Big O Tires

THEY CHANGED THE WRONG TIRE. The manager Jack is overly sensitive and rude.

I went to Big O in Walnut Creek to change my front, driver's side tire because when I went to Jiffy Lube a few days prior, they told me that the tire had 3 nails in it. With my friend as a witness, I told the front desk guy that I had 3 nails in my front left driver's side tire. He said that he would check it out and get back to me (I had to head back to work). I asked him if I needed to sign anything because I normally do and he said "No, I want to see if we can fix it first." And then he said he'd call me.

About 20 minutes later, he calls me and tells me that I was right, the tire is unfixable and that they they will need to replace it. I asked him the cost and he said, "$168 out the door." I told him to go ahead and fix it.

I picked up my car and paid for it and although I know I should have inspected my car first, I drove off the lot thinking they fixed the correct tire because they seemed like capable people. And by the way, they automatically add insurance to your payment without asking you first. Legally, they should ask you if you want it and I pointed that out to them before I paid. SO WATCH OUT BECAUSE THEY WILL ADD THE INSURANCE WITHOUT ASKING YOU. (Side note: I went to another Big O two weeks later and the nice man there told me insurance is NOT necessary for ONE tire.)

So the next day I was walking to my car when I noticed that my front left driver's side tire looked flat. I inspected even closer and noticed three nails in it. They changed the wrong tire.

I immediately called them and a guy named Jack who claims he's a manager even though he has no customer service skills whatsoever. I explained him the situation three times because he kept saying, "I don't understand what happened." I finally had to speak s-l-o-w-l-y to him so he'd understand and then he tells me, "Ma'am, you don't need to yell." This angered me because I wasn't even yelling to begin with since I was in a public place by my place of work. So naturally I snapped because 1) I wasn't yelling 2) It was rude and 3) I have a feeling that he would never treat a man the same way IMO. I told him (now yelling) he would know if I was yelling because I would be screaming at him like I was right then. After going back and forth he says, "I'm just trying to help - what do you want us to do?"

Okay, here's the thing. As a manager, you should be providing a solution for me, the client. You can't tell a customer that you're trying to help when haven't even offered one solution and then act like you guys did nothing wrong. I told him I wanted them to fix the right tire and he said fine. Before I got off the phone with him, I decided to call him out on his attitude and asked him "Why, as a manager, are you so rude to customers? Don't you ever get customer complaints?" And his reply, in a dry voice, was, "Very rarely, ma'am." I laughed on the phone because that's impossible to conceive and hung up.

All in all, I never went back. Instead, I went to another Big O Tires and had a completely different experience - very nice people who knew how to change the right tire. In case you're wondering, I decided to keep the new tire from the wrong side because it's better to have two new tires than one anyway. The best part is that before I even mentioned Jack's name as I explained my dilemma to the other Big O Tire manager, the guy helping me said, "Yeah, you probably dealt with the manager there named Jack." I said that I did deal with Jack and he said, "Jack has a bad reputation. Unfortunately, you're not the only one he's pissed off. We always seem to pick of the pieces."

So I guess that just disproves Jack's statement of receiving complaints "rarely."

I had a flat in my rental car. The rental company arranged for Big O to do the repair and they had to submit the claim to the rental company 3 times before they finally got the okay. Big O's persistence was admirable. The job on the replacement of the tire is great. I recommend them unconditionally for excellence, efficiency, and staff friendliness.

Brian helped me with my wheel alignment and everything went great. Brian and all the other staff were really nice and honest. It only took about 1 hour and 10 minutes with someone ahead of me. There was no problem with bait and switch, the price I was first told is the price I paid.

Do be pretty carful pulling out the parking lot as if there are cars parked on the street it can make it hard to see oncoming traffic. I almost got slammed by a Mercedes Amg. It was my fault though and this is common in the bay as we all probably know.

I'll be back for future issues.

P.s. To the owner this isn't a fake review I just don't use my real name on yelp.

Came to get my coolant topped off, I'm sure it was just low and needed coolant.

Got an estimate $200 for a coolant diagnostic which I did not ask for. My check engine light/maintenance light was not on. All my dashboard said was "check coolant level"

An employee quoted me $200 because that's what his boss said. Another employee overheard and mentioned I probably just need to be topped off but obviously don't want to over step the boss.

I ended up leaving and going to oil changers which works in my favor. All I needed was to be topped off, I'm glad I didn't pay the $200!

I know I look like a little girl but you guys shouldn't be ripping people off like this.

Kevin filled up my flat tires quickly. Great prompt customer service without waiting! Will come back again!

Bryan was great all around! Good communication, friendly dude, and handled my oil change with no appointment. Thanks Bryan!

I called in as I needed a tire repaired and they told be to bring the car over. They were able to get it fixed quickly and for a decent price.

I needed new tires for my 2017 Boxster. Porsche was quoting me a ridiculous price, I called Big O and spoke with Joe. He was great his price for the exact same tires were about $600 less. He recommended a slightly different tire which were another $200 off. I walked away with an $800 savings and they were able to do it the next morning.

Thank you big oh and thank you Joe, we will be back

Good service. Very Very Busy, but that's probably a good thing! Did several services for MB including service checks...

Thank you Richard!

Recently had my second set of tires put on another of my daughters vehicles. She made the appointment and Big O helped her select a set of tires LESS EXPENSIVE than the ones I had suggested to her! That blew me away. What Big O suggested were great tires and they saved my daughter about $200. Rashad and Geddy were fabulous service guys and did everything they could to check her car out and suggest a few minor things that needed attention. The price for an alignment was very reasonable and when I drove that car out of their place I was shocked at how much better it handled than I drove it in. Great service and value from this store, and it is all about the guys "working it". Great crew. Totally 100% satisfactory day, in at 8:00 am out at 2:30 pm and everything done to 100%.

Bryan was awesome! I normally make my husband do anything car related just because that's like a foreign language to me. Bryan explained everything clearly and made sure to get me in and out in a timely manner! My little 2 year old was hanging out and Bryan was very hospitable with him!
I also appreciated Austin coming out and talking to me about my spare tire that I shouldn't have been driving on. He explained to me what he did and then also what to consider in the future. I am very pleased with my experience here today especially since I had a certain amount of time and didn't have an appt. Thanks again guys!