KevinL Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 On Saturday I visited WalMart for an oil change. I usually go somewhere else and thought WalMart might be cheaper. Also, WalMart is a 5 minute walk from my home so it was convenient. I ordered the value-plus service which includes topping off of all fluids. I was surprised when I was quoted 1 1/2 hours but I got the phone number and walked home. This was around 2:30 PM. Around 4 PM I began calling to check on the status of my car. I was transferred to the Tire & Lube Express department where the phone rang and rang and rang. I ended up calling back 3 times before anyone finally answered. Someone told me that my car was indeed done. I walked over to pick it up. I got in line around 4:40 and there were 2 customers ahead of me, but no employees at the service counter. The phone was ringing again and not being answered. It was over 10 minutes before any employees arrived. It took him 15 minutes to deal with the 2 customers ahead of me. Meanwhile another employee came over and asked John how things were going. He said "Pretty good" and I laughed out loud. When it was finally my turn he said he was sorry and I said "You should be." He replied "That wasn't very nice." I didn't say another word, paid for my oil change, and went out to my car. I checked the fluids and the wiper fluid was NOT added to my car. In summary, my complaints are: 1) Had to call 3 times to get the status of my car. 2) Had to wait 25 minutes to pick up my car. 3) Promised service was not done. This took way longer than the place I usually go and the price was about the same. I will NEVER have WalMart service my car again. I will tell everyone I know about this. This service was ridiculously pathetic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 call 1800walmart and tell them about it wally makes no money on their automotive dept, it is a service to get you to come in, same thing as the pharmacy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 The Sheikette and I tried getting an oil change at WalMart a few months ago. While waiting to check the car in, the assistant manager was on the phone with a customer: "Hello, sir. I'm so sorry to tell you this, but one of our mechanics was driving your car into the garage and crashed it into a wall. Your front fender has some damage to it, and of course we'll pay for it to be fixed. . .." Uh, maybe we should take the car somewhere else. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbimm Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 OK people heres the drill. You buy bathroom products and groceries at Walmart. You get your car washed at a car wash. Get your oil changed at an auto shop! I mean come on? Would you call a plumber if you needed a root canal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 OK people heres the drill. You buy bathroom products and groceries at Walmart. You get your car washed at a car wash. Get your oil changed at an auto shop! I mean come on? Would you call a plumber if you needed a root canal? Good info here. On a side note, this is why I prefer specialist companies for tasks at work e.g. external network vulnerability scanning - they do one thing and they do it extremely well because they have to. I don't use firms that do things as a sideline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaterMan Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Sounds like every phone at Wal-Mart needs a secretary to answer every call 24/7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 OK people heres the drill. You buy bathroom products and groceries at Walmart. You get your car washed at a car wash. Get your oil changed at an auto shop! I mean come on? Would you call a plumber if you needed a root canal? I agree but an oil change is such a simple job. Going there and doing it while shopping is prefereable to waiting an hour at a shop. Expresss places are better but aren't really shops either. Anything more than oil or tires I would do at a real garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Front Row Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Real men change their own oil , and with Mobil one I might add. Just ask Puddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Real men change their own oil , and with Mobil one I might add. Just ask Puddy. Here! here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Walmart serves some purposes but oil change is not one of them ...the one by me is a disaster , they have 22 actual registers but I have never seen more than 6 open at one time ...lines are super long and non on there goes out of their way to help Walmart is so huge and yet so small in the service they provide more often than not imho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmarc117 Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 walmart offers discounts, not cust service Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 OK people heres the drill. You buy bathroom products and groceries at Walmart. You get your car washed at a car wash. Get your oil changed at an auto shop! I mean come on? Would you call a plumber if you needed a root canal? You change the oil yourself. Fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinL Posted July 9, 2007 Author Share Posted July 9, 2007 Real men change their own oil , and with Mobil one I might add. Just ask Puddy. I'm sure I could learn how, but I have 2 jobs, 7 kids, 3 cars, coach 2 soccer teams, and spend Sunday morning in church. At this point in my life it's a better use of my time to pay the guys at the garage $20 and have it done in 15 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 I'm sure I could learn how, but I have 2 jobs, 7 kids, 3 cars, coach 2 soccer teams, and spend Sunday morning in church. At this point in my life it's a better use of my time to pay the guys at the garage $20 and have it done in 15 minutes. Bingo. I do a CBA vs. my time on most of these things and paying someone to do chit comes out on top almost all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 I'm sure I could learn how, but I have 2 jobs, 7 kids, 3 cars, coach 2 soccer teams, and spend Sunday morning in church. At this point in my life it's a better use of my time to pay the guys at the garage $20 and have it done in 15 minutes. Yeah, how'd that work out this time? Oh yeah.