Meineke Car Care Refused to patch tire close to closing time for my son on a freezing cold winter day when we live 45min away Burlington Iowa

Does mommy's  precious little boy know how to change a tire? If the tire is flat throw on the spare and drive on home.  Let me guess, the shop should have done that also for your little boy. 

Seriously? This is the last time I am going to state why I was upset. My son was at the mercy of this company to help him in a bad situation. It was 2 degrees out and probably colder with the windchill factor. I was out in it to feed my animals at the time this happened to him. I was completely bundled up and within 10 mins my hands were freezing to the point they hurt and I was dressed for the weather. I mentioned the price because somone else mentioned the price. I was just stating what our tire shop charges.

With my son in the situation he was in I would of been more than happy to pay whatever it would cost for someone to help him!  I wouldn't expect in "normal" circumstances for anyone to go out of their way to help my son or anyone else. Although it would be nice if people weren't self centered and only cared about themselves for once. Which apparently you are one to only do what you have to and not help someone in need. We weren't asking to be moved ahead of anyone and he was at the shop before closing only because it happened near this company and he had a flat tire.

No matter what you say, in this situation any normal, caring person would of helped. Did they HAVE to help him? NO! I was just stating I think it is pretty shitty for someone to have all the tools/place to help someone on something simple and chose to turn them away because it was close to closing PERIOD! Get over it Robert! It's just a matter of doing something nice for someone when they needed help! That is all I expect or asked for, we were not expecting to have it done for free, not once did I think or say that. 

The fact is that I am presenting in a very logical and straightforward way why you are wrong and like most people when confronted with logic when all they have is illogic they can't handle it and go to the "well you must be an employee".   So sorry to burst your bubble but I do not now or ever have worked for this company.  In fact I would say the exact same thing regardless of the company you would be complaining about.

Of course we get to an issue that was never mentioned before..cost.  So now not only should they have been forced to help your son, but you have even set the maximum price they could charge.  I don't know how much they actually charge, but if they had charged even a penny more than $15 I can guarantee that you would have been coming here writting a "RipOff" how they took advantage of your "helpless" son on a cold day just because your son made them stay after closing without pay(after all you would work for free).  Umm..I wonder why people are not as willing to help anymore.

I really just have a few questions to totally understand where you are coming from.  If your complaint is that it was so cold that they should have helped, can you help us out here by giving us a few guidelines.

At what temperature would it be okay in your mind for these people to not be forced to "go out of their way" to help your "helpless" son.  10 degrees?  32 degrees?  50 degrees?  What if you got a heat wave in the summer, when should they again be required to help..90 degrees?  100 degrees?  Please give us your "acceptable" range.

But since weather is so important to you what other conditions should require somone to help?  How about rain if it is raining at 1/10 of an inch an hour should they be required to help?  Snow?  Just how much snow should be comming down before a person is required to help.  What about things such as wind or fog?

Okay, JD Reed. Once again, they were not too busy to fix the tire, they didn't want to fix it because it was "close" to closing.  I have watched plenty of people patch a tire, including my 70 y.o. dad and none of them went through all that crap you mentioned. I've also gone to our tire shop and waited while they patched it and it didn't take that long and guess how much it cost me to have it patch in our town? Not no 49.95,  at the most it cost me 15 bucks to have it fixed. Maybe at Meineke they have to go through all that and then over charge to have it patched. Bottom line is if your desperate and need help don't stop at Meineke, just drive on by!

Funny how you say we went to Meineke an hour before closing to have a flat tire fixed. Like he chose to get a flat tire an hour before Meineke closed. WTH, do you actually think he planned on this to happen? Are you smoking crack?

This story should have been on Dragnet!  Just the facts please.  Bottom line - you went to a Meineke to get a flat fixed 1 hour before closing, they were too busy to repair it, put air in the tire to help out and sent you on your way.  15 minute repair.  Maybe on the moon.  Pull car into shop, attempt to find leak, dismount tire, patch on inside, remount tire, balance tire, reinstall on car.  Then listen to you complain about spending $49.95 for 45 minutes of their (last minute) labor and parts.  Do you smoke crack?  Remember"it's just a tire repair" any idiot can do it in 15min, right?

