Sears Tire Balance Rant

[mechtech2]

I perceive that the world becoming over populated with ineffectuals, unprofessionals, and incompetents.

Various good reasons allowed me to get a set of tires at Sears [Oakbrook, Il], with full road warranty and lifetime balancing.

When I got home I notice that the old stick on weights were still on, in addition to the new [requested] clamp on ones.
Call Sears and argue, as the mgr swears up and down that he personally saw the old weights removed.
Bring it back and show another mgr the problem, and drop the car off and go waste a few hours.
Pick the car up, and notice the old weights are still on, and rebalanced with new clamp on ones.
This can't be happening.
I loudly informed the mgr and all customers within earshot what I think of their competence.
He then tells me to leave, and calls Security!
At this point, potty mouth words are freely flowing from me.
'Security' shows up. Does not tell me who he is, has no clothing to suggest his status, and shows no ID. I point this out to him, and he looks baffled and leaves.
A 3rd mgr comes over [laughing] and quickly gets my car properly serviced.

Like I said, just a rant.

 

[JHZR2]

sounds about right...

don't you have the ability to do that yourself????

My favorite (and it has happened more than once) is when a tire states "this side out", and they get mounted backwards.

 

[Donald]

Sears "security" are mostly just employees watching video screens to catch shoplifters. They also help with collecting cash from cash registers.

 

[dishdude]

Never use potty words when dealing with a company. It gives them the excuse to dismiss you and no longer deal with you. I wouldn't let my car set foot in a retail chain's auto center....sears, midas, pepboys, monroe...they all suck.

 

[Cutehumor]

Mechtech2,

can you see why some of us hate dealing with shops? Were either lied to or the work isn't done right. too much of a headache either way.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

There's a reason Sears is going under and it's not just the economy.

 

[doitmyself]

It's not just Sears and it's not just auto technicians. I have problems with shoddy work from building/construction workers, electricians, plumbers, etc.. If you find good ones, treat them as royalty to keep them.

What burns me here in Michigan is how they promote only using trained, skilled trades Union workers. Don't get me wrong, I respect the good ones and their craftmanship.

Most recently I repaired a soffit porch light on our house. I'm surprised it didn't catch fire the way it was installed after new aluminum siding.

 

[aaxb970]

Ohhhh nooo Sears security! Active green and Ross run the Sears tire services here in Ontario and IMO they suck [censored]! Too over priced and not very professional!

 

[mrsilv04]

After having a similar experience, I remove all of the old weights myself. If there's no old weights, then they aren't there to get in the way.

 

[soldierman]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
After having a similar experience, I remove all of the old weights myself. If there's no old weights, then they aren't there to get in the way.


Thats the best way I've found to do it as well.

 

[kingrob]

I've hated Sears Automotive for years. Tire issues are the main reason.

 

[oilyriser]

The cause of this is our ever growing bloated bureaucracy. It's government and corporations. All the skilled, professional, intelligent types are being recruited into highly paid bureaucratic jobs, leaving us dummies to do all the grunt work.

What if your local surgeon had decided to become a mechanic instead? You could have the proverbial "change spark plugs through the exhaust" done on your car.

 

[Hirev]

I stopped doing business with sears in the 80s. Way to many issues with them even back then.

 

[mechtech2]

JHZR2 - Yes, I could have used the old Hoffman balancer at the old shop.
But this Sears thing was a paid for service, due to unusual circumstances.

A shop is only as good as it's worst employee.

 

[dishdude]

I talked to a guy who used to work there, and back in the old days (80's) they would put a quota on how many brake jobs, struts, alignments, etc. that you would have to sell. It didn't matter if you didn't get the required number of vehicles in that had bad struts or needed a brake job, you were required to hit the numbers.

 

[Chris142]

I like it when a tire store balances a tire. Then they respin it and add another weight opposite the 1st, spin it again and add a 3rd somewhere in the middle etc.

The proper way to balance a tire is to spin it once , add weight and put it on the car. Respinning it is a waste of time.

Now some tires need more than a normal amount of weight. Say a 165/80/r13 tire requires 4 oz to balance it.

Something is wrong! Check for a bent rim. If it's not bent then they should break the tire down and rotate it 180 on the rim and see if that takes less weight. Usually it does.

The larger the tire the more weight it may need and a 35 inch tall truck tire might require 4 or so ounces.

When you see 2 or more weights on a rim right next to each other you will know that the tire guy was really lazy that day.