I have used Sears tires since I can remember.... every car, truck or motorcycle I have ever owned wound up with some kind of Sears tire on it... The last set of tires I had put on my truck at Sears were Trailhandlers...whatever... good tires, no trouble. I called about getting another set and they were discontinued. I have been going to this store since it was built in the 70's.. no problems. I always go out there in the bay and stay with my car/truck until I am comfortable with the mechanic that is doing the job. No one has ever said a word to me about being out there... I would have on safety glasses and stood well clear of the guy doing the work and did not interfere unless I saw something that was not as it should be... Like an impact wrench bottoming out really hard on aluminum wheels and the kid just letting the gun run on the nut or not using a criss cross tightening pattern..... silly stuff, I know but that's where warped rotors and bent wheels come from. One guy did not know what a "lug wrench" was and could not (honestly)use it.
Yesterday, after about a week of back and forth with the Automotive department, I wound up buying a set of Goodyear Wranglers for my truck. I wasn't real happy with the decision that I had made as I could have gotten Goodyear from just about anywhere but Sears was Sears....in the past they have done real good work and they stand behind there tires without much hassle. This trip was a little different. The "Assistant Manager" told me I could not be out there with my vehicle... I told him if he was concerned, I would sign a waiver and relieve him of any responsiblity.. I had on safety glasses and was not interfering with the mechanic.. but was not really comfortable with the mechanic just yet because he had jacked the truck up and had the jacks placed in different locations under the rear axle...one on the axle tubing and the other under the shock absorber..kinda "iffy" and the truck was a little crooked setting there in the air. He said I had to leave the area... I told him to "call the Mall Police, 'cause I ain't leaving my truck". He left and came back a few minutes later and told me I had to leave again... I said I would leave, to take the tires off the rims and put my old ones back on and I would go as soon as that was done. He left and came back and said it was ok for me to be there "this time" but "not to come back" that they "did not want my business".
I stayed with my truck until I saw that the mechanic was responsible and went inside. This Assistant Manager has been at this store for approx. 2 weeks (?). I could not find a "Manager" and he would not let the sales associate have the phone number for the head boss in Charleston...He told her to "give him the Customer Care number" I have called the Customer Care number and was put on hold for no less than 40 minutes.. I hung up. The main store manager does not answer the phone and there is no recording.
My question to you guys out there... Am I screwed up in my thinking?? There is no sign nowhere indicating that I cannot go out there and be with my truck...used to be about 25 years ago... they took it down. Even then, they would let you go out there. The mechanic said I was allowed to be out there, that the guy was crazy.
BTW the tires are great....

 

Well I agree and disagree with what you are saying. If you were truley acting as you say you were I would have no problem with you being in my stall at work. Now if you were to act like a Corvett owner then I'd get ****** and tell you to leave cause "no customers allowed in shop".
The manager is a edit and if you have time to wast use it to tell his boss what he has said to you. And further more if you could prove how much business you have given them over the years I would be sure to bring it up in the conversation to his boss, right after you tell him about how he said the company don't want your money!
Justin

 

That's kinda how I felt... if I was in the way, then shoo me off!! I have worked at shops that had the signs up and still let customers in the shop at the foreman's or the mechanic's descretion.... a lot of foremen like to show off their shops.. I did take it up with the area Automotive Department manager...not the store manager as there was not one assigned at the time... He apologized and explained that the policy had been changed about 8 months ago and they were dragging their feet in getting the signs sent out to the stores.... he did not seem too happy about what the assist. manager said about not wanting my business...(the point was not whether I was allowed back there or not but about the assist. manager being obnoxious) I will never buy another thing from sears. I am kicking my butt for buying those tires!!

 

About 15 years or so, I went with my dad to get new tires put on the family car. My dad, like you, always got tires from Sears. He spent an hour looking at tire specs etc., and finally made his decision. My dad always stood right outside of the line painted at the garage door entrance and watched every move they made. This particular trip went well with no mistakes, that is until after the allignment the guy hops in the car with the allignment sensors still mounted on the wheels rips all four of them off by the wires and they all hit the shop floor simultaneously. The best part is that my dad never said a word to him. The guy never told anyone and pulled the next car in and did another allignment without batting an eye. Like your case, it was a Saturday, and the and the weekend manager was no help so a call to Customer Service was in order. A full refund on the allignment was mailed to the house in the form of a check and my dad went have an allignment done elsewhere. I don't remember if the allignment was within tollerances at the 2nd place, but something tells me this was not the first time this happened and that their equipment wasn't callibrated very accurately...

I've had good luck with Tire Kingdom. One of the things I usually do is take the center caps off any car I bring in to have work done. About every one of those tire guys take them off and throw the caps down on their face. Either that or they booger up the notch where you remove them because they can't figure out how to get them off.

 

I feel your pain....

Where I don't go, my truck doesn't go.

My local Dodge dealer (on the two occasions in 10 years that my truck has been there), and my local tire store (recently bought out by Mr. Tire), have no problem with my proximity to my vehicle when being serviced.
My tire guys don't mind me pulling the rear drums and adjusting the rear brakes while they're mounting and balancing my tires.

 

Been there done that. With being a Cat and DD tech. I personally had no problem with the owner there. Most of them had great stories to share as I was hauling A to make my time under the wire. Ole boys that I liked were the Canada boys. Never had dealings with one I didn't like. Kids being kids, was there any small talk? IE. Are you sure thats safe? See where I'm going with this. Being on both sides can answer alot of questions, and bring some up too..HTH

 

Rock,

I'm sure many of us want to keep an eye on things in the service area. I do too. It doesn't matter if there is a sign there or not, it's store policy driven by higher ups.

