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Posted by: Kim_Hamilton on 02/04/2011 10:22 PM
Updated by: Kim_Hamilton on 02/04/2011 10:32 PM
Expires: 01/01/2016 12:00 AM
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"Wally World Tires"~by The Copperopolis Curmudgeon
Now for those of you with teenage daughters you understand this statement and how this is directed to the father . . . for those of you who do not . . . I’ll translate; “Dad . . . the tires on my car are bald and obviously you no longer love me because you allow me to risk my life by driving this vehicle with tires that are going to blow out in the next ten miles and none of my friends dads would ever treat their daughters like this . . . so Dad . . . get tires on my car before I die trying to go to school tomorrow . . .” (Actually there is still lots of tread but she has been told by some kid at school they are bald and he being in second year auto shop . . . is a tire expert.)....
Only problem with this demand . . . this is a conversation we are having at 8pm Tuesday night . . . see where we are here???
So I calmly explain that I will go online in the morning and order tires . . . then I get this . . . “Dad . . . buy them at Wally World because I need an oil change and I’ll pay for that . . .” (remember this statement)
So the next morning I go to Wally World.com and find a good set of tires on their website the size is right and the mileage rating is 70,000 . . . out comes the credit card and I buy the tires and select my local Wally World service center for shipping . . .
Then the website asks me “Do you want us to send you a text message on that new IPhone you have . . . especially since you have figured out how to turn it on?” Does everyone know about my IPhone disability??? So I say sure and send the kid one too . . .
Now when I proudly tell my daughter of my accomplishment the new questions begin . . . are these tires rated for snow, mud, ice and high speed like her auto shop friend told her she had to have on her car? My answer is they are touring tires for her car and I only paid $51.00 per tire . . . we got a great deal!
The look I got was the classic 17 year old girl . . . you know the one . . . it asks how come she got the stupidest dad in the world???
A week later we both get the text . . . the tires have arrived at my local Wally World service center and we can stop in anytime to get them mounted.
So we get the car to the service center and walk up to the counter where the automotive customer service guy is standing and told him we are there for the tires we ordered on Wally World.com . . . now it’s not politically correct . . . but I had forgotten that Wally World hires the handicapped which is a wonderful program don’t get me wrong. Not all the employees are handicapped but this was my lucky day . . .
He looks at us and says “if you ordered your tires on Dotcom you need to go across the store to the Dotcom counter . . .” And I think of course we do . . . why would anyone expect tires to be in the service area where they mount and install tires just because the text message said that was where they would be???
Now does Mr. Customer Service tell me “Hey . . . take a shopping cart because you have to bring the tires back across the store to the service center.” Of course not . . .
The lady at the Dotcom counter is extremely helpful and offers to find us a shopping cart out back. She takes our name enters this into the computer for the order number and locates the tires on the counter . . . as she starts to load the tires into the shopping cart I notice they are the wrong size and when I mention this to her I am asked, “Do you want a refund?”
No . . . I think to myself I want the right sized tires. So she explains that Wally World.com is a separate entity having nothing to do with Wally World and there is no one to talk to about this because they do not have a customer service group at Dotcom and the only option is a refund.
So back we go to Mr. Customer Service with a really upset 17 year old daughter. We tell him the Dotcom tires are the wrong size and need him to tell us what he has in stock for her car . . . he gets this wry smile on his face and looks in his computer. I start to wonder if I have been set-up by Dotcom ? ? ?
He finds a tire for $52.00 by the same manufacturer as the Dotcom tires but only a 45,000 mile rating. We’ll take them I screamed!!! Now the daughter has a smile on her face again . .
So the process begins . . . Mr. Customer Service asks what is the speed rating of your vehicle? I said it’s a 1995 Honda it can get up to 60mph . . . downhill. Nope . . . wrong answer . . . he wants to know what the top speed on the speedometer is and my daughter blurts out, “it goes to 120mph” . . .
Now we have a problem because the speed rating on the tires is only 112mph. I remind both of them in California 112mph is probably a felony but get no where with my protest??? He speaks to one of the guys in the shop and comes back telling me everything should be OK as long as she stays under 112mph . . . ?
After she makes this promise we agree that the tires can go on this car . . . he asks, “Do you want lifetime or one time balancing?” How much I ask . . . $20.00 per tire lifetime and $5.00 per tire one time . . . One time is my answer.
Then the road hazard insurance is next . . . how much I ask . . . $35.00 per tire comes the response . . . no thanks I say . . . but he’s been taught to remind you that if you have a slice in the sidewall or run over a small heavily armored raccoon and have a blowout you will have to buy a new tire at your cost.
Finally I look at this guy and ask him, if you were buying $52.00 tires for your car would you pay $55.00 per tire for lifetime balancing and road hazard? He actually looks at the ceiling for an awkward period of time . . . then looks at me and says, “probably not” . . . go figure.
I will say this about the service center . . . by the time we got to my truck to go to Starbucks . . . that’s where you take 17 year old daughters . . . the oil was changed and it was moved to the tire rack. Thirty minutes later the tires were mounted and the child’s’ universe was now spinning again . . .
Oh . . . and I told you to remember the daughter’s comment about the oil change . . . I paid for that too . . .
I know......just sit here and be quiet.
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