0:00
Company fixed the issue and I have been provided with apology
0:08
It all began when I wanted to take advantage of the epic sale they had in November, beginning on the 12th
0:18
I needed tires for a while, so I went ahead and checked around
0:25
I had used Firestone before and had no problems. Many times I've used them
0:31
Just on a whim, I checked with them after checking many other places, first for prices for tires
0:40
They weren't Firestone tires, they were Toyo tires, but they carry that brand or can get them
0:47
I knew that. Long story short, I called and I told them about a week before the size of tires that I wanted
0:56
I wanted four of the 285, 50, or 20s, which I had gone over months in research and talking to various tire people
1:08
Not them, but other ones, and decided that would be the tire that I wanted to use to get the effect I wanted on my SUV
1:16
So that's what I did. That was my involvement. I called, made an appointment after that for 930 on the 9th of November, which was a Thursday
1:28
My appointment was for 9 a.m. I was there at 9.03. They didn't begin my car until 12.30 or later
1:38
I waited and I, of course, went into work early and then left work
1:45
So I was physically at Firestone dealer all day. That's basically my involvement
1:52
It was telling them to please order these four tires for my appointment next week
1:57
And that's when it started. They went and installed the tires. They put them on
2:02
I also had an alignment that I wanted to get done because I have a lifetime alignment with that company
2:08
So basically what happened is nobody checked to see if the tires fit properly
2:18
The backs fit fine. The fronts were too wide. We found this out after the fact because they rubbed
2:27
My contention here is, as they installed the tires, they had one technician that installed them
2:35
Nobody told me there was any issues, any problems. They took it down off the lift, backed it up, moved it over, went on to the alignment rack
2:43
Another technician sat underneath my car, looking up, doing the suspension work adjustments needed to align the wheels the right way
2:54
or this way, I should say, and could have clearly seen, had he been paying attention, that there was an issue
3:03
Nothing was said. Then, when I was ready to go later in the afternoon, they backed the car off of the alignment rack
3:12
drove it a little ways, and backed it into a parking stop. Then I went up and paid, and I left
3:20
When I left, I could tell immediately that the car did not turn freely. It was not the normal way
3:30
As I drove out and started on the main road, I could smell burning rubber, and I could see smoke billowing out from underneath the front of my car
3:40
I didn't know if the car was on fire or what was going on. Eventually, as I'm looking for a place to pull over and turn around
3:49
another driver frantically came up next to me and was pointing at my car to get my attention
3:55
Bro, bro, your car's on fire. I pulled in, and he stopped with me as well, which was very nice of him
4:03
That's when I noticed that they were rubbing on the shock tower. What it was doing was carving out brand new tires
4:13
It took and carved out about three-quarters of an inch of the tread would be up here, carved out, because it was rubbing like this
4:20
It just carved it out all the way around like this. The problem is, when I got back to the Firestone dealer, I'm going, didn't you check? What's going on here
4:35
The guy basically implied that it was my fault. Every time I've gone to Firestone, they've done a road test, even when I don't want them to do it because I want to leave
4:54
They go, no, we've got to do a road test. Had they done a road test, that would have been the final check
5:00
They would have known I became the unpaid Firestone employee doing the road test, basically, is what that was
5:09
The gentleman that was helping me at that time, not the technician, basically said, you're going to have to pay for these, pay for two new tires
5:20
I go, why is that my responsibility? You're the tire experts. Long story short, if I didn't pay, I was not going to get my car back because that's what he said
5:32
I was in backups against the wall. The funny thing is, this happened twice. I missed work for two and a half days
5:41
I didn't have a car for two and a half days, missed work for one and a half days
5:46
I'm out there as well. While I was away the following day, later the same day, I should say, once they realized they were too big and weren't going to fit, then they realized, well, we probably need a smaller size in the front
6:06
They ordered a smaller size, I assume, from the same warehouse that they ordered the original ones
6:15
Those arrived on the Friday. I was not there. I waited the whole day the first time, but I was off site the second day when the second replacement tires arrived
6:27
They put those on. I got a phone call saying, hey, we checked, these don't fit either
6:34
I find that very odd that then they tell me the second time that the tires they ordered did not fit
6:47
Then finally, they ordered another set for the front only, and that would be for install on the Saturday, and those fit without rubbing
6:59
They call me up and say, come on down, pick up your car
7:06
I asked them one more time. Actually, one guy gave me a ride home, and I said, so you get to talk to your boss
7:14
Why should I have to be paying for these tires? I go, my only involvement was telling him these are the sizes that I want
7:23
My guess is they screwed up by not doing a road test
7:29
They also screwed up. They could have found out three separate instances is my contention
7:35
When they first put them on the car, when it was up on the rack, a simple spin of the wheel like this or even looking, you would have been able to immediately see that they were rubbing
7:45
When the alignment was done, they would have been able to see that they were rubbing
7:51
In between when they drove them from the different spots and when they parked it, they would immediately know that they were rubbing because you could tell that it was not steering correct
8:02
Now, I don't know if it's company policy for a road test, but every time I've been firestone, as I say, they've always done a road test
8:13
And as I mentioned, sometimes when I don't want them to because I want to lead and they tell me no
8:20
Where I work over at U-Haul for liability purposes, if we put on a trailer, hook up a trailer to someone, we have to take photos of how we hooked it up for proof that it was done correctly for liability
8:38
And I can imagine that in Firestone employee training, I can't imagine that it is not a mandatory requirement
8:48
There's human lives at stake. If they don't get the lug nuts down tight on something, a wheel could come off
8:55
I mean, human lives are at stake. So it would be even more important, in my opinion, to check tire installation more so than a trailer in our case
9:09
So my contention basically is they were negligent. Nobody had three opportunities to check that they didn't rub
9:18
They did not. And now their excuse was, well, you told us to order it in the tight
9:24
That's why you have to pay for it. And that makes no sense to me
9:29
I've traded with that particular store numerous times over the years. Yeah, that's basically what I'm asking them to do is reimburse me for the $395, whatever it is extra that I had to pay, $395.26 for the extra two tires
9:50
They're the expert. I'm a customer. Why is it my responsibility to make sure everything fits and works properly
10:00
That's what I'm paying them for. I'm a customer
