On Sunday, March 23rd, I was driving in a typical Portland downpour, when I ran over something in the road, consequently flattening my tire. I pulled over in a parking lot to put on the donut, which I discovered was low on air, and I could have sworn I had asked Les Schwab to service the donut when I had had new tires installed last fall. Because it was Sunday (Les Schwab's hours are not the most convenient), I knew I would have to baby the car on it's shotty donut to Les Schwab the next morning to have it repaired. I showed up the next morning promptly at 8am.
They tried to claim that my warranty did not cover my situation, and attempted to sell me a new tire for $75. I pointed to their warranty, which clearly states that damage due to unexpected road debris would be covered for free. They tried to claim that, because the damage was on the side of the tire, it was not covered, and even accused me of running into a curb. I pointed out that, #1- I was an honest person, and if that were the case, I would accept my responsibility and buy a new tire, and I certainly wouldn't have lied about the situation! #2- the damage was located on the driver's side front tire, how often does the driver's side of the car come in contact with a curb? #3- there were no rubbing marks on the tire to indicate that I had rubbed up on a curb to cause the gouge in the side of the tire.
After much discussion with Allen, and Tim (or so said his name tag, his co-workers kept referring to him as "jonathon") Allen told me reluctantly that they would "take care of me", and all the while they made it sound as if they were doing me a HUGE favor just because I wanted them to honor their warranty. After "Tim" installed the tire, he came to the counter, and told me my total was $34.60. I told him Allen said he would take care of me and they were going to honor the warranty. Allen was nowhere to be found of course, and I was already 2 hours late for work, and "Tim" could not even adequately explain to me what the $34.60 was for, and honestly, I was tired of fighting with them.
So, I paid the money for a service that should have been free, then went out to my car. They hadn't even checked and aired the rest of my tires like I had requested when submitting my order! The whole reason I started buying my tires from these guys was the piece of mind of having a warranty that covered those "things" that happen unexpectedly in life, and the good customer service they promised.
After my experience this morning, I am considering taking my business to a company that has more convenient hours, doesn't accuse me of lying when trying to utilize a warranty that I paid for, and doesn't seem hell-bent on making a bad day carry over into the next.
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