Firestone Complete Auto Care

The two Firestone locations on Westnedge, in Portage/Kalamazoo, MI have been my go to places for car repairs. I usually leave the car with them for the job (not wait in the lobby!) and they have always done good work. I want to highlight my most recent experience of March 4, 2025 at the Portage location.
I called the location and needed to get my tire leak fixed that evening before leaving for Chicago the next day.
Kyle accommodated my request even though there was only one technician present that evening. They spent over an hour finding the leak, changing the rim as it happened to be leaking at the bead and fixed it. When I went to pay for it, they said it was 'on the house'! Can't beat that! This was a leak that others could not fix and it was leaking about 3 PSI every day! Thanks guys!

I purchased a lifetime alignment years ago when I got my truck. The first alignment done in Sedalia Mo was fine, no issues. A couple of years later I put new ball joints in my truck and took it back to them. They had linked my account with another phone number and or address and said I didn’t purchase a lifetime alignment. I however had my receipt that proved it, and we straightened out my information in the computer. As they aligned my truck, they couldn’t figure out how adjustable ball joints work so I had to go help. I left with the steering wheel not straight and later my vehicle inspector found a bolt missing. The next time it was due for new tires I called and wouldn’t you know, I’m not in the system as having a lifetime alignment. If you don’t want to honor them, don’t offer them. All in Sedalia Mo! I tried to go to Columbia Mo and have it done but they can’t handle three quarter ton quad cabs. Done with them!

Firestone Complete Auto Care - Awful Scheduling Habits and Poor Communication

This past Wednesday, Feb 21st, I had an appointment with the Firestone dealer at 11491 Hanson Blvd NW, Coon Rapids, Minnesota. I made the appointment the day prior, asking for 3:30 PM if it was possible. The female I was dealing with said she could get me in at 3:30 and I was thrilled because it would leave me time for my 4:45 medical appointment. Frankly, this woman had zero personality. She was abrupt and short on the phone. I blew it off as no big deal since I got an appointment time that was perfect.

The next day I arrived at exactly 3:28. I walked in and immediately knew I was dealing with the same "Miss Abrupt" I had on the phone the previous day just based on her cold demeanor. I informed her I had a 3:30 appointment. "Keys" she said as she put her hand out. That was it. She said nothing more. Okay, so much for professional communication.

Her personality aside, my real issue was yet to come. What Firestone didn't know is that I requested 3:30 because I knew it took 20-30 minutes to do an alignment and I paid 18 months ago to a lifetime alignment on my SUV with Firestone. This was only my third time back.

As I mentioned, I asked Firestone for that time slot because I had a 4:45 doctors appointment 10 minutes from that Firestone location. An appointment I made a month ago because it's hard to find open appt times with that doctor.

So now it's about 4PM and I've been there 30 minutes and my SUV is still sitting where I parked it.

I'm getting antsy because I know I have to make this doctors appt.

About that same time, the abrupt Firestone lady walks over to a customer seated in the waiting area. They've just finished working on his pickup. Miss Abrupt talks to him about the few things they worked on and then says, "Would you like us to add an alignment?" The guy mulls it over and says, yep.

I notice this but say nothing. But figured I better ask her what the timeline is.

So I walk over to Miss Abrupt and ask her where we're at with my alignment. She responds, "we have a customer's vehicle up on the rack and as soon as he's done, they'll get me up there." She then points out they only have one alignment lift. And guess who's vehicle is on the rack getting the alignment? The guy who she just added an alignment to the work he's having done.

She adds that "it will only be about 10 minutes." Well, his pickup comes off the rack around 4:15 and the mechanic parks it outside and for the next 15 minutes the alignment rack is empty.

Nobody is in a hurry. Nobody seems concerned that my 3:30 appt has now left me standing around for an hour. One would think that Miss Abrupt would have said to the mechanic doing the previous alignment, "hey, get this guy up right away, he's been waiting for nearly an hour." But she doesn't communicate a thing.

Finally, at 4:30 on the nose, a mechanic pulls my SUV into the alignment rack. By this point I know I can't make the medical appt.

