Here is a copy of the email thread. Judge for yourself:
Dear sirs,
Today, my wife and kids picked up a friend at your 7770 W Cheyenne location. Her friend's car was getting its oil changed. When she brought him back after 2 hours or so, she noticed that she had a flat tire when she pulled into your parking lot. First of all, the "gentlemen" manning the place wouldn't even put air in her tire to get her home. Keep in mind that she had small children with her. Later on that night, after I got home from a long day at work and school, I met with the roadside assistance guy so he could change the tire. When he removed the wheel, we could tell that the culprit was a weight used for balancing tires. We both instinctually started looking around your parking lot (where the vehicle was left waiting for me to get home), and noticed these same types of weights spread out sporadically throughout your parking lot.
It was obvious to me that when she picked up her friend, she also picked up a weight in your parking lot. I suppose it wouldn't be easily proven, but I'm sure the media doesn't care if I can prove it or not. I can't tell whether this is intentional behavior to entice business, or if the guys just don't care and throw them in the parking lot without realizing the dangers involved. My wife drove 5 miles with this object in her tire with my children in the car.
This is absurd and it won't be tolerated. I'd suggest that you bring this to your management and have them share it with the appropriate executives, so that it can trickle down to the local store management. It depends how upset I get about this over the next few days and have had a chance to consult friends and family. I may contact the news station in the link above and let them know what's going on. I'm sure they'd be happy to look into it. Looking forward to your reply.
Regards
From:
To:
Cc:
Date: Wed, Feb 13 at 7:44 PM
I was forwarded you email that you sent to [email protected] and would like to reply.
You mentioned that the person at our Cheyenne store would not put air in your tire. I would like to know which person and what time of day that was. If our shop is closed there might not have been anyone there to help. If we were open I would like to think we would have easily repaired your tire. Please reply on that.
Regarding the weights etc.in the parking area. Do you still have the tire with the object in the tread? Do you still have the object that was in the tread? If you do I will happily repair your tire or reimburse you for the repairs you had to make. We do not put objects out for customers to ruin their tires. I do apologize if they are in the parking lot, that is bad housekeeping on our part.in our 60 years here in Las Vegas servicing the community we have worked hard to have a reputation of trust by our customers.
As an informational note: This is a very bad town for flat tires. We repair over 30,000 per year. The streets are littered with all kinds of construction items and junk. Most objects are picked up while the car is moving. Typically an object is thrown up by a tire from the car ahead or from a front tire to the back. As the object is spinning it perfectly situates itself so that the pressure of the car can force it through the tread. It is hard to do otherwise. For example if you took that wheel weight and a hammer to try and pound it in you likely could not do it.
And seriously, if you have a problem with our company you only have to call to get a response. Threats may be required for other businesses but not ours. We will do what is right, always.
I also have other staff to call if I am unavailable. My assistant is Brian at cell 467-9179, my retail operations manager, Carlos, at cell 286-4936 or operations manager, Kathy, at 203-3917. We are available to help any of our customers.
I am very sorry for your bad experience. I will do everything I can to take care of the situation.
Sincerely,
Chris Publow
General Manager
Ted Wiens Tire and Auto Centers
1701 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV, 89104
702-942-8964
From: John
To:
Date: Tue, Feb 19 at 9:18 PM
In regards to your first question: I just clarified with my wife and she said a woman employee came out and looked at the tire and said "it's going to take a lot more than air", then walked away. It was about 12:00pm. So, she didn't exactly refuse, but...
I don't have the tire any longer, because Pep Boys needed to keep it for warranty purposes. But, they noted their findings on the paperwork. If you'd like, I can send you the receipt for reimbursement.
Please let me know my next step.
Thanks,
JG
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From:
To:
Date: Thu, Feb 21 at 11:31 AM
Thank you for your reply. If you could fax a copy of your Pep Boys receipt to me a 735-4061 that would be very helpful. Perhaps the receipt can give me some insight into the failure.
Chris Publow
Ted Wiens Tire
From: John
To:
Date: Thu, Feb 21 at 10:30 PM
Sure, I will fax it tomorrow.
Thanks for all your help.
Jg
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From: John
To:
Date: Thu, Feb 21 at 10:30 PM
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From:
To:
Date: Fri, Feb 22 at 4:53 PM
I received your fax from Pep Boys. I also spoke with my people who remember your wife and the situation. The lady, Debbie, recalled her pulling in with people advising her of the low tire which subsequently became flat in our drive. They recall that she said something about the tire being recently purchased and under warranty. It appears that Pep Boys replaced your tire under warranty. That would indicate that the tire was not repairable nor would it hold air.
We could have changed your tire, put on your spare or made any repairs you needed had we been asked. As a service we do not charge for changing out your spare. It might have been a help.
So I am trying to figure out what you would like me to do. Since your tire was replaced under warranty, what can I do at this point?
I look forward to your response.
Chris Publow
General Manager
Ted Wiens Tire and Auto Centers
1701 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV, 89104
702-942-8964
From: John
To:
Date: Sun, Feb 24 at 9:23 AM
Thanks for the quick reply.
The tire replacement still ran me $70.00, even though it was replaced under warranty. It would have cost $125.00 without the warranty. I was a little disappointed in the minimal amount that the warranty actually saved me; that's another story though. I have spent numerous hours tending to this issue thus far. On top of the time and money spent, Pepboys couldn't even match the tread on the damaged tire, so now I have two different tread designs on my vehicle. This not only reduces the trade-in value of the vehicle, but also, as I'm sure you're aware, having two different tread designs on the front of the vehicle can produce a less than optimal driving experience at high speeds. All of these annoyances aside, all I ask is that Ted Wien's absorb the cost of the replacement and reimburse the $70.00.
Thank you in advance,
Jg
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From:
To:
Date: Sun, Feb 24 at 8:07 PM
It is unfortunate that Pep Boys treated you so poorly. We can't accept any responsibility for that. We are yet to establish that your tire even was ruined on our lot as you don't have the tire or the road hazard object. If you send me your address I will send you certificate for a free oil change valued at $25.
Again, sorry you had so many problems with your tires and Pep Boys.
C. Publow
From: John
To:
Date: Tue, Feb 26 at 1:13 PM
I don't find that to be an acceptable reimbursement for me being a victim of your "poor housekeeping". Not having the 'evidence' is out of my control. However, the gentleman from roadside assistance that changed my tire that night on your premesis would be willing to attest to the fact that the object in my tire was what I stated it was, and that your parking lot had the same type of object scattered sporadically thoughout, as he is the one who brought that to my attention. He, himself was also very concerned that he may pick up an object from your parking lot during his visit.
I'm not asking for a whole lot here and I have complied with all of your requests (on my own time). I will be pursuing this with organizations that govern businesses like yourself. I will also be formally contacting the media to see if they are interested in investigating the matter. They may have already had similar complaints about this matter towards your establishment. Apparently, "threats" like that are necessary for your business.
Kind Regards,
Jg
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