National Tire and Battery: The worst tire buying experience I've had.
I called around town Friday morning September 8th, 2017 to find a set of tires for my 2004 Volkswagen Jetta GLI before heading to the in-laws cabin for the weekend. I scheduled and dropped my car off at National Tire & Battery (store# 874) of St.
Cloud on Friday, September 8th, 2017 for a 2:00 pm appointment to get my tires replaced for a brand new set of BF Goodrich G-Force A/S tires. The appointment and service went fine and didnโt have any issues with the original service. After leaving NTB of St. Cloud, I stopped at my house quick, loaded my car, and headed out to Paynesville for a long weekend with my in-laws at their cabin, where my car was parked in a garage until Monday night, September 11th, 2017.
On Tuesday morning, September 12, 2017 before I left my house for work, I noticed a small, half-dollar size hole and tear on the bottom of my left (driverโs) side skirt. It wasnโt possible that myself, or anybody I know couldโve put these damages in the side skirt because the car was parked inside a secured garage between Friday night (September 8th) and Monday night (September 11th). The only people that had access to the garage were with me all weekend, and besides that, none of my family members can even operate a car with a manual transmission. So, I called Tuesday, September 13th, 2017 at 11:54 am to talk to a manager and see if the damages occurred while my tires were getting replaced.
Unfortunately, I was told that he was off until Thursday September 14th, 2017 and that they would leave a note on his desk regarding my concerns. On Wednesday morning, September 13th, 2017 I noticed my car pulling a little to right, but didnโt think too much of it. When I got to work my coworker noticed that my front right (passengerโs) side tire was extremely low. So, I checked the tire pressure and it only read 10lbs.
Thinking the bead mustโve just not sealed correctly, I called NTB of St. Cloud at 9:16 am and scheduled an appointment to have my tire looked at, at 1:30 pm that afternoon. Before my appointment, I did fill up that front right tire with 35lbs of air so that I would be able to get to NTB. I also stop at my local Volkswagen dealership to get a price quote for a new OE side skirt, just incase the manager wanted to see how much it would cost me to replace the part if incase it did occur during the first service on September 8th.
The price quote for a new OEM side skirt (unpainted) is $555.00 At my 1:30 pm appointment, the guy working the frontend of the store advised the service manager (Brad) of the situation and my concerns regarding the damages to my left side skirt. I was brought into the shop side to go over the situation and how the car was sitting on the hoist. These are the footnotes of the conversation: โข He pointed out that the style of the hoist and how the car sat on it couldnโt have possibly done the damage. I was told that this was the same hoist the car was sitting on when the original service was performed on my car on Friday, September 8th.
The problem with that is that the hoist it was sitting on was the first hoist on the north side of the building. The hoist it was sitting on during the September 8th service was on the second hoist on south side of the building, which is also a yellow painted hoist, while the other one is not. The hoists are two completely different style hoists, and the fact that I had to point that out is ridiculous. I know it was on a different hoist because when I dropped my car off 2:00 pm on September 8th, I left with my ride on the south side of the building, where I saw my car sitting on that yellow hoist.
So, I had the service manager put my car on the original hoist it was on. Guess what, it rubbed and pushed up against the side skirt. โข He pointed out that there were old water markings behind the side skirt and that would only be possibly if the hole or tear was previously there because it hasnโt rained in weeks. The problem with that is that if you look on the National weather service climate data center website, it indicates that there were traces of water precipitation on Monday, September 11th, 2017, which is when I took my car out of the garage and drove home.
That aside, it is possible for water to get up and behind your side skirt when it rains, which would leave old water markings. This statement in itself made me not even want to talk to the service manager anymore. โข He suggested a rock may have punctured it, or that a bullet may have made that hole because he had previously seen that when he worked in Minneapolis. โข He argued that there were no yellow paint markings from the metal hoist on my plastic side skirts, even though you can see the hoist arm clearly pushing up against the side skirt, separating the tear at the bottom.
โข He suggested that if there were visible black, plastic chunks on the shop floor, than it could have possibly have happened there, but he couldnโt see any. This is another shake my head moments because the shop floor is a mess and there is constant movement in and out of those service doors with people and vehicles. โข He assured me the technician didnโt cause the damage or noticed that the hoist caused any of the damage because โhe looked me straight in the eyes and said no.โ So basically, as long as someone looks you in the eyes, thereโs no possible way that theyโre lying to you. Again, shake my head moment.
โข At the end of my second service to get my tire fixed, all I was offered was a free oil changed, but I declined it because I do my own oil changes and the offer felt more like a slap in the face than anything else. I left with him saying that they couldnโt do anything because I wouldโve had to notice it before I left my first service on Friday, September 8th, 2017, but being I didnโt notice until that next Tuesday, September 12th, 2017, it is what it is. This basically suggests that I have to look over my car before and after I have any service done to it by a professional place of business. On Thursday, September 14th, 2017 I called the store at 2:11 pm to talk to the manager, but was told that he actually wonโt be in until Friday, September 15th, 2017 at 11:30 am.
I was assured that the note was still on his desk and that I would be receiving a call from the manager on Friday, September 15th. I gave it until 2:39 pm on Friday, September 15th, 2017 until I called NTB of St. Cloud to ask if the store manager was in and if he had received my note. The service manager answered the phone and told me that he had just left for the day.
I wasnโt very happy to say the least. The store manager either did not receive the note, or he didnโt want to deal with the issue and ignored my concerns. The carโs nearly fourteen years old and itโs not perfect; I get that. However, the way this store and management handled this situation is nothing less than a joke and a slap in the face.
As of today, Tuesday, September 19, 2017 I did file a complaint with the BBB. I also gave this particular store #874 a negative review on Google Review. Iโm tempted to bring the issue to social media with the picture I have of your hoist pushing up against the side skirt because customers donโt deserve for their concerns to be treating in this way, or to be given the run around when trying to get ahold of management. I could have went anywhere else to get my tires, and now I will be, but I trusted NTB to be a stand up business and was more disappointed than I have ever been in any other business before.
Also, even thought I have a warranty with the tires I purchased, thereโs no way that I will ever use it because that would mean having to deal with these same people all over again. I will not be recommending your business, products, or services to anyone I know.
Reason of review: Poor customer service.
Preferred solution: Price reduction.
National Tire and Battery Pros: Leaving.
National Tire and Battery Cons: Poor service, Management.
Location: 22 8th Ave SE, St Cloud, MN 56304, USA
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