I call them and I'm now waiting another 4-5 weeks to get in. I'm not happy, but this is the world of poor customer service we live in today.

Finally, the alignment is done. It's now 5PM exactly. So before I leave I approach Miss Abrupt and I begin to explain why I was less than happy with the service.

I don't get a sentence out and she cuts me off and says to the guy sitting in the next room, "Matt, can you come up here."

So Matt (I assume he's the manager) comes up and I very calmly inform him of the times. I tell him, I arrived at 3:28 for a 3:30 appt. I waited until 4:30 before Firestone put my SUV on the alignment rack. Moreover, a doctors appt I made four weeks ago is now shot, and I'm waiting another 4-5 weeks to get in to see that doctor.

His reply, "I'm sorry." So I added, "how is it that I have a 3:30 alignment appt and the guy with the red pickup is asked after you guys service his vehicle if he wants to 'add' an alignment, when I'm on the schedule for an alignment 30 minutes before he's even being asked?

Matt's reply, "He was already on the rack."

So in my mind, I'm thinking, so because this guy's vehicle is "on the rack" my 3:30 alignment time-slot is erased? Who thinks like that?

In my mind, good customer service would have been to explain to the guy with the red pickup, "hey, we can add that alignment sir, but you'll have to wait a bit, we have a customer who's vehicle we have to align right away because he had a 3:30 appointment."

Was it because they could tag another $100 onto his bill, whereas they make nothing additional off me since I pre-paid for my lifetime alignment? That would be my first guess. And if true, that says even less about Firestone's service at that location.

Anyway, after Matt tosses me the "I'm sorry" I said (quite nicely), "that doesn't really help me much Matt, I missed a doctor's appointment that I made a month ago because what should have taken 30 minutes, took 90 minutes, and now I can't get in to see that doctor for another month.

Matt's response now turns angry, and he raises his voice and says, "I said I'm sorry, what do you want me to say?" I replied, so you just toss out a canned I'm sorry and that makes everything okay?

I spent 25 years in law enforcement. I was dispatched to thousands disputes and arguments in my career. Usually, it's the customer who is out of line and overreacting in these types of verbal disagreements, but not this time.

What did I want Matt to do? Well, an apology means very little in the practical world we live in. Apologies are fine for little things, like "oh sorry, I overcharged you, let me fix that."

Not that it was going to fix my problem but perhaps a 50% off my next Firestone service would have been thoughtful?

That would be too reasonable, and we all know these guys are afraid they might lose a few bucks if they are too generous. I'm sure this guy Matt doesn't have the authority to make such a decision anyway. He's a cog on a wheel.

Here were the easy solutions which could have been implemented at any time if these people possessed any customer service skills.

1. If you know your customers are backing up, call me before I arrive and tell me so I can make another appt at a later date or opt to come to my appointment anyway. But at least I know beforehand what is going on.

2. OR . . .Inform me after I arrive if my appt time isn't going to work into the time-slot I made, and give me the option to make a new appt, or to stay around knowing my appt is going to be delayed. This of course would infer someone has the skill-set of communication, and nobody said a thing to me. They just left me standing there.

3. Most flagrant in my opinion was adding an alignment on the spot for a customer who didn't have an alignment scheduled, and then pretty much pushing me to the back of the line when I've already been there for 30 minutes waiting .. . AND I'M THE GUY WITH THE ALIGNMENT APPOINTMENT. Hello!

I'd never go back to this location again.

Two Firestone employees right there in the lobby, and nobody says a word to me about delays or even asking me if I'd like to make a new appointment.

I took the time to record with my phone when my vehicle was pulled in, etc, but I can't imagine it's going to do much good uploading any of that.

So my doctor's appointment is now moved to March 21, thanks to Firestone's wonderful customer service team on Hanson Blvd in Coon Rapids.

Will Firestone HQ even read this and take notice. Highly doubtful.

User's recommendation: Not at Firestone, 11491 Hanson Blvd NW, Minneapolis, MN 55433.

So I dropped by the Firestone on Rodney Parham Road in West Little Rock the other day. When I walked in, this guy comes up to help me out.

