Pep Boys and their really bad reputation...

[weirdstyles.net]

Ill start off this way, I work there.

Whats the deal with our bad rep? Im not pushin PB on you guys, for the most part we all appear to turn our own wrenches but why do people hate on us so bad?

Dude comes in and ask us to check his brakes, which is free, but he all ready thinks we're raping him. And I quote, "Dont try any funny stuff, Ill have a second opinion if I need one".

He's been riding on them for a week while they've been makin a "weird grinding noise". So we check out the 94 Dakotoa to find that his 4WD rotor/hubs were completely trashed, pads were shot. As a "courtesy" we always inspect all maintenece and saftey related items for liability, and cause we are here to make money. I call the guy, tell em he needs:


Front Pads: $139.99
Front Rotor/Hub Assembly $220.00
Rear Pads $119.99
Rear Rotor/Hub Assembly $220.00
Brake Fluid Exchange (had debris in it) $39.95
Brake Bleed $25.00


Total (less Tax) $760

I then told him that all is ignition and maintainable fuel components were OE and should be replaced as dealer recommended preventative maintenece

Cap
Rotor
Wires
Plugs
Fuel Filter
PCV Valve
Air Filters


I didnt even list a price cause the brakes were SO damn much. He proceeds to flip out and scream in my ear how I am a scam artist and how he is going to hand me my ass when he gets there. He shows up 20 mins later with his "Mechanic Friend", I hand them a Brake Mic (youll understand in a bit) two pairs of saftey glasses and we walk to his truck. I showed him the brakes and ask him if he wanted to Mic the rotors. He knew I was being a smartass cause these rotors had more gooves than the 70s (god damn that was a lame joke...) then he looked at the non-existant brake pads, then all the MOPAR fuel/ignition parts in the engine bay. He prompyly apologized and said he just heard so many bad thins about PB he was sure I was trying to rape him. His mech agreed the repairs were warranted and we continued to bang on his wallet like a three dollar French whore.

We arent the reason your bill is so high, ill-maintence and buying a Dodge is the reason your bill is so damn high. Fuck you. :fruit:

[KoukiMonster]

i think pep boys did it to themselves. considering the way they advertise. for example the advertisments that they have done to appeal to the import crowd. however their advertisments do not appeal to the import crowd that has seen the 'light' so to speak.

but i don't know what the truck guys problem was. it could have been a bad experience that he has had in the past.


thats just my theory

[sr240mike]

The pepboys near me sucks ass. Im not sure about the mechanics since I do all my own work but every time I needed a part it had to be special ordered taking 5-7 days when I could just go pick it up from the dealership or Napa. Its even better when most of the people behind the counter barely speak english and ask me questions in spanish.

[urbanimpakt]

I have a problem w/ most automotive places in my area, its just that Pep Boys and Advanced Auto and such will hire any1 who can work a cash register.

I've gone in and asked for part ABC and they give me part XYZ which they swear is the thing and 3 times out of 3 (at pep boys) they were wrong. Another excellent example was when my friend and I went to his local Pep Boys and asked for a 3 inch exhaust gasket. He gave them his old one just encase and they still asked what car it was off of.... for some odd reason they couldnt find the ID# for the exhaust gasket of an MR2. UGH!

At the Advanced Auto in my area there is only 1 person I deal w/ my best friend at least he knows his shit. So I dont so much have an issue w/ Pep Boys but more so their consitant hiring of inconsistant staff!

[Jeff240sx]

Incompetant people +11tybillion! Autozone people I've found to have 40% or so employees that know their stuff. Advance and PB I've found that I'm telling these idiots how to do their job and work their computer, which I've never seen the front of the monitor of.
I WILL NOT buy anything from Advance autoparts. All special order parts I waited too long for, and got the wrong item. Corvette plug wires, Fiero clutch slave cylinder, and a Z31 water pump. I am 3/3 too. Fucking idiots.
Pepboys charges alot in labor (like $70/hr in Tampa), and their parts are expensive. Their staff is full of idiots who couldn't identify a part I needed, or a bolt I had to match up (their bolt sizer was busted).
Yea. I can do alot of this stuff myself, but when the guy walks up and says "Can I help you?" I expect him to be ABLE to help me.
-Jeff

[mbmbmb23]

I think most auto places like PB (and other mechanice places that do work) get bad reps from those expose' (ecks-spoze-aye) shows like 48 Hours and Dateline who take hidden cameras into shops and find crooked guys pushing un-needed work and re-installing the old supposidly broken parts (that werent really defective)...then charging for a new part.

