Uh Ah - Not Good Enough

I noticed my tire is low, and I found a rusty nail stuck in my tire. This is a miracle because I stopped the car where the wheel is rotated so I can see the nail.

There is construction all over the place, I don't know when I got the puncture.

I used to go to this nameless shop in Chicago that will fix a simple puncture for like $10. The smoking guys cheerfully takes the wheel out of the car, put the tire on the machine, yank out the tire, remove the nail, patch the tire, use a hair dryer to dry the glue, the job is done in 20 minutes or less.

There is this deal with Discount Tire where if you bought a tire from them, they will fix flats for free! Sounds like a sweet deal, right? I have bought 2 sets of tires from Discount Tire. I generally like their staff, but not this time, uh ah, not good enough.

So I took the car to Discount Tire and tried to get it fixed. They turned me away! They said, you got internet? go on line to make an appointment. I'm like what? I frowned and the guy reluctantly made the appointment for me at the shop. No slot for the rest of today, no slot for tomorrow morning, the earliest is 3:30 PM tomorrow. What? There is driving back home, drive to work, then drive to the tire store. There is a whole lot of driving before I can fix the problem. What? a flat has no priority over new tire installations? It's a 20 minute easy job.

So I took the car to the dealer and paid money for the job ($24). The dealer's service department closes late at 9:00 PM, and cheerfully accepted the job, with a car wash. Now that's service. I don't mind to pay the money if there is good and speedy service.

I had similar problems with Just Tires and Firestone. The guys just don't want my business, and they don't have my business. When a guy have a flat, fix it, stay open late a little bit if you have to. I will never return to Just Tires and Firestone. Discount Tire, I forgive you this time, but just this once.