and a guy told me "just do like i do and give up, stop caring, its the only way you'll stay in this place", and that's pretty much what i've been doing, i after catching my pay check missing over 40 dollars a week i just gave up, there really is no need for TK to be up and running that why over half of the south east has given up, they dont care cause your a number on a page, they dont care cause there out playing golf, they dont care cause there at home at 5 o clock eating dinner with there families, they dont care cause there making bank, FikTK peace out, this has to be one of the longest run on sentences ever lol

The only thing that I can do to make myself feel better about working for this company is described at the end, in case you don't want to read through all of it. I worked for NTB 4 years when they were owned by Sears (around the time they changed from NTW to NTB) and I work for them again now. Tire tech then and present. Never did I imagine a corporation had taken over that cared so little. Their policy and procedures manual states one thing and they do it completely different. Complain and nothing happens except resentment from management level. When the minimum wage went up, the base pay didn't. By law, they don't have to, I know, but how can they bring new people in at below minimum? I wouldn't accept it. The manual stated they give reviews personally every year. The DM said 14 months. Some people there 3 yrs have yet to be reviewed. No raise, nothing. I spoke to the DM about raises. He said, "That's what the commission is all about. You want a raise, work faster." I'd been sitting on the alignment rack 3 hours without one ticket. That's 18 dollars. I'd have PAID someone 18 dollars to sit there for me. The commissions are low and alot of them their intranet says we get paid for, we don't because the salesmen refuse to list some things involved in our commissions on the work order because the customer has to be charged for it and they had to drop the price to make the sale. Pre maintenence checks have to be done by the tire techs and if anything recommended is approved by the customer, there's nothing extra in it for the tech. Recommend a 500 dollar brake job, they buy it, not even 3 bucks for finding it. If a tire is sold with defects unnoticed by a lazy tire tech that later causes vibes or whatever or tires sold with a ride guarantee that are exchanged for something different, the salesman doing the adjusting takes a hit on his/her commission. A big one. If it was the manager who sold it or even greeted the customer when they returned, you can forget him adjusting out the tires. He''d put a salesperson on it so it comes out of their pay. It's unfair to take it out at all. They send the tire back to the manufacturer and get their money back so why take it from anybody? Sears never did anything like that. The biggest kicker was when, for the first time ever, they announced this year they are not providing winter coats from the uniform company. Yeah. With the lousy pay. we have to go buy a jacket durable enough to last through the work conditions that we can ruin. I've heard, and it was verified through our uniform guy, its all over saving 12 cents on every employee. TWELVE CENTS! There should be a website just for NTB employees to complain and make suggestions and point out how those suggestions could benefit the company from a business perspective. Of course, I can't imagine corporate using it as anything but amusement material. As for me, and I told them when I found out about the jacket deprivation....I find that the pre maintenence checks on cars turn up little or nothing these days. The only needs I find in the ones I work on seem to be metal to metal brakes or separated tires all of a sudden. Shoulda spent the 12 cents. They'd have profited more (at least by me).

I work for Discount Tire Co. We may only do tires and wheels, but we do free flat repairs, rotations, tire inspections, and air checks for everyone. We also include free balancing and road hazard warranty when you purchase tires from us. In fact, we offer an optional warranty no one else does that is lifetime and we will just give you a free tire if it cannot be fixed whether you purchase the tires from us or not. Plus, as someone who started as a tire tech almost a year and a half ago I have seen around 6 raises and a promotion. Plus, the benefits are amazing. I may not make any comission or labor, but they compensate me well for it. More importantly I have superiors that prefer to help me out instead of look for ways to get rid of me. In fact, I can talk to my AVP's and VP just like anyone who needs to can and if I need to get hold of them they are easy to find. Of course I see at least one of them every other week because they are very hands on. On top of it the company is very family oriented which is why even those of us on salary rarely work more than 50 hours and a lot of times not even that. Plus I always have Sunday off. Just something to think about.

