Les Schwab Ripping off those who don't know Bend Oregon

DONE DEALING WITH LES SCHWAB UNTIL YOU GET A FLAT TIRE AND WHO YOUR FAVORITE COMPANY IN THE WORLD.

WHAT TIRE BRAND WHERE YOU GETTING A PRICE FOR THAT LES SCHWAB AND AMERCAN CARRIED? THINK WILL YOU GET THE SAME SERVICE FROM AMERICAN THEN LES SCHWAB? IS THE ROAD HAZARD INCLUDED IN YOU TIRE PURCHASED LIKE LES IS. ALL OTHER TIRE COMPANY OUT THERE WILL CHARGE YOU FOR IT AND IF YOU OPT NOT TO PURCHASE IT YOU'RE SOL.

WE'LL SEE YOU AGAIN VERY SOON...

I too am a long time (35 years) customer of Les Schwab and I too see that they have changed. They now have people in charge of the stores who have only worked at the company for a few years. I drive up and down I-5 on a daily basis and kept doing buisness with them. As I go into the stores I see a trend that I haven't seen with this company before. NO managers or assistants that have been with the company for more than 8 or 9 years. This is a company that use to pride itself on long time employees. I am shocked at the people in managment who have no knowledge of the tire buisness. Sure, they may be able to smile, shake my hand and sell me what ever, but that's it.

Where is the old Les Schwab feel? The customer service, the pride? Where is the knowledge in the management team? Where is the guy who has been there 15 years and knows why they were #1. In this economy we do have a choice. I am one of the people who believe I will pay more for my product if it comes with customer service, honesty, experience and the vision that I think this company once had. Now the show rooms are full of managment young one's who just want to sell, smoosh, and bs me into buying from them.

I feel they do not contain the integrity they once did. Sad to see this company go down this way!

I may have to wander in to a few more to be sure, but if I find one more manager or assistant manager who has only been with the company for a short time I'm going to have to stop and wonder. Where did all the experience and knowledge go? Where did the loyal employees go? Why are they gone? Where are all the employees who are my age? There's something to be said for this and it shows in their service.

If we shop for our tires somewhere else maybe they will get the hint.

you may find that some people in the company do get promoted fast. and they still go through the same rigorous promotion standards all the managers have gone through for years. Our store just celebrated our store mananger's 31st year in the company. All the stores recieve a company newletter that also lets us know who in the company has reached certain time milestones. A lot of managers have over 25 years in. So while you go into a store and probably deal with a younger assistant mananger, just remember that the store manager usually has more that ten years with the company. Les Schwab as a company has always wanted to see people grow within but they don't toss around store management jobs like candy.

First off I have to say I met the man, Les Schwab, and I absolutely loved him, he was an absolute genius, had incredible forsight, and knew what it took to build a successful company, with happy employees and happy customers. But as many customers with NO inside information have noticed.. SADLY something HAS changed.

Les built his company with some very rock solid Ideals. For instance he believed in "building people first", meaning that he cared about his imployees, and wanted to create an evironment that ensured not just his success, but theirs as well. He started many wonderful programs that made most employees very grateful to work for a man like him, and in turn those employees happily ran fast, worked long hours and weeks, sweating bullets, all with devotion uncommon, and wearing a genuine smile for him and the customers. WE WERE PROUD TO BE MEMBERS OF "LES SCHWAB FAMILY".

Where am I going with this rebuttal- well stop by the McMinnville store and look for the familliar always helpful bookeeper who everyone in town recognizes as the gal at schwabs who is always the first one to help you, and you wont find her. Fired with NO reason after 17 years with the company, I am shocked!. Her son dressed in Les Schwab clothes since a baby, the family proudly sported Les Schwab gear on days off. She is one of many, the origanal, the true heartblood that made the company a success. And now is cutout in a way that Les would have never allowed.

Sure times are tough everywhere, unemployment rates are at an all time high, I understand that, but Les had enough vision, and simplicity to him, a no frills kindof guy that we could all relate to. He was no typical million dollar mogul, he would have never spent the kindof money the new corporate heads did to move the mainoffice to Bend so they could have a big fancy headquarters like they think they "deserve"(Les lived very happily all those years at the Prineville Main Office- Keeping the future and well being of his employees and company above all else) Les cared about his community too, and the company never couldve made the move to Bend while Les was alive, I think Les knew the devastating impact that would have on the businesses in Prineville. Also corporate paid for many of its corporate employees moving expenses and closing costs to move them to Bend. Its a 75 Mile round trip commute from Prineville to Bend?? I made an 80mile commute (happily) for seven years while working for them, the gal at McMinnville Commuted to Tigard for over ten years, HAPPILY.

Les talked with a politician one time and told him that one of the biggest problems we face is that too many people have a sense of entitlement, this was many years ago. Amazing Insight huh? Perhaps a prediction? the sense of entitlement at the coporate level is robbing those who built this company by the sweat of their brows and the time missed with their families all in hopes of a shared success in the company.