When people watch these shows......the audience just ends up seeing all shops as the same......and assume most places are shady.

Really tho...I think people just over-react because they dont realize how much stuff costs to fix on cars....especially if you dont have a mechanic friend hookup or mechanic in the family....or hookup on junkyard parts instead of paying the full PB price for the parts.

I do have to say that as a consumer...it is annoying and adds insult to injury when they try to "upsell" me preventative maintenance items (cap, rotor, belts,etc) at the same time I get the bad news price quote for the major work.


But...I do have to agree with Jeff240sx, there are alot of MORONS working at these places who spread mis-information and arent very helpful with parts. Granted, some of these guys probably are barely hire-able...and the extent of their car knowledge depends on what the ever knowing "computer" says, but....who knows. There is usually at least one super smart guy at each location, you just have to be there when he's working and speak to him directly.

anyhow...

-m

[Andrew Bohan]

i went to PB for an oil change once and they didn't have my filter. they told me i had to go somewhere else to get it, but they would still charge me the same price. :tweak:

only part i ever bought there was a valve cover gasket, and it was the right one.

[S14DB]

Only parts Pep Boys seems to have for my car is universal ricer toys. I went in once to get some parts that others didn't have instock. They smirked when they heard I had a import and then couldn't find part listings.

As far as service goes. The tech part of it was fine and good. But, those prices were absoulte rape. $760 for a generic brake job?
Why are you charging for a fluid change and a bleed?
1)should be included with the brake job
2)would doing booth be the same thing over again? Or are you just sucking out the reservoir and pouring new fluid in(which does nothing) for the exchange and then bleeding the brakes.

I makes me sick when I hear how much people pay for simple shit. My dealer has spent over 10hrs on my car in the last week and I only payed $39.95+tax. They should bring back drivers ed where they don't have it and put in some repair courses during it. I know most people arn't learing howto drive in these classes anyways...

[Phlip]

Even more fun is calling one of these places' parts counter and asking for an upper radiator hose for a '67 Volkswagen Beetle, I went IN Advance one time and the kid couldn't find it, so he goes and gets the supervisor, who gave me the most EVIL look I have seen before or since, so I just left.

[S14DB]

Even more fun is calling one of these places' parts counter and asking for an upper radiator hose for a '67 Volkswagen Beetle, I went IN Advance one time and the kid couldn't find it, so he goes and gets the supervisor, who gave me the most EVIL look I have seen before or since, so I just left.
:bowrofl: :bowdown:

[mbmbmb23]

Even more fun is calling one of these places' parts counter and asking for an upper radiator hose for a '67 Volkswagen Beetle, I went IN Advance one time and the kid couldn't find it, so he goes and gets the supervisor, who gave me the most EVIL look I have seen before or since, so I just left.


Hahaha....."NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!!"




-m

[HyperTek]

I usually just go to the places knowing that im just thear for this or that.. I just hate when I call these places and a female picks up (no disrespect to teh ladies) but when I ask for something, they go "wait a minute" and hand it to a guy, which is annoying....

[XxJaPxOxNeEs23xX]

well wen i went to pep boys i asked if they had redline trans fluid for my manual trans, nd they kept telling me i shouldnt use that nd i should use dexron III. nd i kept telling him thats not the right one cuz its for auto nd he kept telling me im wrong. so i left. i also went agian to get an alignment from them ( which wasnt a smart thing to do but i thought its an alignment, shouldnt be too bad) but they charged me nd gave me the print out after. each side for my camber was off by 1.6 degrees. actually i keep pickng out the wrong places to have my alignment done so i do it myself now at school. ionno there were other little things that happend but i forgot.