It's obvious that you have some kind of connection to Meineke, Robert or you wouldn't have found my post and be so upset over it. If you would of read what I said I talked to the manager that was the one who turned him away and THE MANAGER flat out said he sent him away,not because they had others to do or he would have to wait but that he sent him away because it was CLOSE to closing time. Maybe you should shut your mouth and read what was said. It wasn't second hand from my son that I got all the info it was from the managers mouth!

It was FREEZING on Monday, way too cold to do anything out in the cold, so ya it would of been nice for him to take 15 mins and help a young man out in the situation he was in. And let him work on the tire out of the weather. If this would have been a normal day where it wasn't too cold to be out long in it I wouldn't have given it a second thought. He could of patched his tire, but when your in the dark out in freezing temperatures its a little difficult esp. when a business that does this work turns you away just because they are not closed but getting close to closing! It's not rocket science it was a patch, he wasn't asking for him to do major work on his car right that minute. 

I am done trying to explain my point to you. And honestly could give a sh.. less what your opinion is on this. The whole thing comes down to a business turning away someone in need on a very cold day due to it being close to them closing PERIOD! So get over it Robert and go back to work, maybe Meineke would hire you since your such a cheerleader for them, or maybe you already work there since your so passionate about something that has nothing to do with you unless you are the manager there.

They are not the ones that posted this to begin with I DID.

- And that's the problem.  YOU posted this report, YOU called the Owner, YOU are saying what everyone else should have done.  But the funny thing is..YOU were not even there.   Everything that you are saying is based on what your son has told you.  Your son doesn't even care enough to post this.  Oh unless you want us to believe he was just begging his "mommy" to post a report on this site about how mean they were to him.

The fact is simple, as much as you keep trying to deny it. This is totally about your son not being given "priority" to skip ahead of other people.  After all you made it quite clear in multiple posts that this was only a 15 minute job, so how dare Walmart tell him it would be 2 hours.   I would even bet that if you dug into this more, the manager actually said he would have done it..but your son would have had to wait.  It was your son who "works on cars" to not have a spare in his truck...that's right he is responsible for that to, not your husband.  It was your son who even though you say he was more than capable of doing the patch himself didn't buy a patch kit to do it himself. 

You talk about how people should just stop and help people.  Okay...well there is a difference between someone stopping for a person on the side of the road offering help, and the person who needs help standing in the middle of the road to get the person to stop and force them to help.  Then when that person won't help to call them uncaring.   Can you guess which one you are in this case?

As for the time.  I guess it means nothing to you that in order for them to do that 15 minute job they would have had to pull a person from working on another person's car making them wait.  But I guess since that other person wasn't up since 5:30am they need to just sit down, shut up and dare not complain..right?

Sorry Coast for forgetting to answer a question. I didn't remember everything asked and didn't go back and forth to his comment. NO he did not have a spare, if he had one why would he need to go to Meineke to get the flat one patched, silly boy?  You can trash talk me all you want but keep your remarks about my son and husband to yourself. They are not the ones that posted this to begin with I DID. My son started this job just over a week ago so excuse my "mechanic" husband for not thinking about throwing a spare in the back of his truck. Also when he went to Meineke he was desperate since it was the closest tire place and honestly I never heard about the place til this happened to my son. When I got on this site is when I read all the negative statements about Meineke which was AFTER my son stopped there needing help. I'm guessing you have some kind of connection to Meineke to have found the post to begin with. 

So Coast, to answer all your questions so you don't think I'm DODGING them. NO didn't have a spare, Nope my "mechanic" husband didn't put one in the truck and YES my son that works on cars for a living does know how to put on a spare. (But I don't, just in case your wondering).  I sure hope I answered ALL your questions! As we all know getting a flat tire is never expected and we're not always prepared to handle/fix it. The core of this all was basically if someone/anyone gets a flat and on one of the coldest days of the year, I would hope if they stopped at a tire shop for help that just because its "close" to closing time that someone would want to help. I guess maybe it shocked me that they weren't helpful because my husband, my son and any other man in my family would all go out of their way to help someone that was at their mercy wether it was that persons fault or not. It's called doing the right thing! I'm just glad I'm not related to you or any other person that doesn't see the wrong in the situation. BTW even the owner agreed with me and was a very nice guy! I just hope someone old doesn't show up at closing time at Meineke esp. when its freezing out needing help! But if they don't have a spare they deserve it, right?

