Complaint Review: BIG O TIRES MIKE TRAMMEL

On August 14, I took my car, a 2002 Mercury Sable, to the Big O Tire Store in Brownsburg, Indiana, to have the rear struts and springs replaced. The owner of this store is Mike Trammel.

In driving the car after the work was done, I noticed a great deal of bouncing in the rear of the car that I had not experienced before. It was extreme, and caused worry and alarm, as I had thought bouncing was eliminated when new shocks and springs were installed. Additionally, I found body damage on the roof and left rear side of my car. The damage is deep scratches running diagonally across the roof, in the direction of the right rear wheel, and deposits of grease. There is also an identical scratch above the left rear wheel well. The marks and pattern appear to have come from an object having been laid on top of the car, pulled across the roof and down to the wheel well, in the same area where the work was done by Big O mechanics.

I called Mr. Trammel so he and I could drive my car, to determine what the problem might be. I also told me there was another issue, and intended to show him the roof damage while there. Trammel personally scheduled me for Friday, August 28, at 10:30. He suggested the day and time, and he wrote the appointment down on his store calendar. When I arrived at his Big O store, he was not there. I asked where he was and when he would be back, and was told by four of his employees, one named Tim, that Trammel had left at 10:00 (a half hour before he was expecting me), to run errands, pick up supplies, get the paychecks, and he would not be back for an hour or two! I told the staff that Trammel had personally asked me to be there at 10:30 that day so he could determine the issues with my car. And now he had deliberately left, just in time to avoid me, and not to return until, probably, time to go to lunch. I then told the employee named Tim about the body damage to my car, and he went out to look at it. He saw it clearly, scratches and grease, and said it would need to be buffed out, at the least. He did not deny that it had been done at Big O, and in fact agreed that the pattern of the scratches led to the area where their work had been done. He gave me Trammels business card and said to call him. I replied that the reason I was there at that moment was at Trammels request and by his appointment. That was why I was incredulous that he wasnt there.

I told Tim I would come back in an hour or so, and went back at 12:30. Several employees again told me that Trammel and Tim had just left for lunch! And that they wouldnt be back for a while. It was so apparent that Trammel was purposely avoiding me, deliberately evading someone he knew was coming to his business with a problem with his work. Anyone would suppose that he had lied to a paying customer. I came home and called the store at 2:30, asking for Trammel. Tim answered and said very brusquely that he was not there and wouldnt be back. Employees at Big O ordinarily ask to take a message, but Tim most likely was covering for Trammel and his evasiveness and, like the actions of Trammel, didnt want to accommodate me.

I was honest and upfront concerning the problems that arose with my car being at Brownsburg Big O Tire. I dealt exclusively with Mike Trammel and trusted him. I thought he charged me a fair price for the work. I trusted him that he would confirm or explain the awkwardness in driving that resulted from the new struts and springs. Additionally, I expected him to keep his word when he scheduled me in your Big O store.

It is a 30 mile round trip to Brownsburg from my house and back, and it costs me considerably to drive there to be stood up by a store owner I trusted. I will attest that the body damage done to my car was not there prior to it having been at Big O Tires on August 14, and that it was caused by Big O employees who worked on my car. Every evidence supports this and I hold Mr. Trammel responsible, even though he has deliberately avoided accepting responsibility and has purposely avoided me. This is not the honesty I had expected and certainly not good business for Big O.

Stay tuned for the next chapter.

Anne
Indianapolis, Indiana
U.S.A.

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