Complaint Review: Advance Auto Parts - De Ridder Louisiana

 I can not believe the people on here defending this company. I would imagine them having some interest in Advance Auto Parts in one way or another. The whole concept behind this type of business is that it caters to the do-it-yourself crowd. If some hardworking guy is trying to save a buck by doing something for himself instead of have a garage or dealership do it, then more power to him. simply take the part back and sell him what he needs, Perhaps a service manual. I mean after all, we all know how honest and reliable dealerships and local repair shops can be! 

 Something is amuck here, what Advance is doing is pinching...actually stealing money whenever they can. A sure indication the higher ups are seeing numbers declining rapidly and doing anything they can to save a sinking ship. I have been ripped off by these scumbags 3 times. It all happened almost simultaneously (so no comments on that please). I cant wait to see all those stores closed down and reopened as sports bars and such.

I am an inventory specialist for this company..I have delt with one of the major competitors up until I was hired on at this company.......I was never satisfied with the quaility of parts at this major competitor....I sat on the road with small children many times one hot summer only to be told by the zone that my alternator was GOOD..........well guess what .....IT WASNT .....i finally went to an automotive electrical faciity .......they not only built me a new alternator .....but put it in and i never sat on the side of the road again with that car......................Now that I work for ADVANCE AUTO PARTS ...I am the one in charge of handling all defect brought back to out store ......I am totally amazed at the LOW QUANITY of bad parts i recieve weekly espeacially the STARTERS/ALTERNATORS/batteries ECT.........We sure must be doing something right ........plus we have Daily Repeated customers who just dont hesitate to come to us when they need anything for their cars.........

To the unsatisfied customer above, I understand you are upset about the whole situation with Advance, however I agree with my fellow team members to a point. I believe that you did your research on your vehicle and from what I read in the complaint. I gather you are just upset at the team member involved in this situation in how they treated you. I often get treated this way because I am a woman and the assumption is that I do not know anything about cars, but I digress. I wanted to respond to your complaint and say that please don't make any decisions about us, because you had one bad experience. I trust if you went to another Advance Auto that you will see that Advance does have alot to offer as a company. I stand behind the products and I stand behind what Advance represents. If you were in my store I would of handled the situation different. But since the damage is done the best way to rectify situation is to contact a manager and I promise they will take care of you.

People the world is really a opinionated place and this is a example of how things can get out of hand. I have been with the organization for over 30 years and firmly believe that everything possible is done in 99% of any customer / store interaction to insure the customer is properly taken care of and satisfied. I do not have details as to what specifically occured in this instance, but I would point out all you are hearing and seeing is the one side of the incident. This does not mean the customer is right or wrong just that only one side is represented. As to the company and customer relations I would like to point out how few complaints are actually posted about this company and how even fewer of those are product / customer related. Based on that statistic Advance Auto Parts is a pretty straight forward and outstanding organization to do business with. Remember when you are the second largest Auto Parts Retailer in the country and have this few postings you must be doing something right. Take a look at the other major companies in this field and the complaints they have. J ust another point on the Galesburg store. That location I am familiar with an I know the Management Team. They will not let a customer be treated unfairly or inappropriately, you can definitely feel comfortable shopping with them.

I blundered on to this web site in an effort to learn more the businesses in De Ridder, LA. I was contemplating relocation to that area. I work in a sector of industry that is highly competitive, and the importance of business reputation and repeat customers can not be overstressed. I guess that is why I was shocked to find out how little Advance Auto Parts values a customer. If what happened in De Ridder was corporate policy, God help the shareholders of Advance. Advance just opened a store where I live in Illinois, and there are 6 other auto parts stores within a 2 mile radius. Absent any clear abuse or scam by the customer, the decision to not provide the refund lost me as a future customer, and I'm certain, the offended consumer. I worked for many years for a leading automotive steering and suspension parts maker for the aftermarket. We would never treat a customer that way, and by the way, we consistently had 30% ROI from that customer loyalty and our excellent reputation. O'Reilly and NAPA here I come.

To Danny in Deridder,La I have been in the parts world for some time (about 15 years) Before putting blame on the store. Did the person working on your car let you know that on most cars there is also an EGR solinoid , of witch can give you a code of EGR. And I would like to know if your problem was corrected with an A C Delco part ? And did you know that an electrical part that has been installed on a car and is returned becuase it did not fix your problem . Is Now A Used Part. My question to you Danny is would you want to put a $185.00 USED part on your car ?????

I know your not happy with Advance auto parts,but its not there problem.I am a ASE master technician and I have seen this before. 1st off a reputible shop doesnt scan your car tell you for sure this is the problem,there are too many variables. Half the time a vehicle throws a EGR code its the passage in the intake clogged thats the problem,other times no vacum signal,bad wirring,etc. Secondly(you stated your wiring was checked)Im sure there is a no return policy on electrical parts once installed. My suggestion is to have the mechanic give you a statement saying the EGR valve is bad,Im sure then they would refund your money, however if the AC Delco part doesnt fix your car,then I suggest you find a reputible ASE Tech and let him/her fix your car with whatever brand of part he chooses. In closing let me ask one question---- did you clear the code after replacing the part?

I am responding to the rebuttal. I have common sense, I brought the car to two different auto shops and had them use the computer to tell me that the EGR valve was bad. The only bad decision made was that I went to Advanced Auto Parts, where there is no policy posted on returns and when asked they told me to keep the receipt and I had 1 year warranty on the part. When the part was changed, went back to the auto shop and the computer still showed part was bad (wiring was checked also)code said EGR bad! They told us to take part back and go buy an AC Delco part!

I am an employee of advance auto parts and think that this is just common sense. Why would you buy an expensive part unless you are sure what you need. We dont rent out parts for people to try. Even if it wasnt used, we have no way of testing them again and if someone uses them and damages them then we will be selling a defective part. Im sure this gentleman would be furious if we sold him and EGR valve that had been used.