I'm like, I need a camshaft sensor for bank 2 on my 2003 G35 Infinity coupe.

And he's like, okay we can hook it up for a diagnostic for 99 bucks plus tax.

I'm thinking, no way, I already ran a diagnostic myself, and it's definitely the camshaft sensor.

He seems a bit surprised, like oh you did the diagnostics?

Yep, I tell him, and show him the report I got.

He starts humming and hawing, you can almost see the wheels turning in his head. Then he hits me with, if we can't do our own diagnostic, we can't work on it.

I'm standing there, ready to pay for the part and the work, but he's not having it. All because I didn't want to pay their $100 diagnostic fee. That's just ridiculous and greedy if you ask me.

So I left, took my business over to Razorback Auto on Hinson Road. Trust me, you should too.

And get this, my sister and I, we've dropped a ton of cash at that Firestone for this same car. I love my G35 Infinity coupe, they don't make them anymore and I want to keep it running. But the way Firestone, especially that one on Rodney Parham Road in West Little Rock, Arkansas, treated me? It's just wrong. Do yourself a favor, save the headache and your wallet, and steer clear of them.

- A.Edwards

I've been to the Firestone in West Springfield, MA a bunch of times before and usually, the folks there are super helpful and they explain things really well. But man, on 5/27/23, sometime between 2:30 and 3:00pm, things were just off. I walked in and caught the tail end of a convo between the guy at the desk and another customer. The way the employee was talking down to him was just not cool. I felt pretty bad for the guy; he looked all sorts of upset leaving the place.

So then it was my turn, right? I go up and start explaining how I'd been in before and they'd put some dye in my AC system to spot a leak. The next day, my air wasn't working right, but I thought maybe it was just 'cause it wasn't hot out. Now it's like 80 degrees and still nothing. The dude at the desk gave me this look like I was asking the dumbest question ever. His whole vibe and the way he spoke to me was way off the mark for professional.

I just wanted them to take a quick look, see if maybe they missed something when they worked on it last. But that seemed to annoy him even more, and you could hear it in his tone. I was so taken aback, I just turned around and left. Totally shocked, I tell ya. I'm never going back there. And it's not even about what he said about my car, it's his whole attitude and how he got so ticked off over a simple question. I bet he's done this to loads of other customers too. They really need to give this guy some serious customer service training, and maybe a lesson or two in keeping a good attitude, or they're gonna keep losing customers left and right!

So I was on the road with my three little ones headin from NC to SC last Friday, and we pulled off at exit 164 off I-95N to grab a bite at Cracker Barrel. As I'm pulling in, there's this awful scraping noise from under the car. I thought it was a tire at first, but turns out it was something else entirely. I spotted this guy nearby and asked if he could give me a hand. Showed him the undercarriage of my car was practically hanging on by a thread. I needed to get it fixed and he pointed me to Firestone on Hoffmeyer, just a stone's throw from where we were. Gave the guy a huge thanks – if you're ever around there and see someone with a Steeler's face mask, that's the man!

I made it to Firestone, and let me tell you, the folks there were just the nicest. Mr. Nick was the first to greet me, found me a spot to park even though the lot was nearly full. Then Mr. Patrick comes over, super reassuring, telling me they'd have me back on the road in no time despite the place being swamped and all hands on deck with the cars. Mr. Nick got right to work, fixed up the undercarriage and even checked and filled my tires with air. Showed me how to reset the tire sensor too – and I've had my tires rotated a bunch of times before, but no one ever showed me that.

Everyone at the shop, Mr. Patrick, Mr. Rick, and Ms. Donna, they were treating folks like old friends, whether they walked in or called. They were just so welcoming to me and the kids. We got to where we needed to be and back home safe tonight. We go through that area a lot, and we're definitely gonna drop by with some treats for them next time. When people ask about our Father's Day weekend, I'm like, "Hit a little snag for 10 minutes, but the rest was fantastic!" Big shoutout to Mr. Nick, Mr. Patrick, Mr. Rick, and Ms. Donna!

You recharged my system for $377. The whole system was broken. Needed Compresser,Condenser and other parts. You didn't even check it! Very easy to rip off a single woman!