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DrBoost
DrBoost MegaDork
6/6/24 3:33 p.m.

I'm posting this as a warning to all who read this, as urge you to pass this along. We took our car to a Firestone #Firestone here in Florida to get new tires. The car is a low-mile car that is well maintained and kept clean inside and out.

We picked up the car after-hours and found the interior to have greasy hand and fingerprints all over the door panel and center console. The driver's seat had filth all over both bolsters on the seat back and bottom and a cut in the seat bottom, outer bolster. There was grease on the steering wheel and they didn't wash the tires/wheels after installation so the grease used to mount the tires was all over the wheels.

I went up to the store the next morning. The manager never offered an apology and never came to look at the car. He just said he'd let the third party claims company know, and that they'd contact us. Like this is a regular occurrence for them. They didn't. I've had to call the store numerous times and after 10 days they say they are denying the claim. Why? Did they look at the car and determine that we cut our own seat? Did they see all the grease all over the light leather interior and determine that we are nasty people and that we keep our vehicle filthy?

No, they are denying our claim because we didn't report the claim to the store before we drove the car home. This is shady stuff here. I'm sure they will refuse to even look at the car, and refuse to pay.

They got our money, don't let them get yours.

The claims manager doesn't even have the stones to put his last name in his e-mail. From the way the manager acted (no apology, no attempt to even wipe the filth off) and the vague name for the Sr. Store Claims Specialist, clearly this is a regular thing for Firestone.

Michael J

Sr. Store Claims Specialist

Bridgestone Retail Operations

200 4th Ave South | Nashville, TN 37201

Phone: (615) 937-4030

Fax: (615) 454-9261

#suckymanager #badcustomerservice


Update: I filed a claim with the BBB and basically the BBB closed it after 24 hours because either Firestone said they ain't gonna address it, or Firestone has a history of wrecking stuff and not fixing it. 

Not sure what my next step here is. I can't just sit by and let them do this.

 

when I first saw the cut I thought, could that be a wear issue? The cut edge is as white as snow, as is the material under the cut. If that was worn through the cut edge wouldn't be that clean or crisp, and the material under wouldn't be pristine. 

grover
grover Dork
6/6/24 3:56 p.m.

Ugh. I'm sorry to hear that. 

dculberson
dculberson MegaDork
6/6/24 3:58 p.m.

I wonder if it would be worth a call to your insurance agent? Or filing a police report - they damaged your property which is a crime, but might be a "civil issue" in which case small claims might be possible.

jimbob_racing
jimbob_racing SuperDork
6/6/24 4:00 p.m.

Maybe try a charge back with your payment source?

dean1484
dean1484 MegaDork
6/6/24 4:00 p.m.

Facebook and Google reviews are your only recourse at this point.  Since this will most likely barely get you out of small claims court and you probably don't have any documentation of the pre-delivery condition of the car to them it will be your word against them.

Your best course of action is to suck it up and get it fixed and NEVER EVER TAKE YOUR CAR TO A CHAIN STORE OPERATION AND EXPECT ANYTHING MORE THAN THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL SERVICE.  It is just the way it is.  Yes, there are some good people at some of them but this is the exception, not the norm.

The crack in the seat looks like an old vinyl seat that someone sat in and it folded over and cracked (age-related)  How old is the car?

It sucks but you are SOL.  Get it behind you ASAP and get on with your life.

triumph7
triumph7 Dork
6/6/24 4:31 p.m.

Sorry to hear about your experience but I've had both of our cars to the local Firestone with no problem other than needing to make an appointment to get a tire plugged.

I would have taken the Corvette there for tires but they didn't have tires to fit it.

dculberson
dculberson MegaDork
6/6/24 4:32 p.m.

Dean is probably right, but you decide how much you're willing to put into it. I stopped using the local Firestone when I took a car in for tires and they told me the brake fluid was "really black" and needed flushed. I had flushed it the day before dropping the car off. Sounds like I got a cheap lesson. Sorry you're having to deal with this.

Fueled by Caffeine
Fueled by Caffeine MegaDork
6/6/24 4:52 p.m.

Report to your insurance company. They will go after the stores insurance.  

