I can't speak for any of the other stores, but my experience with the Welland store is less than stellar.
I brought to them 4 BRAND NEW rims and tires to get mounted and balanced. These rims are 18" alloy wheels. For that reason, I didn't want to go to Canadian Tire or WalMart to have a minimum wage person doing the job because of their lack of experience in dealing with expensive wheels/tires. Well, when I picked up my wheels/tires today, one of the wheels had a deep scratch in it, along with other minor scuffing around the major scratch. Of course, they denied it was their fault and unless I could prove otherwise, I'm stuck with a damaged brand new wheel. To add insult to injury, they still charged me full price for the work. I even contacted one of the owners of the franchise that works out of the St. Catharines store, and he said that unless I can prove they did the damage, I'm pretty much screwed. :evil:
So take it for what it's worth; If you care at all about workmanship and integrity, then the Welland Niagara Battery & Tire store should NOT be an option.
Ouch, I feel for ya bud. I can't stand when businesses take advantage of people like that. Know a guy here with a similar story, a Grand National, and it was a GM dealership, much damage, much headache/heartache on behalf of the Buick owner. Leaves you shaking your head in disgust.
Sorry about your exerience. I'dd still keep bugging them though, really become a pain in their ***. You got nothing to lose, and they have customers to lose.
I would rather pay to make the customer happy than have my name on the net stating poor service....You prolly will get your pound of flesh.
Sorry you had to go through that though.
I had a shop jack my car improperly and mess my fenders up, of course they denied it and where quiet rude.... grandma is a rights activist, picketed 5 mins and they paid up the damage, refunded original sale and money for rental car
i usually make sure they have a machine that can handle the wide wheel. My dad is a taxi driver, so he has a mechanic that isnt known to the wide public, he never advertises yet he is ALWAYS booked and only works by appointment.
Reputable guy, and he is very "by the book". I took my 17x9.5 to him to mount new tires. he put it on a regular machince, deflated, and as he was trying to pry the tire off onto the hook part of the machine, he stopped, and said, my freind, i dont wanna damage ur rim, my machine cant do it. You need a shop with a special machine, here is one i know of....
Since you werent watching, they probably went ahead and did it anyway. Hence the scratch, and possibly a bend. Did you take any pix of ur rim prior? Maybe u can use that in your favour.
Im gonna be doing the same before i go to another shop.
It's always a good idea to have a worker sign and print their name on a notice stating there is no visable damage to rims (or any other delicate auto part(s)) before you give your items in for work. If they refuse to do so take it elsewhere, or to someone who is reputable and whom you can trust.
It's too easy for people to drop off damaged items (and cars) at garages only to come back and try to blame the garage for the damage and have them pay for it (I'm not saying this is what happened here). And yes, if you can't prove it most garages will stiff you and tell you you're s.o.o.l.
