I bought four new tires to replace the four 60,000 mile tires bought at a Pep Boys just over two years ago. The old tires lasted less than 30,000 miles before the tread wore down to the replaceable level. I worked out a quote and scheduled an appointment over the phone five days earlier, but upon arrival, they had no record of my previous arrangement yet worked me into the schedule anyway. The tires were replaced within 1.5 hours and I was happy. My problem is that due to my lack of understanding of the policy, I forgot to present my paperwork for the old tires which were under the 60,000 mile pro-rated warranty, so no discount was applied for the 30,000+ miles which I did not get out of the old tires. After leaving the store I found the paperwork in the glove box, read over it and realized my mistake and immediately called them to explain the situation. The fellow on the phone seemed to understand my dilemma and agreed that they could straighten it out if I brought the paperwork in. I returned the next morning and spoke to a manager. Right way I could tell he was not the same guy I talked to on the phone the previous day, as he immediately took the "sorry I cant help you, the sale is final" route. I admitted my misunderstanding of the warranty, but could he just understand that I was only trying to get the discount that I was entitled to as a two time customer with all the correct paperwork. It was a no win situation as he compared the two receipts, which happened to reveal the mistakes made by his store in entering the wrong year of my vehicle as well as the lack of filling in the VIN number. The receipt from the other Pep Boys had all the correct info entered. His reply was that "Most stores dont bother filling that in anyway", although he was quick to point out the difference in the year of my vehicle (which his store had filled in incorrectly!), as if I were trying to pull off some scam to save money. He said he could alert the corporate office of my problem, but he could do nothing more. So now I'm thinking when the new tires wear out at 30,000 miles and I come back to replace them with warranty in hand this time, will they look at the missing VIN and incorrect year on the receipt and deny me the discount, again? The lesson is dont expect them to be understanding or work with you as a loyal customer just because of a small misunderstanding. It's as if they are taking advantage of an honest mistake to make even more of a profit on bottom end products. To their credit, the guys doing the actual work were pros and very fast working in August heat, but the manager "had me" with the technicality of not producing the paperwork at the time of sale, and would not give an inch. So be prepared, as I should have been, or you too will be taken advantage of.
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