Let me pose this question "If the company cant afford to keep an employee that they know has been an asset, firing them with no reason, saying they know its not right, then how is it that company can afford to take the managers trip to Hawaii at the beginning of '09?" seems a bit extravagant durring questionable profits. Instead they are chopping the heads off the people you and I want to see when we go into a Schwabs. Let me tell you something I think is pretty extraordinary, our current employers, when profits are low, to get by, the managers take a temporary cut in salary to compensate, not wanting to let valuable employees go, maybe the greedy hands at the top of Les Schwab could gleen a bit from that idea, maybe?

There was a day when I was proud to say I worked for Les Schwab, because of its reputation for treating customers and employees right, but those days are gone. If the Les Schwab company still feels that its employees are the "Lifeblood" of its success then they had better realize they are commiting corporate suicide by cutting the employees that are the ones who keep their customers coming back. Its the Customer Service that keeps them coming back, its common knowledge you can buy tires cheaper everywhere else. I hate to tell the customers this but wage cost is high, net profit is low and the first thing to get cut in the Post Les Schwab era is the one thing that set them appart, quality employees=good customer service.

I know this will recieve HUGE comments back from faithful and devoted current employees, let me just say, even YOUR job isnt secure, and YOU will look at things differently when you are wrongly kicked out of the company you devoted your life to being part of, to help build. I have sincere heartbreak when I think about this company becoming like every other corporation, where the only thing that matters is the bottom line, profits. Its not what Les invisioned for his company, sad to see all that he created go to waste.

First off I have to say I met the man, Les Schwab, and I absolutely loved him, he was an absolute genius, had incredible forsight, and knew what it took to build a successful company, with happy employees and happy customers. But as many customers with NO inside information have noticed.. SADLY something HAS changed.

Les built his company with some very rock solid Ideals. For instance he believed in "building people first", meaning that he cared about his imployees, and wanted to create an evironment that ensured not just his success, but theirs as well. He started many wonderful programs that made most employees very grateful to work for a man like him, and in turn those employees happily ran fast, worked long hours and weeks, sweating bullets, all with devotion uncommon, and wearing a genuine smile for him and the customers. WE WERE PROUD TO BE MEMBERS OF "LES SCHWAB FAMILY".

Where am I going with this rebuttal- well stop by the McMinnville store and look for the familliar always helpful bookeeper who everyone in town recognizes as the gal at schwabs who is always the first one to help you, and you wont find her. Fired with NO reason after 17 years with the company, I am shocked!. Her son dressed in Les Schwab clothes since a baby, the family proudly sported Les Schwab gear on days off. She is one of many, the origanal, the true heartblood that made the company a success. And now is cutout in a way that Les would have never allowed.

Sure times are tough everywhere, unemployment rates are at an all time high, I understand that, but Les had enough vision, and simplicity to him, a no frills kindof guy that we could all relate to. He was no typical million dollar mogul, he would have never spent the kindof money the new corporate heads did to move the mainoffice to Bend so they could have a big fancy headquarters like they think they "deserve"(Les lived very happily all those years at the Prineville Main Office- Keeping the future and well being of his employees and company above all else) Les cared about his community too, and the company never couldve made the move to Bend while Les was alive, I think Les knew the devastating impact that would have on the businesses in Prineville. Also corporate paid for many of its corporate employees moving expenses and closing costs to move them to Bend. Its a 75 Mile round trip commute from Prineville to Bend?? I made an 80mile commute (happily) for seven years while working for them, the gal at McMinnville Commuted to Tigard for over ten years, HAPPILY.

Les talked with a politician one time and told him that one of the biggest problems we face is that too many people have a sense of entitlement, this was many years ago. Amazing Insight huh? Perhaps a prediction? the sense of entitlement at the coporate level is robbing those who built this company by the sweat of their brows and the time missed with their families all in hopes of a shared success in the company.

Let me pose this question "If the company cant afford to keep an employee that they know has been an asset, firing them with no reason, saying they know its not right, then how is it that company can afford to take the managers trip to Hawaii at the beginning of '09?" seems a bit extravagant durring questionable profits. Instead they are chopping the heads off the people you and I want to see when we go into a Schwabs. Let me tell you something I think is pretty extraordinary, our current employers, when profits are low, to get by, the managers take a temporary cut in salary to compensate, not wanting to let valuable employees go, maybe the greedy hands at the top of Les Schwab could gleen a bit from that idea, maybe?

There was a day when I was proud to say I worked for Les Schwab, because of its reputation for treating customers and employees right, but those days are gone. If the Les Schwab company still feels that its employees are the "Lifeblood" of its success then they had better realize they are commiting corporate suicide by cutting the employees that are the ones who keep their customers coming back. Its the Customer Service that keeps them coming back, its common knowledge you can buy tires cheaper everywhere else. I hate to tell the customers this but wage cost is high, net profit is low and the first thing to get cut in the Post Les Schwab era is the one thing that set them appart, quality employees=good customer service.

I know this will recieve HUGE comments back from faithful and devoted current employees, let me just say, even YOUR job isnt secure, and YOU will look at things differently when you are wrongly kicked out of the company you devoted your life to being part of, to help build. I have sincere heartbreak when I think about this company becoming like every other corporation, where the only thing that matters is the bottom line, profits. Its not what Les invisioned for his company, sad to see all that he created go to waste.