I called the first Les Schwab on the list to ask about getting my wheels balanced. The pleasant woman I spoke with said it wouldn’t be an issue and to come on in. I very politely explained that the previous shop I called had told me I had an odd size wheel that they lacked the correct equipment to balance, and requested her to confirm with the tech that they indeed had everything they needed. I’m a man of modest means and can’t afford to drive an hour plus each way, with fuel and time off work, etc. She said she was confident but would check and call me back. When she called back she was graciously apologetic and told me they in fact could not do my wheels and I would need to visit a different location which was more suited to medium duty and heavy duty semi large truck wheels. She patched me through to Robert at the Alki location, who was absolutely wonderful, and the only reason I gave two stars opposed to the lowest rating possible. Robert was friendly, informative, and patient with my questions. He quoted me 18.99 per wheel, and it was very easy.
Everything changed when I called back to the Alki location the morning I was set to drive into town. I wanted to confirm it was a good day to come in. Michelle answered the phone and after telling me Robert was unavailable I attempted to run my question by her. She dismissively spoke over me before I could even finish articulating my question and used an incorrect description of the type of vehicle I had. I attempted to clarify the term with her and she snapped back at me with an surprising lack of professionalism. I chalked it up to her having a bad day and drove in to the store. Brad greeted me at the counter and was extremely short and rude. He quickly told me they wouldn’t guarantee the balance and was frankly aggressively argumentative when I asked a couple very polite questions as I attempted to understand the situation. When we went back inside to write up the service ticket I asked to confirm the price was 18.99 as quoted by Robert, and Brad said nope, it’s 27.99 per wheel. I asked why the difference in price and he rolled his eyes, looked away in frustration and called Robert to confirm what I was quoted. After he was off the phone I tried apologizing for having questions and said wasn’t trying to be difficult…. but it seemed like I was putting him out. He then told me he didn’t appreciate me giving his bookkeeper a hard time on the phone this morning and that’s why he was visibly annoyed with me. I was blown away, as I had been nothing but respectful and only attempted prudently confirm everything was good, prior to committing my limited time and money to the trip. Brandon the tech was semi professional but clearly his attitude was aligned with Brad. Brad and Michelle were stand out disappointments from a humble consumer’s perspective who was simply asking questions because he has no dollars to waste. After the work was performed, the wheels and tires were left sitting by the side of my truck with no offer to help load. Thankfully, Riley was working nearby and was very kind and happy to help me load them up. Robert and Riley were the much appreciated stars upholding the corporate image Les Schwab stores as a whole, seem to be known for. Everyone else was shockingly disappointing, for whatever it’s worth to anyone else in a similar position.
