JH
Jordan Hudson
Mar 8, 2026
I am writing to report an extremely disappointing experience I had tonight at the Advance Auto Parts store in Trussville involving an employee named Ronald E.
I came into the store to purchase a battery for my 2016 Nissan Sentra key fob. I explained to Ronald that I had previously purchased a battery from Walmart that turned out to be the wrong one and that I was hoping he could help guide me to the correct one. I handed him my key fob while my fiancé looked up the correct name for the key fob, which Ronald had asked us to do.
While I was showing him the battery I had previously purchased, he abruptly snatched it out of my hand mid-conversation and hung it back under the register where I had picked it up. The interaction already felt uncomfortable and unprofessional.
Eventually he located the correct battery and installed it. At first it didn’t work because the battery appeared to be inserted backwards, but once he corrected it the key fob worked properly. I thanked him and even said, “Thank you so much sir, you’re the man,” because I was glad the issue was resolved.
However, when we walked to the checkout counter, Ronald made an extremely inappropriate comment to my fiancé while I was standing right next to him. He said, “Do you know what would have made this situation easier? If she would have shut her mouth.”
I was shocked by this comment. I had barely spoken more than a few words to him during the entire interaction, as I had been looking at air fresheners and steering wheel covers while my fiancé handled most of the conversation.
When my fiancé asked why he would say something like that to a paying customer, Ronald replied, “The reason no one wanted to help her was because she wouldn’t shut up.”
There was absolutely no reason for him to speak to me that way. I simply told him that his comment was completely uncalled for and then I left the store and waited in my car because I was very upset.
To give some context, I chose to come to this store instead of the O’Reilly Auto Parts across the street, but after this experience I truly regret that decision.
This was my first time visiting Advance Auto Parts, and unfortunately it will also be my last. I am a General Manager of a store in Hoover, and if one of my employees ever spoke to a customer in that manner, I would address it immediately. It takes very little effort to treat people with basic respect.
The smirk on his face as I was leaving the store made the situation even more upsetting. This type of behavior is completely unacceptable and reflects very poorly on the store.
I hope management takes this complaint seriously and addresses the behavior so no other customer is treated this way.