I have read several allegations about Pep Boys and I felt I really had to weigh in from the perspective of former employee. Pep Boys is a nasty company that profits from people being screwed over and lied to by their employees, management and executives. It is an organization design to make money from what the customer doesn't know; the sale of parts from the junkyard to charging for work not done.
I once worked in their parts department and actually did a lot of what went on between service and them getting junkyard parts and buying, or should I say, demanding parts from the smaller auto parts stores. Once I saw a customer request his money back for a starter. He had the receipt but the assistant manager became very nasty and cursed at the customer. The customer got so irate he smashed the housing of the starter and walked out. Then they made a big scene as they tried to copy his license plate number. It was their goal to try to force the customer to lose control so they could make it look to the police that it was the customer's entire fault. They often discussed this as their tactic from management.
If the mechanics and technicians had to work on a car again because the customer brought it back in, I have seen them urinate in the oil filler cap or the radiator. The disgusting part is that they thought they were cute. I have actually seen them pull out pieces of your sensors so it would not run 100% and joke about it with management and get approval.
I started working for them while I went for school and it's the worse experience ever. I sometimes had to get parts from the junkyards to include calipers, worn cylinder heads, pistons, and sometimes worn engines that even had small nicks on the side of the blocks. They were so incompetent they actually let a jeep Cherokee fall off the lift and the chassis was destroyed. I felt so bad for the customer I gave the customer a ride home out to the next county out of my way home.
I was hit on the head because someone did not stack tires right. I found out I had a concussion the next day. I was never given the pay for being out for 4 days. (I had to recuperate and was not able to show up 2 months after that.) The immaturity and unprofessional lack of courtesy some of the manager's show to the customers carries over to employees as well. There is no call for it because Pep Boys really takes care of them. Most of the managers drive brand new vehicles and get huge salaries with profit sharing, stock in the company and good medical benefits, which is better than what most companies give. What it really comes down to is a company policy to screw people to make money and the managers get rewarded for doing it.
They also cheat people who need rotors and drums cut. They tell customers that they are out of spec yet it's the first time the brakes were changed and there is no scoring on the drums, and they are not bad. There was another incident, this customer, a very nice person, had brakes done. Later when he was driving at 65 miles an hour, the calipers, hub, and pads came off. He slammed into a guardrail and water-filled barrels had to stop him. The company refused to pay for damages or tow truck. That happened just during the year and a half I worked for the company.
They also steal from the customer's cars. They have stolen cd's, money, and even parts off cars like stereos, loudspeaker systems, amps and just about anything else. People don't know that their cars are getting junkyard parts, which are just cleaned with engine brite and put on. They do some horrible things to cars.
If you threaten to call the cops they run into the office and hide there until you leave. When the cops show up and they make up a bunch of lies so they can look good. Most of the store managers don't know anything about cars just there for the money and benefits. I read where many employees defend what Pep Boys does to customers, but it's just because they think if they suck up they'll make more money. It's all about money. I hope someone with authority, who can get rid of this company, reads this. Or those who see this will boycott them or worse. Every one in the auto parts industry should black ball them because by supporting them they are partly to blame for their crimes.
RickBrooklyn, New York
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