Sears Auto and Tire Center Mgr tried to scam me into buying a new tire when I didn't need one Atlanta Georgia
Ok, yesterday I woke up to a flat tire - nice way to start the new year - changing a tire in the dark, cold and wet.
So anyway, after I leave work yesterday afternoon I notice that the Sears right across the street from work is open and since that's where I bought my tires less than a year ago I figure I'll go have them patch it.
After standing around waiting for someone to help me for nearly 20 minutes (and no, I do not exagerrate, I was watching the clock - there were 4 guys behind the counter and two customers already being helped - I was just flat out being ignored) I finally get waited on by what I assume was the mgr of the place since he was dressed in 'street' clothes instead of the 'grease-monkey' jumper that the mechanics wear.
Anyway, we go out to my car so he can look at the tire in my trunk and we find the nail I'd run over. It was rectangular and about half an inch wide but certainly small enough to be patched - afterall I'm the Queen of Flat Tires - I'm always running over something or other and always have to get them patched so I pretty much know what can and can't be fixed with a simple patch.
The mgr takes one look at the nail and says, "We can't patch this, it won't hold and you'll have to get a new tire."
Now, my tires are 100.00 each and like I said, the current set is less than a year old and with trying to get moved into a house and having just made my first payment while still paying rent - well, I don't have a lot of expendable cash at the moment and really couldn't afford to buy a new tire not to mention *I* couldn't see any reason why it had to be replaced. I told him that I didn't buy that and that I believed it could be patched. He sighed and then ran his finger over a dark colored ring on the tire, right near the rim and said, "Look, this tire is damaged, you must have driven on it."
At that point I started to get pretty pissed. The tire was NOT damaged in the least and the only 'driving' I'd done on it was backing out of the parking space and driving forward 10 feet before I realized the tire was flat. I ran my finger over it just to see and it felt fine, completely normal and I said to him, "What the hell are you talking about?? This tire's fine! There's no damage, that's just where the rim was pressing on the rubber when I backed out this morning, give me a f-ing break!"
Again, he said, "Well, the tire's damaged beyond repair, we can not patch it so you'll have to buy a new one."
I told him I thought he was full of s**t and I left.
Now, to cut this already long story short I ended up at the Sears garage near my apartment and the guy was very nice and professional and told me that while it was a little iffy because the nail had gone in so close to the wall that the tire was not damaged at all, the black ring was perfectly normal and expected in such a circumstance and the nail size had absolutely nothing to do with their hesitation. They patched it up and I was on my way.
I plan on writing to Sears and letting them know of this dishonest individual. Of course, perhaps he wasn't dishonest, perhaps he's just a moron.
Pele
Atlanta, Georgia
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Franklin
INDIANAPOLIS,Indiana,
U.S.A.
37 years of Sears Auto experience
#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Thu, January 30, 2003
.. The tech 3 from Oregon is giving you valuable and correct information. He explained it in great detail. my compliments to him on his professioalism. The first store should have pulled the tire off the rim and looked at the inside. This tire may still be a problem to you. Is your life worth a $100. That is up to you.
Keep in mind the world we live in.. If Sears repairs the tire and you have a failure, you'll be at your lawyer's office as quickly as you can to sue them. So, it's your car, your tire and your choice as to what to do.
Good luck
David Gilbert
Medford,Oregon,
U.S.A.
Consumer education regarding flat repairs
#3UPDATE Employee
Wed, January 29, 2003
After reading this entry, it is apparent to me that the customer service manager (CSM) in question was either probably having a bad day, or was lacking in knowledge regarding flat repairs. I am an employee of Sears Auto Center #6539 here in Medford, Oregon. My current assignment is Tech 3, meaning I am an individual who actually does the work, and one who has been properly trained by Sears in regards to the dos and don'ts of flat repair.
Rules of thumb regarding fixable tire damage would be: the damage cannot be on the sidewall, tire bead, or within an inch of the sidewall on the tread surface. Sidewalls cannot be reapired, as the structual integrity cannot be preserved. Bead reapir is impossible, since any modification to the bead would prohibit proper seating on the rim. Holes within an inch of the sidewall cannot be repaired due to the possibility of the patch "rolling" off of the repair and reexposing the damage, or worse yet, causing a blow out. Tires are rated by speed. The higher the letter of the alphabet, the better the speed rating. Each repair done to the tire drops the integrity, and speed rating down a letter. Sears policy states that no more than 3 repairs to a tire can be made, and each reapir must be no less than 3-6 inches apart from each other. In addition, the damage itself cannot be larger and .25 inches on a repairable surface, in other words the tread surface within that 1 inch boundery on either side of the tire.
Regarding the CSM's behavior, that particular CSM would benefit from the expert opinion of the technician actually doing the work. Since the opinion of the tech is ultimately what counts as to the repairability of the tire, that individual should be the one the customer should trust in advice about the condition of the tire. This whole matter would have never occurred if the CSM would have let the expert make the decision.
It sounds like that ultimately happened, the second time around, and I thank you for not giving up on Sears and their ability to satisfy you in this matter. But it should have happened the first time.
With regards to tire purchases, what happens if your flat IS unrepairable?? It is my suggestion as both a consumer and technician to, if offered, purchase the road hazard agreement along with your set of tires. This will tack on a few extra dollars to the purchase price, but can be WELL worth it if damage that is unrepairable happens to your investment of a set of tires. Too many times I have seen cases where an individual purchases a costly set of tires, an unfortunate occurence causes unrepairable damage to one, and the customer hasn't purchased the road hazard or "insurance" so to speak to cover the replacement of that tire, and ends up paying full price for a replacement when, if the road hazard was purchased, that same tire could have been replaced at little or no cost to the customer. And as we all know, quality tires are not cheap.
One other tip, if you have a flat, and all the air is gone, if at all possible, do not drive on it, even for ten feet. Inner sidewall damage can occur VERY easily, and would render that small nail hole unrepairable.
Hope this helps, and please accept my apology for inadaquate customer service.
Respectfully,
Auto Technician III
SAC, Medford, Or.