DrBoost
DrBoost MegaDork
6/6/24 5:27 p.m.

In reply to dean1484 :

The car is a 2016 with 70K miles. If it were age-related the cut edges would be just as dirty as the seat, as would the material under it. The cut edges and material under it are white as the driven snow. 

I've used Firestone exactly twice. The first time I was young and naive. The second was out of convenience. Both were terrible experiences. I was subjected to aggressive service upsells and blatant deception both times (different locations in different states years apart).

I will never use them ever again.

I'm sorry you're dealing with this Dr. Boost. The nuclear option would be to get a hold of the local news media and raise a stink on their corporate media accounts. Make sure they can't ignore you.

Slippery
Slippery UltimaDork
6/6/24 5:52 p.m.

I only use Costco for tires and have always had great service, but I'd say its very store dependent. Same with Firestone and anyone else. 

I would:

1. Check the seat mounting bolts and make sure it has not been removed/swapped. Its difficult to cut a seat by mistake, you have to be quite reckless. 

2. Call your insurance and let them deal with it. 

1988RedT2
1988RedT2 MegaDork
6/6/24 5:53 p.m.

I stay away from quickie-lube places and tire stores.  If I want tires, I order from tire rack or go to Costco.  I have a trusted local guy that will do a good job with mount and balance for reasonable.

Sorry for your pain, but I hear too many similar stories.

jharry3
jharry3 Dork
6/6/24 6:17 p.m.

I guess the only answer is look at on-line reviews of stores before  you go to them.   If the store pi$$ed off enough people they will post it on line. 

If  I find some on line reviews that are terrible with a few sprinkled in lauding their wonderful service I figure the manager had his friends and relatives juice up those reviews.   

chandler
chandler MegaDork
6/6/24 9:35 p.m.
DrBoost said:

In reply to dean1484 :

The car is a 2016 with 70K miles. If it were age-related the cut edges would be just as dirty as the seat, as would the material under it. The cut edges and material under it are white as the driven snow. 

I don't think he is saying the crack already existed; I think he was saying that due to the condition when it was eased onto in a Certain way it cracked open. My vans did this also. Sorry you are dealing with this; I hired one of their managers years ago and he said he couldn't wait to get out of there, it was a racket from top to bottom. 

OHSCrifle
OHSCrifle UberDork
6/6/24 9:47 p.m.

Google review with photos is the answer. You most likely won't get anything but it might feel better to spread the word. 

Datsun240ZGuy
Datsun240ZGuy MegaDork
6/6/24 10:02 p.m.

This sounds mean but Firestone sucked back in 1979 when my gearhead buddies worked the later shift in our senior year of high school (you had to be 18 YO). 

Captdownshift (Forum Supporter)
Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
6/7/24 12:30 a.m.

Reach out to jalopnik or the drive, large scope exposure is a bad look. If you do so, the store manager and likely the district manager will lose their job if anything gets published. Force action upon them at a corporate level based upon their bottom line getting crushed due to exposure.

chandler
chandler MegaDork
6/7/24 6:02 a.m.
Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:

Reach out to jalopnik or the drive, large scope exposure is a bad look. If you do so, the store manager and likely the district manager will lose their job if anything gets published. Force action upon them at a corporate level based upon their bottom line getting crushed due to exposure.

This is not the case, I worked under the same corporate umbrella and it was nearly impossible to get fired.

ddavidv
ddavidv UltimaDork
6/7/24 7:27 a.m.

Aside from the seat crack, which honestly looks like a fatigue crack I've seen hundreds of times, I'd get an estimate from a detail shop to clean the interior. Then, along with your photos, take them to small claims court. Chances are they won't show up, or if someone does, it will probably be the mouth-breather store manager. I'd bet the court would find in your favor. 

If they are smart, they'll just avoid the whole process and send you a check so you go away.

You can make a claim with your insurer, but without the seat its likely to be under your deductible just to clean the interior. I wouldn't cover the seat if I got the claim.

maschinenbau
maschinenbau PowerDork
6/7/24 9:29 a.m.

