Monday, I was ecstatic to find out I didn’t have to pay $620 for new brakes and rotors on my car. As I waited, I do what I normally do, I checked in on FourSquare from the Econo Lube in Olathe I never really expected to hear from National Tire and Battery but since I did let me tell you how they failed.
The following is what transpired.
ChuckFranks: These guys rock NTB apparently lied about the condition of my brakes. Guess who’s gonna get my business from now on. Yep John at econolube 9:00am, Aug 16 from foursquare
NTB_tires: @ChuckFranks Sorry to hear about your trouble. Hope you’ll give us another chance. Thanks and good luck! 10:43am, Aug 16 from Web
ChuckFranks: @NTB_tires good to know your paying attention, but #trust is a hard thing to earn back. I was happy with my tire purchase a few months back 8:52pm, Aug 19 from HootSuite
NTB_tires: @ChuckFranks Understood. Take care 🙂 12:24pm, Aug 20 from Web
“Understood”…. REALLY? Does this conversation sound like they understood. Or are they just pacifying me. Cause honestly I’m more wired about their lackadaisical attitude after showing me they were on twitter than I was when I wrote the post.
What can businesses learn from this exchange. First did they really even listen to the issue I had. I was thrilled that I didn’t need the rotor’s turned or replaced and , I was told that Saabs are really hard on brakes and that my rotors were in the best condition that the guy (John) at Econo Lube had seen. So I’m actually elated at this point. I think I spent about $600 on new tires several months ago which is when they told me my rear brakes needed to be replaced and that the rotors were bell shaped and would at the very least need to be turned but mostly likely would need to be replaced.
So the issue here is blatant lying and deception from a local NTB store location of which I’m a customer.
1) Did NTB_tires ask me what store, ask me my name and contact information so they could contact that store and address the issue. NO!
2) Did they ask me what would earn my trust back? NO!
3) They did say Sorry about my trouble. Are they sorry that their sales force lies to the public OR were they sorry they got caught or were they sorry I was lied too.
4) Did they do anything to repair the impression I have of their company? You tell me.
What I do know is they made the matter worse by even engaging me and then doing it poorly. Sometimes it’s better to just let someone bitch a little but no they choose to engage me. Which means now they get a blog post written not only about how they lie but also how poorly they use Twitter.
It’s fine to tell someone what they did wrong but lets take this one step further. Because I do believe we are all still learning how to use Social Media in a positive way. What could they have done to make this situation better?
If I was in charge at NTB this is what I would do. I’d say I’m very sorry you felt that you were lied too, can I get your phone or e-mail and get more details so I can follow up on this matter. Which location told you this information and exactly what did they tell you? Do you remember the sales person who you dealt with. The invoice for my tires has a sales person’s ID number so if they really cared they could easily address this issue. Then a phone call from the manager of that store to inquire further to see what went wrong. Asking me how I felt like they lied to me. I’ve been doing business with NTB since at least the late 90’s so I’m in their computer system.
What I will say is that from now on I’m driving past NTB and another 15 minutes down the road to get to Econo Lube in Olathe KS. Why? Because I want to trust the people I choose to do business with.
13395 South Blackbob Road, Olathe, KS 66062
(913) 254-9842