If the store manager determines he does not want customers in the service area, you have to leave. It's not the customer's call and now is not 30 years ago, it's now. Liability is a huge problem. There are policies determined by others higher up than the service manager and by their insurance company. Do you really think you can start an argument with the service guy, about the safety policy at that store, and win? Come on. Is that how you will get good service from a bad shop?

If you don't like the policy, don't take your vehicle there for service. It's just that simple. Don't think you can just look over the shoulder of some careless wrench jockey, call him on it, then try to alter store policy, and suddenly expect him to become well trained and competent.

As far as I'm concerned, Sears is near the bottom of the barrel anyway, and will never be allowed to work on my truck. They have a history of very shady deals. I don't want their batteries or their tires. The last thing I want to do is go in and argue with a store I already know is bad just to get my way.


PS. One of my buddies was recently in a tire store and told the guy he did not want an impact wrench used on his lugs. The guy got all indignant and said why? When explained to him that he was afraid they would get stripped, the guy said "It's no problem, that only happens a couple of times a day".

 

I watch the guys like a hawk at Discount Tires. One of their "tire techs" began to lift my rear axle by the pumpkin(with my 2000# camper on mind you). I told him to use two jacks and lift the rear by the axle tubes. He gave me a shrug and did it right. I recently went in there for a rebalance and rotation. Taking the truck onto the freeway told me something was not right. It was hopping all over the place. I returned and observed while another team of two rebalanced my tires. Three out of four were off by up to three ozs! I've recently found a garage here run by two ex-Dodge techs. They sell tires at a very low markup and borrow another shop's Hunter balancer and balance the tires themselves. That's where my next tire dollar goes. These guys don't need to be baby sat.

 

Like Rifleman said, I usually have no problem having drivers/vehicle owners near me. I hear some very interesting stories out of truck drivers, and they almost always are willing to help out (other than the foreign, company drivers). Now, if they are being a pain, I tell em we have a waiting room, get in it. Or else get in your truck and sit tight. Like the guy one night was supposed to be watchin traffic for me since my legs were hanging over the white line a lil bit, next thing I know hes under the truck with me, complaining about some hose hanging.

And I saw with my own eyes, a van that just came out of Wal-Marts tire shop, with all 20 lug nuts on backwards, bevel out.

And no offense to tire guys, but anyone can be taught to change a tire in a matter of minutes. They just wanna get the job done as quick as possible, which is why I change my own.

 

Not to be rude here but if you are that worried about how they jack up your truck or use the impact wrench on your rims, why don't you just do it yourself? You can easily take your old set of tires and have them broken down and the new ones beaded up and balanced. Then you can install them on your truck yourself..

I like my cars and trucks as much as the next guy but I usually let the mechanics do their job without sweating them. I think standing over them watching them like a hawk might just make matters worse.

I do take a lug wrench with me when I get new tires and check the lugs when I get the vehicle back though.

 

"Am I screwed up in my thinking??"

You asked. YES. You had no business in there. Just because you say you know what your doing, well so what, 5,000 other guys that don't will say the same thing. How do they know you from the rest of them. If you did get hurt, would you be asking them to pay your bills? Maybe you won't but someone else allowed in there would probably want millions form them. And if you can go in there, then why can't the other 15 people in line go in there too. And to top that off, if it we're me working on your car I wouldn't want you peeping constantly over my shoulder scrutinizing every bolt turned.

I'm wonder why, if your so concerned about work being done right on your vehicle, you would take it to a Sears. In our town, they are about 3rd on the list of being the worst place to take a vehicle for service. My sister took her GMC Jimmy in ours for a trans fluid change. They drained the pan, replaced the filter, then poured 5 quarts of trans fluid into her oil dipstick tube which filled her motor up to the valve covers. Her trans melted about 5 miles away (yes it was slipping bad but we still to this day can't figure out why she didn't stop) and all the added pressure in her engine blew the intake gaskets apart. Sears said they didn't do it.

 

IMO---- Sears is one step ahead of Jiffy Lube---maybe. If they don't know how to jack my truck up properly and they come near my custom wheels or chrome lug nuts with an impact wrench or they have a hard time trying to figure out how to open the hood I probably need to look somewhere else. The shop has a choice as to whether to allow me to watch them work on my truck---I also have a choice of were I take my truck for repair and where I spend my money. I chose to work on my truck myself and the "boss" can watch all she wants---that's my choice!!!!
Jay

 

I had a new boss once, that decided he would look over my should, very closely, for several days, so he could learn everything about what was going on. A quick trip to the Taco Bell put a stop to that.

 

Can't argue with "logic"... should have learned my lesson by then....always willing to give another chance... no more, I guess. It had never been a problem in the past...since the 70's..... let me be clear...on this trip, the mechanic was thorough and professional. The way I was approached and confronted by the assistant manager is what bothered me. And then the illiterate e-mail that I received from his boss was the icing on the cake.

 

I got 4 new truck tires at sears once, 3 where the same and one was totally different.
They were raised white letter, all the same brand but the odd one was a different tread design, I got 3 A/T's and one highway tread.
I didn't notice until I got home, it was on passenger side, rear,took it back and the manager was not happy
He started to put the blame on me " You didn't notice?"
Then he realized how bad he sounded, I got a matching tire.
I should have been watching that day