‘We’ll call you.’
A man goes to two different Walmart locations to buy tires and expresses frustration at the process and the customer service he received.
TikTok creator @lets.talk_shop_ posted the video detailing his tire-buying journey on March 31. “You know, buying tires for your cars is the biggest [expletive] hassle,” he says to start the video. “Like, this [expletive] is insane.”
What does he find so insane? “The amount of people that are A) trying to rip you off or B) they won’t answer the phone,” he says. “All the bait-and-switch people that give you a price over the phone, and then you get there [and] they’ve got all these extra [expletive] fees and all this stuff.”
The TikToker explains that he went to his local Walmart to check on the price of a set of tires. Unfortunately, the location only had two in stock.
“So, I say, ‘Can you get more and just get them ordered?'” he says. “Well, they say, ‘You have to order them through Walmart.com and you can either get them shipped to your house and bring them up here and then make an appointment, which is going to be two days later.'”
He continues, “‘Or you can have them shipped here, and once they arrive, we’ll call you … and then … we can set up an appointment for you.”
The TikToker wasn’t prepared to go through all that to get a set of tires. “This is going to turn into a five-day thing,” he says. “So, I’m going to another Walmart across town to see if they have these tires in stock, which they’re showing, to see if I can get these tires put on today or maybe tomorrow.”
“The other place in town, Mavis Tire, … it’s just a total bait-and-switch,” he adds.
In part 2, the creator reveals that the second Walmart he visited did have the tires in stock, but the wait would be about 4 hours, so he made an appointment for the next day.
In the video’s comments section, viewers shared their opinions on shopping for tires at Walmart.
“Walmart is easy,” wrote one viewer. “Pick out tires on the website, schedule a time on the website, pay for install and tires on the same website, show up at the scheduled time, and leave 30 minutes later.”
“I went to Walmart, they ordered the tires, three days later they installed them,” a second person said. “Saved almost $300.”
A third person said, “Walmart is half the price than the mom and pop stores around here.” The TikToker replied, “I just told my coworker that. He just spent $1,100 on four tires from a local shop. They’re $150 each at Walmart.”
Walmart customers can shop for tires on the website or app by searching for tires that match their vehicle. After making the selection, customers can then book an appointment to get them installed. The installation process can be tracked on the app, and customers will receive a notification when the job is complete.
A Reddit user asked whether Walmart tires are a good buy in a thread on r/tires that was posted nine months ago. “The tires should be fine,” wrote one mom-and-pop tire shop owner. “What concerns me is the experience or professionalism of the technician installing them.”
A second person said, “I work at Walmart Auto Care Center with a great tire and lube crew. I would not take my car to any other Walmart for work on my car unless I knew they were staffed by a similarly great crew.”
Motor1 contacted Let’s Talk Shop via TikTok comment and direct message. We also contacted Walmart via the website contact form for comment. We will update this story if either party responds.
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