Mondays at the tire shop

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by DaGrinch

Interesting. I might download something like that. We occasionally have a language barrier at my work.

See screenshot

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by wmtire

We finished the tire and got paid. I gave the man his change and he called his boss back. He then walks back in and asks for his change, where I had to remind him I just gave it to him.

I wonder if that was by accident. I had a friend in highschool that somehow gave away something like $115 to someone who kept asking him to make change at the grocery store he worked at.

Turns out, it's not incredibly uncommon.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by Mountndream

most of the language barriers I encounter at work are due to the other person not understanding Common sense. Is there a translator for that?

If you find it, please let me know. I have one of those type employees right now. I can't let him use a ladder, as he would get lost.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by wmtire

Had a customer yesterday who purchased a set of tires from us in March 2016 according to her receipt. She said her driver front tire was dry rotted, and we would have to warranty it.

I told her we would need to look at it. So we went outside and I started looking at the sidewall, which had no age cracking in the least. She saw where I was looking and told me no, it was in the tread. As I glanced at the tread, I still didn't see any age cracking. She starts showing me these places where the tread is actually chewed up on edges, and called that dry rot.

I explained to her, that's not what that is, and the usual cause of that is from driving on gravel/dirt roads...and it would be on her other front tire as well. She said it wasn't, but we walked over and I pointed out the same on it.

She then admitted she lived off a gravel road, and then asked if we could adjust them anyway. I told her that this was not a tire defect, and then showed her the tread wear indicators that were almost even across the tread, which shows a legally worn out tire. Explained to her that she wouldn't get any adjustment even if the tires had a defect.

She didn't really argue much after that.

This is one of those situations where I am not sure if she really didn't know better, or was trying to get something for nothing.

Maybe both[emoji6]

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Mountndream

most of the language barriers I encounter at work are due to the other person not understanding Common sense. Is there a translator for that?

This is why companies are working so hard to developing Artificial Intelligence. We're running out of the natural kind.[emoji4]

[wmtire]

Just had a woman call on the phone about fixing a lawnmower and wheelbarrow tire. After I said we could probably tube them, she said she was parked outside by our garbage dumpster and could we come get them.

When we went outside, she was nowhere to be seen. I called the number on the caller ID and some man answered. I told him who I was, and he kind of gnawed on me and said she had gotten out to take the tires inside, but was mad that we didn't come out when we said we would.

I laughed and told him that she is not at the place she called, and he may want to try and stop her, before she goes too far with it. He laughed and got off the phone.

I wonder which one of my competitors is getting an undeserved earful right now. Lol

[Bluepill]

Not all who wander are lost....................But lots are.

[wmtire]

The couple above actually showed up right at closing. The woman was laughing and said my competitor had no idea what she was talking about when she confronted him, saying she had just talked to him on the phone.

She did say they told her where I was, and she then came to my shop......so I guess it all worked out

[Iwannacamp]

Originally Posted by wmtire

I downloaded a text/speech translation app to my phone. When I encounter language barriers, I use it. It helps tremendously and has helped me make money.

The customer and I can either type or speak, and the app translates it into text for the other party. There are several free ones in the Google play store. Here is a screenshot of the English/Spanish one I use a lotAttachment 208359

I just searched that app. There is NO wife translator.

Do you have a link to that?

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by wmtire

The couple above actually showed up right at closing. The woman was laughing and said my competitor had no idea what she was talking about when she confronted him, saying she had just talked to him on the phone.

She did say they told her where I was, and she then came to my shop......so I guess it all worked out

Similar story-

My late wife was working in a Tire Store when I met her. Lady customer came in one day, said she was there for new tires for her car. My then girlfriend took care of all the details, size, quality level, etc. Had the guys in shop install them.
When it came time for the woman to pay she asked if she just wrote the check to (name of large competitor). My soon to be wife advised her she wasn't in that store. Woman paused, and said "now what do I do".

Future wife asked if the other store had given her any tire info and price on the phone. Turned out tires and price were almost exactly the same. Woman said she was so pleased with the service she was happy she made the mistake and if her hubby didn't like it, tough xxxx.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Mountndream

most of the language barriers I encounter at work are due to the other person not understanding Common sense. Is there a translator for that?

Yep, it's called a ball bat to the side of the head.

Deep down though, don't you wish you could?

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by wmtire

I laughed and told him that she is not at the place she called, and he may want to try and stop her, before she goes too far with it. He laughed and got off the phone.

I once called and ordered food from my home phone.

Showed up at the restaurant and they had no idea who I was or why I was asking about my food. "Doug" never placed an order.

Spent the next 15 minutes figuring out where I *DID* call and order food from. It was cold by the time I got it, stupid restaurant!

[wmtire]

This is just another example of why you can't always believe a customer will do what they say...no matter how hard you press the point.


