The customer service here is in the toilet now. Definitely not how I experienced this place in the past. The folks working there now either have no people skills, or they reserve said skills for certain people.
I'm not sure if it was an age thing (I'm only in my 30s, mind you), a fear of speaking to Black people, a fear of speaking to queer people, or a mix of all 3 - but everybody acted like they forgot how to use their words when I walked in and I am not fond of giving my hard-earned money to people who act like that towards me. The energy was very off-putting and awkward.
I booked an appointment online yesterday for a simple tire change & alignment. I scheduled this for 9am today. I was coming from Springfield, so I showed up a little early. I believe it was 8:40am when I parked. The sign on their door and the info on their Google page says they open at 9am on Sundays, but nobody was there yet. So, I just sat in my car and waited. It's Sunday after all, and maybe folks were having a late start. Not a problem. 👍🏾
They show up one by one, and all go inside around 9:20 when the manager (I assume) shows up. I was growing annoyed at this point because I'd been in my car so long, but I still waited a few minutes just to be considerate and give them time to get ready for the day.
I walk in around 9:30am, and am greeted with confused faces and a "Hey bro, what do you need?" First off - nobody in there is my "bro", so I immediately got the ick. lol. Like, what..? 🤨
I greeted them. Said my name, and let them know that I had a 9am appointment.
Confusion swept across everybody's faces (again) as if I was speaking another language. "Yeah, for what?" says who I'm assuming is the manager.
I was now confused. So, I looked around and said, "For tires? I booked a tire change. Did you not get my appointment booking..?"
He then asks, "Did you get the tires sent here?"
Again, I'm confused because at no point did he just check for my appointment on the computer between us. I mean, if I received a confirmation email after booking the appointment, I'd imagine it would be in their system as well, no?
I am asked to go out to pull my car up to the first bay. He comes out a bit later to guide my car to the right position and asks me (again) what I'm there to do/have done.
Sigh…... "I booked a tire change. I'd like to change all 4 tires, please." He just goes inside and doesn’t say anything. Not a, “Can you follow me”… Not a, “I'll need to get a little more info”… Not even a “wait here”, lol. I got nothing. Okay? Cool, I guess.
So, not knowing what to do, I get out of the car, grab my book & my headphones, leave the keys on the seat and get ready to walk to the side of the building to sit and read while I wait.
One of the folks awkwardly standing there like he was uncomfortable proceeds to mumble (they all seemed unable to speak in full sentences at an audible volume) to me, “You’ll need to go in and talk to him.” Sure. Thanks for the heads up, I think..? lol.
So, inside I go. I'm then asked, "What kind of tires?"
Sigh......... "Well, I did book online. I could pull up the confirmation. It should all be on there..."
I pull it up in my email and show him my phone. He looks up briefly, says nothing, and then starts doing something in the computer. He asks if I've been there before, and I told him I had. He then mumbles a quote to me as if his voice has also stopped working or something. I agree to it because at this point I just want to leave. Smh.
Mind you, while all of this is happening, not ONCE did I receive an apology or any acknowledgement that they were late and that my service was started late. What if I had other stuff to do today? Instead, I am treated like I'm just an annoying customer not worthy of a complete sentence.
Yeah… It just wasn’t for me. I don’t even have an opinion on the work done to my tires because the customer service left so much to be desired. Definitely won’t be going back.