Let's take a breath and assess. I think you can clean the leather. I've cleaned similar stains out of much whiter, newer leather. The only real damage is the seat tear and your emotions. How much would a good used seat cost? Now compare that amount of money to the stress you will cause yourself trying to extract justice from this situation. It sucks, but sometimes walking away is the healthiest option.

When I bought my Miata new, I took it to the dealer for the first two oil changes. The second time, my brand new 8k mile white leather interior was left in a state just like yours, with black grease stains everywhere, seats, doors, dash, it was ridiculous and I was livid. I complained, and they offered to "take care of it", but then I paused, and I figured it's best if I took it home and cleaned it properly myself. The next oil change I did myself, and found the undertray was missing a few screws. I never took it back there, and unfortunately that's the only real power we have. 

For tires, I've had amazing experience with the Discount/Tire Rack mobile installation service. It's marginally more expensive, but when they show up to your house, they do everything in your driveway without moving the car, they don't even open the car interior, and best of all, they are on YOUR TIME. Meaning you don't have to waste time in a smelly waiting room or arrange a ride. And they used an actual torque wrench.

maschinenbau
maschinenbau PowerDork
6/7/24 9:32 a.m.
dean1484 said:

Get it behind you ASAP and get on with your life.

QFT, this is not worth a fight

Flynlow
Flynlow Dork
6/7/24 9:53 a.m.

Gonna disagree with calling that a fatigue crack, based on the rest of the leather not being wrinkled or aged.  That looks like a pocket knife or tool clipped to a pocket or belt catching the edge of the bolster as you sit down. 

But I agree with the rest of the advice, file the claim with their insurance if possible, otherwise just have to try and move on. 

Firestone definitely sucks...they mounted the staggered tires on my E46 with the wider two on the right, nope try again, it's not a Cup car.  Next time they got one of the fronts backwards.  At that point I gave up, took the car back (I was moving) and took it to Discount Tire when I got to VA.  I will say the local Discount Tire is excellent.  Young guys that hustle, well trained, friendly, and knowledgable.  Not a full service shop, but for simple tire work they are my go-to. 

DrBoost
DrBoost MegaDork
6/7/24 10:19 a.m.

I've resigned myself to taking it up the tailpipe, again. It seems that's what the little guy does. In my fantasies I get some sort of revenge/restitution/disfigurement in my favor, but we all know that won't happen. Their business model is to hire bottom-feeders and mouth breathers, pay them minimally, and know that they'll only screw up 20% of what they work on, and that they'll only get called out on 5% of those, and only pay out on 0.5% of those. 

gsettle
gsettle Reader
6/7/24 11:06 a.m.

Firestone dropped my wife's old MDX off the lift when she took it there for new tires. They put the lift arms under the running board on pass side... I guess it held for long enough to get off the ground then broke. 

The only reason we found out was because one of the guys told her " Your car won't be ready today because it fell off the lift and they're trying to fix the passenger side running board. They would never have told you about it, but this is my last day here so I wanted you to know" !!!

So, I was there when they opened the next day and asked the manager what he was going to do about it and, after a few back and fourths, I left there only paying for labor ~$80 for 4 new tires. I think the tires would have been another $650 or so.

They did do a good job on the fix but you could see the damage when you looked under the rb.

calteg
calteg SuperDork
6/7/24 12:49 p.m.

My Firestone story from 2023:

Ordered from tire rack and had them shipped to Firestone. Made my installation appointment with Firestone at the same time.

Get there for my appointment, jerkoff tells me they don't have my tires and there's no record in the sytem. I ask him if he actually physically looked and that pisses him off. I show him the confirmation email I got that the tires were dropped off several days before.

He finally goes in the back and, surprise, 3 minutes later they're right where they were supposed to be. I'm in the waiting room for an hour and my car is still right where I parked it. Ask the guy how long before they even look at it and he says "2-3 hours."  Fairly certain that was the F-U quote.

I end up taking the bus back home, it takes them 6 hours to mount four tires...with an appointment a week in advance. My interior wasn't filthy but they chewed up two of the wheels and there was mounting grease absolutely everywhere. I left them a scathing yelp review and moved on with my life. Never again.

 

 

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