I'm a 65-yr-old woman who was driving back to the Boston area yesterday, 7-6-19, from visiting…read morefriends in CT. I was on the highway when a sudden torrential storm hit. I turned on the wipers, and the driver's side blade shredded immediately, meaning I could barely see and it was certainly not safe to drive. I got off at the first exit and pulled into a parking lot to find an auto parts store. Google maps turned up this one. I called to make sure they were open, and it was answered by a female voice asking if I could hold. I said sure, and waited. And waited. And waited.
After four or five minutes, I started out anyway, since it was obvious I'd been forgotten. I was able to get to the store safely and was encouraged to see posters plastering the entrance claiming free installation of wiper blades. I went in, found what I needed, and paid for it, then said, "Can you help me put it on?" The guy behind the counter gave a self-satisfied smirk and said, "Nope." But the signs? "I'm here alone - can't leave the register." At that moment, a bored-looking girl came out from the back (showing that his "here alone" excuse was a lie), and I said, "Hi. I'm the one you put on hold ten minutes ago and forgot." That got a shrug and a "sorry."
I went out and tried to change the blade. The rain was so heavy I was drenched instantly and the directions soaked and shredded like wet Kleenex in seconds. I got the old blade off, but couldn't figure out how to get the new one on, so I went back in. There wasn't another soul in the store besides the guy at the counter (who was playing on his phone), so I asked again if he couldn't help me. Another smirk and a "nope."
Going back out nearly in despair, I noticed an Auto Zone across the street that I hadn't been able to see before. With only one functioning wiper blade in a blinding downpour, I went across to it and parked. When I went in, I asked the guy behind the counter about wiper blades, and if he would be able to help me install it. At first he said he'd have to ask his manager, but as I explained what had happened at Advanced Automotive, he got more and more indignant. He kept saying, "That's not right! That's just not right," and then he said he'd help me no matter what. (His manager was standing there and she just nodded.) He was willing to put on the blade I'd gotten at Advance, but I insisted on buying a new one, and then, bless him, he came out in that downpour and got it installed for me. I wish I'd gotten his name, because he is my hero.
If that is the caliber of employees at Advanced Automotive, I will never set foot in there again. This was clearly an emergency - it was completely unsafe for me to drive - and he was more interested in playing games on his phone than helping. The guardian angels at Auto Zone, with their humanity and compassion, will get my business in the future. I am telling everyone I know to avoid the entire chain in the future.