“it sounds like they don't know what they are doing”

So why are you complaining? Why would you want the tire repaired by someone that doesn’t know what they are doing? Does your son that works with cars lack the ability to put on a spare or did your husband (the mechanic) fail to ensure your son (that travels three hours a day) had a spare tire? Why did you evade Robert’s question about the spare tire? That question is right at the core of this entire episode.

This is the last post I'm posting, everyone is not going to agree with everyone. My point was, I think if anyone was in a situation with a flat tire and showed up when it was freezing cold out it would not hurt for someone to take 15 min if that to help patch a tire. They weren't swamped, he could see the workers in the shop. Never once did the manager say they were swamped, or too busy to do it but that it was close to closing so they wouldn't. I don't care if this was my son in this situation or any of my family members.

If I heard about anyone being in a position needing help I would hope that someone would go the extra mile to help out. I don't think anyone owes me or my son anything, or we should be moved up the list. I was stating my opinion on Meineke's manager telling him they were close to closing to go elsewhere when his tire was flat and Walmart wasn't right next door. Apparently your self centered and don't think anyone should make an effort to help someone in need.

I have been helped when stranded on the side of the road with a flat by people taking time out of their schedule to help someone not because they'd get paid for it but because they having feelings for someone in need. My family has stopped on our way to places we had to be to help someone in need and missed whatever event we were headed to so that someone wasn't without help. To me that is the right thing to do, apparently to you, its all about you and if your too busy too bad! So don't be judging me when you don't know anything about me. You sound like a jerk!

There were things that factored into my opinion in this instance. One it being 2 degrees out and us living an hour from home. The owner agreed with me when I contacted him that they could have patched his tire, I wasn't expecting them to rebuild the engine or do any major work that would take a lot of their time. And after reading a lot of other reviews it sounds like they don't know what they are doing. My husband is a mechanic and my son works on cars for a living so thank God I don't have to deal with taking my vehicles to others to be worked on.  

If it had been a normal day where someone wouldn't freeze being out in the weather it wouldn't have been a big deal. But in certain cases I do think people can go above and beyone their normal routine to help people out, but apparently you are not one of those people.  It all comes down to someone caring enough about someone to help them out in a bad situation. He never said they had all these cars to work on before him, he told him it was close to closing time and wouldn't do it.

Our tire company in our town can have it patched in less than 15 min. its just the difference between a chain company and a family owned business/or kind people that will do what they can to help someone in need. This is my opinion, you can think/feel the way you want but I would feel like this even if it wasn't my family. It's just nice when you see someone do something they don't have to do but do because its the right thing!

First as for you not asking for people's opinions.   YOU posted on a PUBLIC web site and beleive it or not, there are going to be people that disagree with you and point out why you are wrong.  In this case you sound like a total jerk and a person who only thinks of your own selfish needs.

Since it was an hour before closing and YOU have no problem working without pay because they did not have the man power to fix the tire this is a RipOff in your mind.  Sorry but this is far from a RipOff.  

After all you say that your son was up since 5:30AM and had a cold and wanted to get home.  Okay..what if the manager has been up since 5:30 worked from opening to close without a lunch and has done this for 3 weeks straight.   What if the manager had already booked more people than he could get done in the hour and was already going to be there after closing to finish those people up? 

By him saying that he couldn't do it would of course infer that they couldn't get it done in that hour, so what if he said yes but your son would have to wait at least an hour before they could get to it.  Let me guess you would then come here and complain that they made your poor son wait for over an hour to do a 15 minute job.

No the fact is that you don't give a **** about the manager or anyone that works there, all you care about is your impatient son who didn't want to wait 2 hours for his turn at Walmart.  I guess you felt that he should have just been allowed to skip ahead of all of the people there were there before him.  Well as they say like mother..like son.  You have apparently trained him well.