[RiversideS13]

I felt alot people forgot to add labor price in their own calculation, therefore they felt they been raped. but i think they actually get raped by labors. how much is PB's hour rate?

[sykikchimp]

$260 for all 4 sets of brake pads? ?? I would feel like I was getting raped too.. For that price I can get full out Race pads for my car. A full set of pads on this car shouldn't cost anymore than $100, and that NICE stuff. I just priced it on advanceautoparts.com, and you COULD get pads for under $40 all around.

$440 for the hub assembly's sound about right though. That crap is always expensive.

$65 for a brake fluid exchange and bleed is probably about right considering the hourly labor rates these days. Even though this seems expensive, and I agree.. with the money this guy is spending, that should be thrown in.

If I was in this guys shoes.. I would just have my "mechanic friend" do all the work and save $200.

....The bad rep in these places comes from the lack of customer empathy. When someones car is broken, it affects their whole lives in a negative way just from it breaking down. To throw a big $700 bill on the kind of people that go to Pep-boys for service (used car/non-warranted owners typically...lower income) is immediately a blow to the face after already being down. If the stores honestly cared about trying to help you get going again, they would have a lot happier customers. Like throwing in the brake fluid change.. this is a labor only thing. Cheap for the business, expensive for the customer. Throw the guy a bone, and he will be loyal for a long time. :2f2f:

something else I hate is the way a lot of shops charge the "book hours" for the job.. so if the labor book says its a 4-hour brake job, you pay for 4-hours. Even if it only takes the guy 1 hour. ...I hate this. This is the #1 reason I do my own labor whenever possible.

[MakotoS13]

The tech part of it was fine and good. But, those prices were absoulte rape. $760 for a generic brake job?


4x4 trucks aren't generic vehicles and don't require generic parts which consequently don't have generic prices.

[wootwoot]

i work at tirekingdom, and i would never take my car to any place like that. pep boys, tire kingdom, tires plus, all of those places are shit and i dont trust them for a damn. i've seen some terribly shady things happen there and been told to do stuff i sure as hell diddnt like.

[S14DB]

Midas had a ad on TV today for $59 an axle...

[weirdstyles.net]

KoukiMonster: People who dont speak fluent engrish shouldn't be in customer serivce. Period.

sr240mike: Agreed, parts avail sucks @ PB. Sure we carry a buncha fucking scooters and DVD players, but I have to OP (outside purchase) a alternator for a fucking ford...

Jeff240sx: Incompentence is draggin us down, we have modules that are supposed to be studied and a LOT of test are to be taken as an employee, but their not enforced. Ive passed all major certifications and qualify as an Commercial Sales Manager/Store Manager/Serivice Manager and Im pretty sure I could nail the lower level ASE's in a heart beat.

i'm driftaholic: Well you suck... its just that simple. No seriously, people just dont know how to CS or remove a filter. Shit, we have a CSP (customer supplies parts) package for LOF (lube, oil, filter). God that's just plain ignorance.

s13db: The exchange are two different things, home slice. An exchange is done when fluid is tested and fails or visible contaminants are in the system. The res. is drained and screen cleaned. The bleed is an obvious procedure.

philp: That joke has been around for 76, its been tried on me at least 12 times and it ends up like this, "Sure, lemme look that up. Please hold. *click-dead air*

japxoxnese: Did you say, "Hey man, my car's fucked up?"

hypertek: Their not hired for their Brain... seriously. Much love to the ladies, but they arent. Their hired as CSR's (customer service rep AKA: cashier)

riversides13: $80/hr

syskikchimp: Those prices weren't just the parts, thats pads/labor package including resurfacing or replacment of the rotor. As for the book hour, how about S14DB? He's being charged the "book time" and because of that book time the Mechanic wont eat this week. It's a fight to the finish line and someone has to win. A tire pays .2 hrs. Between the paper work, waiting for lazy ass parts personel, then the job itself its about .8hrs. Book time is there for the "saftey" and "fairness" of both parties involved. My tech Rizzi was paid 1.1hr (book time) for all four heater hoses on a '89 Cresida, get a stop watch and call me when your done. Start now, before you order the parts, and click "Stop" when the keys are in the owners hands. Tech's work 40hrs a week and are luck to clock 25hr book time. We loose, not the customer.

