If you can be checked in and serviced by MATT, you will have a great experience. Otherwise, you're much better off at the Palatine Discount Tire.
I've been to this Round Lake Beach location 4 times within a month:
6/20 Rotate & Balance - Treated courteously, and job was done quickly. They found one of my wheels to be slightly bent. Wanted to sell me four new wheels, instead of ordering a new stock wheel.
6/24 Remove Tire from Bent Wheel, Mount on New Wheel - The "service technician" removed all the wheels, put them each on the balancer, and couldn't find the bent one. Finally, the tech that had checked me in (Matt) went over to the balancer, put on the wheel I had originally indicated to be bent, and showed the "service technician" why it was bent. Matt came out to apologize and explain what had happened. Assured me it would only be a few more minutes. He was right. The job that should've only taken a few minutes in the first place clocked in at 45.
7/19 Inspect Flat Tire - 2 minutes for Matt to determine that an irreparable puncture had occurred in the sidewall. Replacement was not in stock, ordered to arrive next day. Price was prorated, and was very fair. I left the wheel with Matt to mount and balance the tire when it arrived, ensuring a quick change when I came back.
7/21 Unbolt the Spare, Rebolt Wheel with New Tire - I walked in, and there was nobody at either reception desk. The phones were ringing and not being answered. 2 cars being worked on. The manager Rolando Rios poked his head out of the back office and said "give me a few minutes". No problem. He finally emerges and asks what he can do for me. I explain that it's just a quick swap. Matt sees me and walked into the reception area, waves "Hi Tom! Everything's ready for you!" and went back into the garage.
Rolando: "we're not like NASCAR here, it'll probably be a bit. Are you dropping it off? or do you want to wait?"
Me: "wait, what... 5 minutes? It's 5 bolts off, 5 bolts on, done. Yeah, I can wait that long"
R: "It'll probably be about 20 to 30 minutes. There are two cars ahead of you, and I've only got 3 techs"
Me: "Ok? Well, I need to get to work, and was assured that this would only take a minute"
R: "Just look out there! They're not just sitting around waiting for you"
Me: "I can do it myself faster than that. Just bring it out by my car, and I'll do it"
R: "No problem!"
***R rolls the wheel out to my car, as I remove my jack and wrench from the trunk***
R: "Oh, you can't jack it up here, we had a customer do that and it slipped, he blamed us for the slope of the parking lot"
(It's pretty evident that he just doesn't want the two waiting customers to see me working on my own car)
Me: Ok, go ahead and roll it to part of the parking lot that's off your property"
***R rolls the wheel about 300 feet behind the storefront, past the Goodwill entrance***
R: I think it would be faster if we do it, I mean, we'll check all your tire pressure, and clean the wheel, and hand-torque the nuts.
Me: Yeah, but in 30 minutes? That's too long, I can't wait that long.
R: Well, it'll probably be a lot faster than that, they were just finishing up with one of the cars, so it'd be faster than that. If I told you 10 minutes, and it took 11 minutes, you wouldn't be happy, would you? But if I tell you 30 minutes and it's done in 11 minutes, how happy are you?
Me: How happy do you think I am right now?
R: Well, I'm just saying, it'll be faster if we do it, and we'll do everything I just mentioned.
Me: Alright, fine, that's a much more reasonable time than you had quoted, let's bring it back.
R: What? Are you serious? What was the point of all this then? Ughh. You're not being very nice about all this.
Me: Are you serious?
R: It's hot out here! And you're making me go back and forth? Here, put it in your trunk.
Me: Forget it. Don't try to convince me to have you do the work if you don't really want to do it, and don't want to do it with a smile. Just go.
***Rolando drops the wheel on the ground and storms off. Sweating. Turns back to say: ***
Rolando: You don't have to be a dick
*** I scissor-jack the car up, remove the spare, and bolt the new one on in 4 minutes.***
Matt comes out to apologize, says he should've just taken my keys when he saw me and taken care of it right away. I relayed the conversation between Rolando and me, and he seems upset. Responds to the story with: "MY boss treated you like that?".
Long story short, even though I live less than a mile from this location, I'll be traveling the extra distance to give my business to the Palatine Discount Tire. Palatine's floor techs seem more knowledgeable, and their management is top-notch. Even in the busiest times, Palatine's reception is properly staffed, and give you frequent updates on the progress of your vehicle. Estimated wait times are spot-on. If Round Lake Beach promotes Matt to replace Rolando as manager, I'd give them another try, but I'd probably never know if that happen read more