IM
Ishaan Mehan
Sep 1, 2026
I had an extremely disappointing experience with the manager, Joel, at Advance Auto Parts. I came in because I needed to replace a car battery that I purchased from Advance Auto Parts about two years ago and that was supposed to be under warranty. When I originally purchased the battery, I provided my phone number, as customers are typically asked to do when making these purchases.
Unfortunately, the purchase wasn’t showing up under my phone number or the other family members’ numbers I tried. Because of this, I called Advance Auto Parts customer service to see if they could recover the original receipt. I spoke with Luis, who was extremely helpful, patient, and genuinely tried everything he could to locate the purchase. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to recover it, but I completely appreciated the fact that he actually made an effort to help me.
During the call, Luis needed the part number from the battery to continue searching. I went back inside and spoke with the manager, Joel, since he was the only employee available at that moment. I explained that I was currently on the phone with customer service and simply needed the part number.
Instead of trying to assist me, Joel immediately became rude and hostile. He said things along the lines of, “If it’s not linked with the phone number, we can’t help you.”We can’t do anything about it,” and then questioned me, “Why would you purchase a warranty without linking a phone number?” In a very rude and hostile tone.
That comment was completely unnecessary. I absolutely provided my phone number when I originally purchased the battery. At the end of the day, it is the employee’s responsibility to correctly enter and attach the customer’s information to the purchase. If my information was entered incorrectly or failed to get linked to the warranty, that is not something I had control over.
What made the situation even worse was when I asked Joel for the part number. Instead of helping me locate it, he essentially told me, “Go outside, pop open the hood, and find it yourself.” The battery’s information wasn’t even easily accessible because part of the battery was covered and had to be unscrewed to properly see it. Another employee who had assisted me earlier had already accessed that area while inspecting the battery, so this was information the store could have helped me retrieve.
Throughout the entire interaction, I remained calm, respectful, and polite despite the way Joel was speaking to me. What really says everything about the situation is that Luis from customer service heard the entire interaction over the phone. He apologized to me for the way I was being treated and even offered to document/report what happened. The time and date of the interaction were documented, so this is not simply my word against his.
In the end, I was unable to recover the original purchase and ended up purchasing another battery anyway. I can accept that sometimes records cannot be recovered. What I cannot accept is being spoken to disrespectfully and treated as if I were an inconvenience simply for asking for help—especially by the store manager. Even at checkout I’m literally giving you business and buying a battery and he’s still giving attitude throughout the whole transaction and made a face when my car was parked slightly far away like what kind of customer service is this.
Luis demonstrated exactly what customer service should look like: even though he ultimately couldn’t solve the problem, he was respectful, patient, and genuinely tried to help. Joel’s behavior was the complete opposite, and it was especially disappointing coming from someone in a management position.
Judging by these recent reviews it seems like customer service is something this store lack, so I genuinely hope Advance Auto Parts escalates this matter and re-educates Joel on what it means to work in customer service, particularly when a customer is being nothing but calm, polite, and respectful.