I lot of this has been really helpful and its funny cause I give PB the same rep because of the same problems youre having. Im just fighting from the inside out... Your all welcomed to Pep Boys; Berlin, New Jersey 08009 for quality ass serivce and some g'damn knowledgable service personell... and lazy moronic parts bungholes...

:)

[KoukiMonster]

KoukiMonster: People who dont speak fluent engrish shouldn't be in customer serivce. Period.






what do you mean?

i was talking about their advertisements.

[ludex]

How about.......Kragen vs Pepboys vs Autozone

Kragen gave me the wrong part two times =\

[S14DB]

Your "Exchange" doesn't replace any of the useable fluid. Just the reserve in the reservoir. A totaly waste of time and money IMHO. If you're not going to replace the fluid in the lines why bother?

The Mechanic at the Nissan Dealer is going to eat fine this week cause he's getting credit for the 10hrs. The parts department that screwed up is footing the bill.

[Phlip]

philp: That joke has been around for 76, its been tried on me at least 12 times and it ends up like this, "Sure, lemme look that up. Please hold. *click-dead air*

And what I need you to understand is how few people have the balls to actually try the shit I do to people in person... See, I work a customer service job where I listen to 50-60 dickhead idiots a day who wouldn't DARE say the shit they say if they were to do it in person... Of COURSE you would hang up if I were OBVIOUSLY wasting your time with some shit like that, but what would this individual do with me in person?

[zanos]

why would anyone go to fix their car to pep boys???

[Andrew Bohan]

i went because i was new to the area, didn't have a place to work on my car or know anyone, and didn't know how much pep boys sucked. and it was right next to the grocery store.

[rrobe99999]

The Pep Boys that I brought my 82 280ZX to for tires were idiots. 1st day: dropped it off. Told them about starter button under the dash. Went to pick up. They said "We couldn't start it". I Told them about starter button under dash again. Also pointed out that they have a telephone that could be used to call customers if they have a problem. 2nd day: Tires mounted, white walls out. 3rd day: Tires installed correctly. Left a nice burnout leaving the parking lot. Never gone back.

[MidnightstarS13]

I gotta step in here in for a minute. Weirdstyles, man I feel ya. Current employee here too.

Here's what I think of Pep Boys as a consumer and employee, both ways and either or.

1) Nowadays, most auto parts will not carry auto parts that not generic to the public. If you have Honda's, Toyota's, Dodge's, and other cars that are mostly used, you'll get parts for it. I could say the same for all other parts stores. If its a car that hardly seen on the street, then SOL. I say "Junkyard or dealer buddy", both in english and spanish. As for 240 parts, we'll have some but not everything. Trust me guys, I tried. Brake pads, rotors, tune up stuff, bulbs, and fluids. That's it.

2) As from number 1, instead of parts, WE SELL #@$&(@#$*@#@#$* SCOOTERS!!! As much as I hate selling these POS's, we're stuck with it cause its corporate decision. Other parts stores also do this so don't be surprised. I kinda hate it when corporate decides to go "retail" instead of staying automotive mainstream cause you replace hard to find parts with no use items. For example, we carry booster seats. WHY?!?!?! Walmart is not too far from here, get it there. I'm sorry but it should be like that.

3) As for our service department, I could say I know most of the guys and techs there, but I wouldn't hand my car keys to them if I died for it. Most of them are oil and tire jockeys and are fresh off the boat (tech school) and one or two techs are full ASE mech's and they do the heavy work. So brake work will depends on who knows more knowledge. With my car, of course, I do all the work myself. The only time that I need to bring it to a shop is when I don't have equipment to use (lift, press, align machine).