We had a couple come in the shop Monday a week ago. They had a softball size bubble on the side of their front left tire, which actually popped by the time they pulled their vehicle into the shop.


Now here is where it gets good, and not sure if they told the truth or not...but just have to go with their explanation. Their vehicle has two 15 inch aluminum wheels on the rear, but a pair of 14 inch steel wheels on the front (which one just popped a tire). They sated they had the matching 15 inch aluminum rims in their trunk, but a mechanic had previously put the 14 inch wheels on their car since he did not have a 15 inch tire to go on one of the wheels they needed, and told them they had to change both front wheels to 14 inch to keep them as a pair.


So in reality all they needed was one 15 inch tire mounted on their aluminum wheel and put back on the car, and the other 15 inch tire/aluminum wheel just reinstalled back on their car.


So we go to do this, but run into a snag. The 14 inch wheels installed on the car, did not actually fit the car. The center holes did not go over the hub. Someone just tried to make them force fit by tightening the lugnuts too much, which effectively ruined all the studs/lugnuts.


We explained all of this to the customer, and they just asked if we could get them back on enough to take it to their mechanic, to get all of the studs replaced. We were able to do that, and they assured me they were leaving my shop to go to their mechanic.


Well, this same customer pulls back in yesterday evening, saying her steering wheel was shaking. I looked at their front tire, and there was a stud now missing completely and other lugnuts loose. I asked her if she got the studs replaced like they assured me they were going to do cause I had told her they were ruined from the wrong wheels being forced on them. She said they haven't had time.


I told her that she would have to call a tow truck now, as she couldn't drive on the car with a missing stud (and only had 3 out of 4). She got a mechanic/friend to come to the shop who was planning to just tighten up what she had to drive it to his shop. When we explained what had happened, he was shaking his head. He broke 2 more out of the 3 trying to tighten them, so she was down to 1.



He asked if he could just leave the car in our parking lot and he would fix it there, today. We are supposed to have some heavy rains this evening due to Barry, so we will see how that goes.


This is another example of why you can't always believe what a person says they will do....and why we do not do certain things, no matter what a customer says. One of my favorites is people wanting to get tires out of our junk pile, saying they are just going to use it for a spare...when we know full well they are planning on running it. The answer we give is always NO.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by wmtire

One of my favorites is people wanting to get tires out of our junk pile, saying they are just going to use it for a spare...when we know full well they are planning on running it. The answer we give is always NO.

In some areas of the country our Dealers would often come to their stores to open in the morning only to find that during the night someone had rummaged through the scrap pile to find a couple good tires. There's be tires spread all over. Some Dealers also reported that later in the day people would come in with used tires to be mounted.

As the retread industry declined and dealers no longer got paid for good the good tire carcass many just put a big cut in the sidewall to take the old tire permanently out of circulation.

BTW, in many if not most cases the term "My Mechanic" really means Brother in Law or Neighbor.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

BTW, in many if not most cases the term "My Mechanic" really means Brother in Law or Neighbor.

Oh yeah, sometimes it's the husband/boyfriend.

Back on the junk tire piles, one of my fellow dealers across the river (and he is one the largest by tire sales volume in the area) afew years back gave a tire to a real mechanic who pulled it out of the junk pile. This mechanic actually worked for a car dealership and took it back there to mount it himself on his personal vehicle.

Well the tire separated and this mechanic rolled his car. He then sued the tire dealer.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by wmtire

Oh yeah, sometimes it's the husband/boyfriend.

Back on the junk tire piles, one of my fellow dealers across the river (and he is one the largest by tire sales volume in the area) afew years back gave a tire to a real mechanic who pulled it out of the junk pile. This mechanic actually worked for a car dealership and took it back there to mount it himself on his personal vehicle.

Well the tire separated and this mechanic rolled his car. He then sued the tire dealer.

Maybe he had a relative that was a lawyer

[wmtire]

When I get to a real computer, I'll find it in the appeal court online files, which are public and give the details.

The mechanic lost the suit on the local level and the appeals court level. They said as a mechanic he should have been able to discertain if a tire was bad or not....and that with the fact the dealer did not sell or mount the tire.

I was surprised the courts used common sense.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by wmtire

When I get to a real computer, I'll find it in the appeal court online files, which are public and give the details.

The mechanic lost the suit on the local level and the appeals court level. They said as a mechanic he should have been able to discertain if a tire was bad or not....and that with the fact the dealer did not sell or mount the tire.

I was surprised the courts used common sense.

That is shocking

Now if this had happened in California --------------

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by wmtire

I was surprised the courts used common sense.

Means it probably wasn't a jury trial. Jury's love to give other people's $$ away.

[wmtire]

Here is the link:


http://www.la2nd.org/archives/docs/eda24b.pdf