I work for Discount Tire Co. We may only do tires and wheels, but we do free flat repairs, rotations, tire inspections, and air checks for everyone. We also include free balancing and road hazard warranty when you purchase tires from us. In fact, we offer an optional warranty no one else does that is lifetime and we will just give you a free tire if it cannot be fixed whether you purchase the tires from us or not. Plus, as someone who started as a tire tech almost a year and a half ago I have seen around 6 raises and a promotion. Plus, the benefits are amazing. I may not make any comission or labor, but they compensate me well for it. More importantly I have superiors that prefer to help me out instead of look for ways to get rid of me. In fact, I can talk to my AVP's and VP just like anyone who needs to can and if I need to get hold of them they are easy to find. Of course I see at least one of them every other week because they are very hands on. On top of it the company is very family oriented which is why even those of us on salary rarely work more than 50 hours and a lot of times not even that. Plus I always have Sunday off. Just something to think about.

I work for Discount Tire Co. We may only do tires and wheels, but we do free flat repairs, rotations, tire inspections, and air checks for everyone. We also include free balancing and road hazard warranty when you purchase tires from us. In fact, we offer an optional warranty no one else does that is lifetime and we will just give you a free tire if it cannot be fixed whether you purchase the tires from us or not. Plus, as someone who started as a tire tech almost a year and a half ago I have seen around 6 raises and a promotion. Plus, the benefits are amazing. I may not make any comission or labor, but they compensate me well for it. More importantly I have superiors that prefer to help me out instead of look for ways to get rid of me. In fact, I can talk to my AVP's and VP just like anyone who needs to can and if I need to get hold of them they are easy to find. Of course I see at least one of them every other week because they are very hands on. On top of it the company is very family oriented which is why even those of us on salary rarely work more than 50 hours and a lot of times not even that. Plus I always have Sunday off. Just something to think about.

I work for Discount Tire Co. We may only do tires and wheels, but we do free flat repairs, rotations, tire inspections, and air checks for everyone. We also include free balancing and road hazard warranty when you purchase tires from us. In fact, we offer an optional warranty no one else does that is lifetime and we will just give you a free tire if it cannot be fixed whether you purchase the tires from us or not. Plus, as someone who started as a tire tech almost a year and a half ago I have seen around 6 raises and a promotion. Plus, the benefits are amazing. I may not make any comission or labor, but they compensate me well for it. More importantly I have superiors that prefer to help me out instead of look for ways to get rid of me. In fact, I can talk to my AVP's and VP just like anyone who needs to can and if I need to get hold of them they are easy to find. Of course I see at least one of them every other week because they are very hands on. On top of it the company is very family oriented which is why even those of us on salary rarely work more than 50 hours and a lot of times not even that. Plus I always have Sunday off. Just something to think about.

I have worked for Tire Kingdom for over 2 years. This company is headed into deep doodoo. Everything that was said on the other post are true and to the point. However, on a manager standpoint. Tire Kingdom works the hell out of their managers (70 plus hours a week) as well as their mechanics while treating them like crap. They are paid off salary of course while mechanics get paid off commission. Cutbacks are now in place on tire techs as well as sales associates( NO OT!!) I was told by my Regional Manager to clock out my tire techs at 40 hours and work OFF THE CLOCK!!! Tire Kingdom is the first company i have ever worked for that doesn't give a crap about employee retention. Plus, We was encouraged to hire kids from McDonalds to become automotive techicians. Thats when i decided to step down. This company is headed into the wrong directions...GREED! is the name of the game. I encourage everyone do not go to Tire Kingdom. The personnel that they are hiring are not qualified nor know what the heck they're doing. The prices are too high! and the warranties that they have come with lots of caches. I've encouraged my family not to bring their cars to TK. Because once they land on TK property they must be charged for any work you do to their vehicle. even if they buy the parts, I must mark it up!!!! Steve.

I have worked for Tire Kingdom for over 2 years. This company is headed into deep

WHY YOU GOTTA LIE TELL THE REAL REASON WHY YOU WAS LET GO NEVERMIND HERE GOES MATT WAS CAN BECAUSE HE PUT THE SPARK PLUG IN HIS MOMS CAR AND DIDN'T PAY FOR IT. HE WAS A GOOD WORKING BUT AT TIMES LATE FOR WORK. HE WAS MY BEST FRIEND MYBAD IN THIS MATTER

WHY YOU GOTTA LIE TELL THE REAL REASON WHY YOU WAS LET GO NEVERMIND HERE GOES MATT WAS CAN BECAUSE HE PUT THE SPARK PLUG IN HIS MOMS CAR AND DIDN'T PAY FOR IT. HE WAS A GOOD WORKING BUT AT TIMES LATE FOR WORK. HE WAS MY BEST FRIEND MYBAD IN THIS MATTER

