Around here they (Discount Tire) are known as America's Tire, and free here
too.

"xblazinlv" <mike@carforums.net> wrote in news:1134803399.788572.79710
@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com:

Yes I do have the spare doughnut.  

If you have a

Yes I do have the spare doughnut.  Free?!  Are you kidding?
I haven't found a shop or gas station that will do for free yet!
You're lucky if they offer you a cup of coffee!  I have to pay 50 cents for
air in the city!

Most important, the sidewall belting rots by way of those hairline cracks.

May easily blow out at an inopportune time.

No, they are not, generally.  From a liability standpoint no tire store
I've been in for at least 10 years now will plug a tire.  Years ago I
used to get sidewall punctures plugged (I know, naughty naughty)
because a patch will just roll off on a sidewall, but nobody does
that anymore.

The auto parts places still sell plugging kits, and like the other poster
said, I would have no qualms about using one.

It's not free, trust me.

I've got about 6 free flats repaired at the Les Schwab tire stores around
here
before.  Twice that it's happened, the tire was leaking due to bead
leaks, and they refused to remount the tire.  I will grant that the
tires were very old and the bead was coming apart, that is why
it was leaking.  But the upshot is of course that I ended up buying two
brand new tires each time.  And of course, one set was NOT purchased
when the Les Schwab stores were having their 2 or 3 times a year
sale.  (fortunately, the other set was purchased during a sale, because
that is when the tire went flat)

The reason tire stores fix flats for free is that they know that if they
make this a company policy that word gets around, and over time
people will start coming in for the free flat repairs, and a certain
percentage of them will buy new tires.  When you are standing in
the lobby of a tire store on Monday morning when you decided
to get the flat fixed on your way to work, and they come in and
tell you the sidewall has a hole in it and their company policy is
to not remount the tire, you pretty much are stuck.

And since every other tires store would act the same way in this
scenario, you might as go to the one were they fix the flat for free,
since if it is a simple puncture then they fix it and your on your way.

Where exactly do you buy tires?

Just about all tires sold around here ARE sold in tire chain stores!
In fact the few independent tire dealers in this city make a living
primariarly off selling used tires.  I don't know where they get them
but I would guess they buy them from the chain tire stores.  Years
ago there used to be more gas stations that were combination
gas station/service stations that sold tires, but the last one of these
in this area closed it's service bays and changed over to a mini-mart
about 4 years ago.  I used to buy gas from them all the time.  Right
after they did so I stopped in and asked them why and they told me
their owner/mechanic died of old age, and the new owner couldn't
find a new mechanic.  (read between the lines - couldn't find a mechanic
that would work cheap)

I would not buy tires from Walmart but that is mainly because I
don't care for the company.  But most other places that sell tires
are chains, and all they do is sell tires.  The people that work in them
mount and dismount tires all day long, they certainly have more
experience in tires than the average mechanic does.

Naturally, I would not advise people get brakes done in a tire store
although many stores do this.

Ted

Probably true... A lot of the tire shop employees here tend to be hispanics,
who are glad to be here even at fairly crappy wages.  I always put something
in their hand if they do an attentive job.

I disagree here.  What you get when you pay peanuts are a lot of people
who don't have a long Resume in the field in which they are working, and
a high turnover rate. Usually this means young people just starting out, or
older people who are coming from shrinking fields.  If your trying to run
a tire place where the work isn't particularly challenging, and is the same
thing day after day, the high turnover isn't a problem.  If your trying to
run a hospital where the work is very challenging, and is quite different
day after day, the high turnover is unacceptable.

I would guess that in a week, any reasonably intelligent person could learn
everything they needed to know about mounting and dismounting tires
from a rim, running a balancing machine, and fixing flats.

As for lazy, slipshod, blowoff workers, I've seen plenty of those both
at the low wage scales, and the high wage scales.  The only difference
is at the high wage scales those kind of workers are better at covering it
up.

If the management at the tire store knows what they are doing, they won't
be keeping the bad employees.

Ted

I don't know how well the fellows a paid nor how long they stay with the
fast pace job. I notice, here in Pac. NW and in N. Calif., the Les Schwab
"team" are most all Caucasian, late teens-20somthing. I don't think a 30ish
or older could maintain the pace. I suspect a lot has to do with motivation,
"gun-hoe" team spirit. I never see any active supervision, I suspect it is
just a team leader situation.

What surprises me most, is the customer is great 'curb-side' or at the
parking spot outside the service bay. For minor service you seldom have to
go into the store. I recently took bad battery in and the loaded a new one
in the back of my truck without question but reminded me I would need to go
inside to get a new warrantee card. Whole process was less than 5 min.

I have never tipped and that is only because I have never seen anyone else
tip. I would be glad to do it if I didn't think it would be outside their
policy or start the end to very good service, for free.

I doubt the these young fellow stay there for very long. However, I think
that when they do leave, the leave with a good work ethic, team motivation
and a good reference for the next job.