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinL Posted July 9, 2007 Author Share Posted July 9, 2007 Yeah, how'd that work out this time? Oh yeah.... I made the mistake in going to the WalMart that is literally out my back window. I learned my lesson. From now on I'll drive the extra 10 minutes and go to the place I usually go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Ryan Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 (edited) On Saturday I visited WalMart for an oil change. I usually go somewhere else and thought WalMart might be cheaper. Also, WalMart is a 5 minute walk from my home so it was convenient. I ordered the value-plus service which includes topping off of all fluids. I was surprised when I was quoted 1 1/2 hours but I got the phone number and walked home. This was around 2:30 PM. Around 4 PM I began calling to check on the status of my car. I was transferred to the Tire & Lube Express department where the phone rang and rang and rang. I ended up calling back 3 times before anyone finally answered. Someone told me that my car was indeed done. I walked over to pick it up. I got in line around 4:40 and there were 2 customers ahead of me, but no employees at the service counter. The phone was ringing again and not being answered. It was over 10 minutes before any employees arrived. It took him 15 minutes to deal with the 2 customers ahead of me. Meanwhile another employee came over and asked John how things were going. He said "Pretty good" and I laughed out loud. When it was finally my turn he said he was sorry and I said "You should be." He replied "That wasn't very nice." I didn't say another word, paid for my oil change, and went out to my car. I checked the fluids and the wiper fluid was NOT added to my car. In summary, my complaints are: 1) Had to call 3 times to get the status of my car. 2) Had to wait 25 minutes to pick up my car. 3) Promised service was not done. This took way longer than the place I usually go and the price was about the same. I will NEVER have WalMart service my car again. I will tell everyone I know about this. This service was ridiculously pathetic. Had a similar situation happen, not the long wait, but that they didnt top off my fluids. I took it back, demanded a refund, and got a manager over there ASAP. he apologized told the service tech to top off my fluids, and my next oil change will be free as well. Ever since then, I check the fluids before I leave, and if they F up, Ill get it free plus the next one free. This plus its $10 cheaper, and I hate to sit and wait, when I could be grocery shopping. It makes sense for me to use Wal-Mart for oil changes. Edited July 9, 2007 by Sgt. Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Had a similar situation happen, not the long wait, but that they didnt top off my fluids. I took it back, demanded a refund, and got a manager over there ASAP. he apologized told the service tech to top off my fluids, and my next oil change will be free as well. Ever since then, I check the fluids before I leave, and if they F up, Ill get it free plus the next one free. This plus its $10 cheaper, and I hate to sit and wait, when I could be grocery shopping. It makes sense for me to use Wal-Mart for oil changes. Wanna bet the oil is total crap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonkis Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 I got you all beat, I never change my oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 I got you all beat, I never change my oil. seriously though, worst thing you could do for your car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 I take my pick from one of the local chains. I'm in and out in ten minutes. Never been a big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 (edited) OK people heres the drill. You buy bathroom products and groceries at Walmart. You get your car washed at a car wash. Get your oil changed at an auto shop! I mean come on? Would you call a plumber if you needed a root canal? One step further, regardless of what I go to WalMart for, I'm routinely pissed that I went there. There is no product so simple and everyday or cheap that it is worth dealing with that place. I forget what we were looking for, but I was out with my wife running errands and she suggested we pull in and grab it there. I protested repeating that I freaking hate that place more than perhaps anything on this earth. She insisted, reminding me, "Oh c'mon, it's laundry soap (or what ever it was), how hard can it be?" In truth, we managed to find the soap. Just then, like always, it happened. "We need clothespins, I wonder if they have them." "Well, maybe they're here with the laundry soap" No such luck. Then we found the retractable laundry lines, no luck. Of course, the hardest thing to find is an employee. Found one. Asked him and he had no idea. He walked with us back to the same place we'd been looking. This is my favorite thing when an employee helps you find something. They have no idea so just look in exactly the same places you just did. "I already looked here, I think I would have found it if it was here. Do you think anyone else knows?" "This is my department, so if anyone knows, it would be me." "Do you even know if you have them?" "Oh, sure, I just can't remember what isle." I'm ready to give up because, as I mentioned, I freaking hate this store and what is happening is exactly one of the reasons. It is embarrassing to go into a situation knowing something lame is going to happen and then just sit there and allow it to happen. So, while dumbass and I are just randomly looking around the same way I had done before, my wife manages to find them and we're out of there. Well, not exactly. There's like 5 people in line and one cashier. Everyone, including that cashier are about as stupid as anyone you'll meet. Every customer waits until the transaction is over to even open their purse, cashier can't find the code or mis-rings at least one item per transaction. I look at my wife with a "told you so" sort of look on my face. I'd like to think that this will provide some precedent that will aid future arguments against shopping at this god forsaken hell hole. Of course, anyone married knows that is not the case. You can be right 1000 times in a row and still have to fight like mad the 1001st or, if you're smart, just relent for the sake of peace. The single thing that people tend to forget about money, is that you must always remember it's intrinsic value. People put up with anything to save a buck not mindful of what that dollar actually costs them. If I came up to you on your day off and offered you a buck to stand there for 30 minutes and let me throw a tennis ball against the back of your head, you'd tell me to piss off. SO WHY IN GOD'S NAME WOULD YOU MAKE A SPECIAL TRIP TO THIS HORRIBLE PLACE TO SAVE A BUCK ON SOAP?!?!? Edited July 9, 2007 by detlef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big F'n Dave Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 F*ck WalMart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 been into a wally world 2 times in my life... both have taken substantial days off of my life.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 (edited) I'm sure I could learn how, but I have 2 jobs, 7 kids, 3 cars, coach 2 soccer teams, and spend Sunday morning in church. At this point in my life it's a better use of my time to pay the guys at the garage $20 and have it done in 15 minutes. I've changed the oil in my car since I was 16. Now I either go to Walmart or some rapid oil change place. I don't want to mess with it and the 100% chance of getting oil spills either in the garage or driveway. The Rapid oil change place that I like is right next to a Culver's restaurant. Yummy. The car is always ready by the time I'm done eating at the restaurant. Edited July 9, 2007 by MikesVikes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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