Tire Rack customer service - subpar

[lyle]

I ordered a winter tire and wheel package online last Tuesday, the 13th on November. I chose to pick it up at a distribution center located 15 minutes from my house. Everything I ordered was in stock and online it stated it would be ready for pickup as soon as Thursday the 15th. No issues encountered ordering and I received an email very shortly after ordering confirming my order and to look for an email soon informing me that my order would be ready for pickup.

So Thursday rolls around and no email was received, and neither was one received on Friday. It was not an issue because I really didn't need it until after the weekend. Monday the 19th comes and by noon I had not received an email yet. I call Tire Rack, give them my order number, request status, and the lady tells me that MY ORDER HAS BEEN READY FOR PICKUP SINCE TUESDAY THE 13TH. I ask her how can that be since I only ordered on the 13th. She says that an email was sent on the 13th and I must have not received it. I told her that yes I received an email on the 13th CONFIRMING MY ORDER. She tells me that according to her records my order was ready for pickup on the 13th.

I politely beg off and hang up because I know that their shipping is fast but it is not that fast. I call back about half an hour later and talk to another person who tells me that my order was ready for pickup on Friday the 16th, delivery to the distribution center was the previous day. I asked why wasn't I sent an email and he said that "they" must have forgot or the "system" had a glitch.

I picked up my order this afternoon and soon after, received an email from Tire Rack stating that my order was still being held at the distribution center and would be held for only one more week before they would cancel my order. My eyes hurt from rolling so much...

 

[Traction]

Just a glitch. I just installed 2 road hazard tires through Tirerack on a 2014 Audi A8 that were ordered yesterday morning. 265/40-20's, shipped, mounted ,balanced, and installed back on their car in their home garage at 3:30 today. I also had one of the wheels that got bent repaired this morning by a mobile wheel repair guy, 2 hours before the tires
arrived. That was a challenge, but worked out on a holiday week, and they didn't have a car. I'm a TR installer BTW.
Both left side tires had impact damage from a pothole, punching a big hole in the outer sidewalls, going instantly flat, and no low tire light even after driving it 4 blocks home destroying the inner liner with a handful of rubber crumbs too.
Also, when ordering my own tires from TR, I just do it the old fashion way, and order by phone. They always answer, and talk to you..

 

[Leo99]

Maybe they'll cancel your order and refund your money.

 

[14Accent]

It was a glitch.

I actually think the order probably WAS ready on the 13th. That warehouse is huge, and they DO mount and balance winter tire packages there. If you ordered early enough, they had both the rims and tires on hand, and had the time, they could easily be ready same day.

Either way, you got your stuff and you weren't in a hurry for it anyways. Minor oversight.

 

[MCompact]

I've never had the slightest problem with Tire Rack; I've dealt with them since 1992, when I bought my E24 M6.

 

[va2001ss]

Originally Posted by 14Accent
It was a glitch.

I actually think the order probably WAS ready on the 13th. That warehouse is huge, and they DO mount and balance winter tire packages there. If you ordered early enough, they had both the rims and tires on hand, and had the time, they could easily be ready same day.

Either way, you got your stuff and you weren't in a hurry for it anyways. Minor oversight.


This year my Winter Tire package was shipped the same day I ordered it and delivered 2 days later. I've been a Tire Rack customer for 17 years and have never had any trouble either.

 

[DuckRyder]

I have done quite a bit of business with Tire Rack going back to something like 1990 perhaps before... They have gotten worse as they grew, but they have always tried to make it right. I chronicled one of my experiences here some years ago. More recently they told me that a tire I needed was discontinued and unavailable anywhere - which was malarky according to the manufacturer and the local dealer who had it in two days. I think this amounts to pure laziness and not actually checking... at least I prefer that to the alternative that the rep just wanted to sell me 4 new tires rather than trying to match the other 3 4000 mile tires I needed.

8 years ago I would have told you you would not receive better customer service anywhere, now I won't say that. Still they are worth considering and it is also worth letting them know about your experience (I always do).

 

[MNgopher]

I picked up at the same distribution center last week. When I ordered just my tires, they said they would be available on Monday. The day after my order, I got the email and text they were ready for pickup (on Thursday).

I will state when I was there they were extremely busy. I was # 6 in line at the window when I got there, and the nice gal indicated that was the shortest the line had been all day. And if you tried calling any tire shops in the last two weeks, they have been booked solid. I had to wait a week+ to get my tires mounted and balanced at my preferred shop.

May just be an artifact of an overloaded system at the moment.