4) The parts are meh to me. I should say that cuz I'm one of them. I try everything I can to help customers to what the hell need. The only ones that aggrevate me the most are the ones who come in and have no frickin' clue on what they're looking for. Then I have the old guys look for parts for big blocks. They're more easier to deal with. Then I get the occasional "rice boys" who ask me all the stupidest shit ever and I take them to school with that. And yes, there is usually one person who is the "all knowing" person and the good thing too is that he speaks spanish.

So, saying all that, I'm open to the flaming. Hopefully I'll be leaving the organization soon. Why? Cause they can't afford to pay me.

[S14DB]

I gotta step in here in for a minute. Weirdstyles, man I feel ya. Current employee here too.

Here's what I think of Pep Boys as a consumer and employee, both ways and either or.

1) Nowadays, most auto parts will not carry auto parts that not generic to the public. If you have Honda's, Toyota's, Dodge's, and other cars that are mostly used, you'll get parts for it. I could say the same for all other parts stores. If its a car that hardly seen on the street, then SOL. I say "Junkyard or dealer buddy", both in english and spanish. As for 240 parts, we'll have some but not everything. Trust me guys, I tried. Brake pads, rotors, tune up stuff, bulbs, and fluids. That's it.

2) As from number 1, instead of parts, WE SELL #@$&(@#$*@#@#$* SCOOTERS!!! As much as I hate selling these POS's, we're stuck with it cause its corporate decision. Other parts stores also do this so don't be surprised. I kinda hate it when corporate decides to go "retail" instead of staying automotive mainstream cause you replace hard to find parts with no use items. For example, we carry booster seats. WHY?!?!?! Walmart is not too far from here, get it there. I'm sorry but it should be like that.

3) As for our service department, I could say I know most of the guys and techs there, but I wouldn't hand my car keys to them if I died for it. Most of them are oil and tire jockeys and are fresh off the boat (tech school) and one or two techs are full ASE mech's and they do the heavy work. So brake work will depends on who knows more knowledge. With my car, of course, I do all the work myself. The only time that I need to bring it to a shop is when I don't have equipment to use (lift, press, align machine).

4) The parts are meh to me. I should say that cuz I'm one of them. I try everything I can to help customers to what the hell need. The only ones that aggrevate me the most are the ones who come in and have no frickin' clue on what they're looking for. Then I have the old guys look for parts for big blocks. They're more easier to deal with. Then I get the occasional "rice boys" who ask me all the stupidest shit ever and I take them to school with that. And yes, there is usually one person who is the "all knowing" person and the good thing too is that he speaks spanish.

So, saying all that, I'm open to the flaming. Hopefully I'll be leaving the organization soon. Why? Cause they can't afford to pay me.

1) I don't care what you have instock. Atleast you should list the part number even if it will take 3wks to get.

2) that's cause the place sucks. So, they need to sell something else.

3) I don't know why you would pay high prices for substandard sevice.

4) That's why you are working there. To help these dumbfucks. If everybody knew what they wanted you wouldn't need a job.

[old_s13]

truth: you work for a shitty company, fuck pep boys and go get a real job working for a respectable car company

[holisticbeatz]

Like APC or clearcorners.com

[Shin_Kudo]

I'm starting at Kragen in Burbank next week, I was shocked to find that many of my co-workers actually know a thing or two about cars! (in large part, I think it's because Kragen sends everyone to Auto Tech courses, I'm not sure who else does that) If you're in the area and need parts, come over to our store. (It's on Victory blvd, near Toys R Us and OSH.)

[old_s13]

Like APC or clearcorners.com

or yo momma, she needs a new pimp

[DaveSev]

I took my car into Monro Muffler to have them check on my exhaust, they quoted me 730 bucks for the catalytic converter and back...

[mjjstang]

only reason I hate those fucking stores, is cause when I go in the 24 hour one, the manager walks with us, like 3 feet behind me and my buddies, he dont even try to hide, or pretend hes not following us, so one day we all three split up into different aisles, and only 2 workers in the building, he freaked out, anyway though, pep boys is pretty ricy,