WHY YOU GOTTA LIE TELL THE REAL REASON WHY YOU WAS LET GO NEVERMIND HERE GOES MATT WAS CAN BECAUSE HE PUT THE SPARK PLUG IN HIS MOMS CAR AND DIDN'T PAY FOR IT. HE WAS A GOOD WORKING BUT AT TIMES LATE FOR WORK. HE WAS MY BEST FRIEND MYBAD IN THIS MATTER

WHY YOU GOTTA LIE TELL THE REAL REASON WHY YOU WAS LET GO NEVERMIND HERE GOES MATT WAS CAN BECAUSE HE PUT THE SPARK PLUG IN HIS MOMS CAR AND DIDN'T PAY FOR IT. HE WAS A GOOD WORKING BUT AT TIMES LATE FOR WORK. HE WAS MY BEST FRIEND MYBAD IN THIS MATTER

I've been and still employed by National Tires and Battery, which is currently owned by Tire Kingdom, that also owns Merchant's (and I believe Big O), and the entire company is owned by Sumitomo Corp. The location I'm employed is on Joppa Rd. Baltimore, Maryland. I worked in this location for about close to 4 years and counting as a Tire Tech. I've seen the in and outs of this company, and I must say to myself- "How does this place still open today?!" First an foremost, they don't care about quality, productivity and pay for their employees, lack of proper tools and lazy response to maintenance on heavy equipment -like our car lifts or bay doors. All they really care is about sales and gross profits and their own bonuses for the end of month pay. Oh, one more thing to add, high employee turnover coupled with low pay (tire techs paid by hourly -$6/hr, and commission -varies. Mines is $160/week avg), and usually no prior training means poor services, and inability to correct mistakes until its too late. There's a lot of reports of oil-outs and wheel-offs in Outlook emails. But fortunately none of that were reported in our store when Im around. Of the last 3 years, there have been 3 different regional managers, 7 store managers and a period of no managers for 3 months, and 50+ former employees passed by in sales/shop. This company just can't keep their employees. Why, you asked? The answer is quite honestly, they don't care. Again, just their bonuses of hitting target numbers. Since all of our products marked up so high (seen tires/ oil changes/ batts/ services much lower elsewhere), and the Sales guys can not afford to discount -too much of it and the company take away a chunk of their commission!, so they find ways to skimp in order to maintain a certain gross profit margin. Like for instance, no raises for anyone, period. No over time allowed whatsoever, if an employee does have O/T, they will be written up (like me). But oddly enough you dont get written up for being late. One time I read and email from the then Regional Manager to all Store Managers to 'fix' the times for anyone who has O/T. The higher ups always will increase the cost of the products/services while also find ways to reducepay on employees like some examples stated above. Another example, is for the Mechanical Techs which solely relies on commission. This new memo states that any discounts on service will be deducted in the Mech commission as well as the Salesman who wrote up the ticket essentially the company hadn't lost anything, just us, the people who work on the battlefield. Where has all the worker's rights established a century ago during the Industrial Revolution ? Are we now- the employees- at the whims of a greedy, power hungry, heartless, who-gives-a-d**n-about-them employers again? No sooner or later this place will collapse under its own self-diluted weight. But to hasten it, I recommend boycotting this est. and help fellow workers their deserved rights. Nothing good here. just go to your dealerships. The cost are about the same really w/ our current markups on everything. But atleast you dont have to worry about some pot head working on your vehicle (trust me, I work w/ plenty of them).

I can personally vouch that the markup percentages documented in this complaint are inaccurate. For obvious reasons I will not go into detail regarding the exact markup prices, but let's take a few things into consideration. Every retail business purchases their items at a discounted rate from a supplier, then sells it off at a profitable gain. This is the essence of retail business. McDonald's sells a large coke for what? $1.19? Take into consideration the cost of a large coke. Soda, Cup, Lid, Straw. This all amounts to approximately 4 cents of cost to McDonalds. So the American public is more than willing to buy, rebuy, and rebuy hundreds of times over, a product that is marked up over 2500%. Yes I'm comparing apples and oranges, but the point of this rebuttal is to remind you that in a capitalist society, the private sector exists for one thing- to make money. NTB makes profits off of its sales. For that it will not apologize. NTB distributes quality parts and quality service at a competitive price. My advice would be to get several estimates for the same job, before you get said job done. Then you'll see that everyone's ripping you off for the same amount.