There are a couple of other things that are very interesting.

You stated that your son could have easily patched the the tire if he had the patch.  Well why didn't he pick that up at Walmart when he was there asking about them doing it?  They have a pretty extensive automotive section and I bet more than a few patch kits.  Okay but let's say they are out..how about instead of him driving around from mechanic to mechanic how about going to another auto parts store that would be sure to have the patch?

There is also something that you have failed to mention.  Why was it so urgent to get this tire patched?  Where was your son's SPARE TIRE? 

The fact that they were still open for another hour does not mean that they had the time or available personnel to patch the tire. The remaining hour may have been unavailable because they were working on other customer’s vehicles. Yes, that would be other customers that waited for their turn to get service.

“this doesn't pay for a new tire my son has to buy since now his tire is ruined”

That is a decision your son made when he chose not to wait at Wal-Mart.

“I would stay and help someone without the extra pay”

That does not obligate someone else to work late for free. Maybe the tire repair guy had been up since 5:30 and had a 90-minute drive home.

“I will let everyone and anyone know what kind of business this place is”

Your bogus complaint would not deter me from using their business.

Your self-righteous attitude shows your true colors.

I have no clue what your even talking about. You need to go back and learn how to talk. You sound like your unstable when your talking and make no sense. I actaully talked to the owner and he agreed with me. The "manager" didn't say he couldn't fix it, he said he wouldn't because it was close to closing time. It wasn't 5 yet and it says their hours are until 6pm except on Sat. they close at 5. This was a Monday, so he had a whole hour left to work. I would feel for anyone in this position and I would stay and help someone without the extra pay. Sometimes doing what is right is more important than what your going to get in return. So crawl back into the miserable hole you peeked out of you freak and take your meds! I think it specifically said not to use caps in your postings it makes it difficult for people to understand what your saying and your ramblings were all over the place. Get a life and stay out of mine, I didn't ask your opinion!

 Because, mainly consumers like you to be honest. Now to clairify my comment. The shop is closing up. Ppl have been sent home. The manager is NOT a tire repair specialist. If the employee who does THAT job is not there, what do you expect him to do? Being nice doesnt get ppl paid. Being nice more often then not only gets you more headaches. Most from your bosses who do not wish to pay overtime because YOU feel they should be nice.

Nice gets you into trouble. Why? Because the consumer looks at nice like a weakness. The manager DID put air in the tire and instructed you son to go to walmart. So the "nice" he was able to do just isnt good enough for YOU. See the problem. YOU have put yourself and your son ABOVE the directives that manager has to follow on a daily basis. There is NO ONE THERE TO DO THE WORK YOU ARE DEMANDING!! So how far beyond what that manager could do did you EXPECT them to do? Maybe give him a free tire? Out of the managers own pocket perhaps because YOUR son had a tire issue while their are closing up. Maybe he should have reopened his shop right back up and called the employee who is already on the way home to their family and instruct them to come back because YOUR son needed some 'NICE".

If they were closing shop and the employees who do that job are not there, then all this is, is you bi+ching because your poor little baby had to go to walmart instead. Get over it. Nice costs you your job.

And before you go on the inevitable rant ask yourself a few questions. 1. Would you do "nice" if its going to cost you your job and livelyhood? 2. Since youre on such a "helping others" kick, Would YOU be the one paying for that manager and their family because your son would have cost them their job? I know the answer to that and its a big fat NO!!!

WHY?? Because even though you are sitting there SPOUTING caring for others, when it gets down to it, your only interest is your son and the "hardship" your poor baby had to go through. You dont think of OTHERS like you DEMAND that this manager was to do. If you had even a shred of common respect, you would have accepted the fact that the manager did all they could at that time. But instead YOU want to point out the fact that this manager DID NOT "help your baby" because he must be some form of evil monster who took great delight in telling your son he had to go to walmart. And instead of accepting that the manager did all they could, YOU turn around and attempt to get this person in"trouble" because they didnt bend over backwards.

Yeah, youre a REAL humanitarian. I would hate to think you call yourself Christian.