Is it worth complaining to Bridgestone?

abrogard · 03-11-2024, 01:58 PM

I had a thread of this same name but it all went wrong. Wandered away from the question, and started to become problematic which was not, never is, my intention.

So I have had it deleted and simply put this here as a 'placemarker' so's any who were following the thread will know what happened.

And the answer to the question: Don't know. Unresolved. It's a typical franchise thing I suppose. Is it worth complaining to KFC?

Too many unknowns. End of story.

rare ss · Yesterday, 12:43 PM

Local Bridgestone was caught red handed trashing around in our car doing a "road test" no point complaining, what's done is done.. won't be going back

foxtrot3 · Yesterday, 02:03 PM

Hi. Deleting the original thread (and the one about the broken studs) is being a bit like taking your ball and going home because you aren't winning the game. Sure you can ask a mod to delete a post to bring a thread back on track but deleting a thread is childish. To the mod who did the deletions of the threads I am NOT IMPRESSED. Cheers MD

**PepeLePew** · Yesterday, 04:32 PM

My FG GS miami ute i took to a Bridgestone i'd been loyal to for many moons. I waited for it, after noticing the road test taking off and my rubber being painted on the road at a slip lane, i never went back either. Talk with your custom, walk away. And take your precious somewhere you trust. Even as a one off to me, not good enough.But hey, maybe i'm just slapping myself in the face missing out on trusted alignments through the act of one individual.

**fordomatic** · Yesterday, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rare ss

Local Bridgestone was caught red handed trashing around in our car doing a "road test" no point complaining, what's done is done.. won't be going back

Just do what I did with Ford in Townsville, caught them doing fishtails in my BA XR8 when it was 3 years old. They rang me saying it needed work just outside of warranty. I told them to do it all. Went in to pick the car up, told the service manager i saw it doing fishtails. Asked for my keys back, told them never to contact me again and left without paying the bill. To their credit, they never contacted me again.

.:4:. · Yesterday, 10:13 PM

Firstly, its a franchise. So they are not owned by the big company that the name on the building says, its owned by the franchisee. So speak to the franchise owner, they are the ones who suffer from losing customers at the hands of their staff. When my old man was alive he was a managing director of a company that had over 350 franchises nation wide. So they provided the systems and name, to a degree advertising and stuff, but people who bought into franchises, well that was their business to look after. That being said, a poorly run franchise doesn't mean other franchises under the same brand are the same. Different owners in charge so thats that really.
My best one from a mechanics was got the car back and they charged me for a tank of fuel as the guage read empty, and also they reset the trip meter. Well, it had about half a tank in it, the guage read empty because it didnt work. Trip meter was my fuel guage. The mechanics oh shit reaction was when i pointed to the rego sticker (remember those beautiful things?) and it was 3 weeks expired. He had been taking the car home for the 4 nights he had it.
Then i asked for a pass for rego without a road test.....

abrogard · Today, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxtrot3

Hi. Deleting the original thread (and the one about the broken studs) is being a bit like taking your ball and going home because you aren't winning the game. Sure you can ask a mod to delete a post to bring a thread back on track but deleting a thread is childish. To the mod who did the deletions of the threads I am NOT IMPRESSED. Cheers MD

Making such comments without full knowledge of the facts is presumptuous, gratuitously so.

The way the comment is expressed is also derogatory ad hominem. Persons seeking to criticise the performance of others would do well to take great care of their own performance, don't you think?

**aussiblue** · Today, 10:04 AM

I was following all your threads and I must say even threads with errors and ones that wander off topic often still prove very useful later on in researching related topics and even in avoiding the mistakes of the past. For this reason I generally don't like to see threads deleted. Also remember all threads and the advice given in them is not just relevant or of ongoing interest to the person that started the thread but also usually of continuing interest to everyone else that has been following it or contributed with responses. I really don't think deleting the threads made any real improvement and likely just deleted some possibly useful data in the forum knowledge base. Sure I can understand someone starting another thread to summarise the status of their situation or to refocus on an issue but...

Yes perhaps fottrot was a bit harsh with his comments but, as those of us who been here for a while will tell you, you'll have to develop a thicker skin if you want to continue to enjoy and survive in this forum.

abrogard · Today, 12:10 PM

I see your point alright. I'm a veteran of bulletin boards/forums and have the same opinion: that there's much value from the thread beyond that which the OP perhaps sees.

Yep. I see your point.

They were my threads, they were not answering my questions and they were causing a disturbance locally that I don't want.

What was attracting people was the element of listing shortcomings found by bridgestone dealers everywhere.

Well: just because I delete my thread which was not about that does not stop anyone starting a thread that IS about that now they see there's so much interest, does it?

Has anyone done that?

As regards thicker skins and surviving I note that I've been a member of the forum longer than yourself is one thing.

A second is that 'thicker skins' are supposedly in order to protect against injury: hence a suggestion to get a thicker skin is a suggestion that you must be willing to take more injury. After the style of the schoolyard: 'that didn't hurt, sissy' as you punch the poor little sod a bit more.

Well I am not hurt, in fact. My 'skin' was simply 'sensitive' enough to detect the man's gratuitous rudeness and I pointed it out. Now who's skin is too sensitive? Yours perhaps?

His?

Bad luck. You'll have to develop a thicker skin if you want to continue to enjoy and .... blah blah blah...

That last is all ad hominem. Schoolyard stuff right enough I want no more of it.

Am I a bit harsh in my comments... ? Ah.. Sauce for the goose, mate....

foxtrot3 · Today, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abrogard

Making such comments without full knowledge of the facts is presumptuous, gratuitously so.

The way the comment is expressed is also derogatory ad hominem. Persons seeking to criticise the performance of others would do well to take great care of their own performance, don't you think?

Hi. Very hard to have full knowledge of the facts when you have had the thread deleted. I stand with what I said. Cheers MD

abrogard · Today, 12:19 PM

The logic of that is:

postulate: interjection without knowing the facts is presumptuous.
defence: I could not know the facts therefore I was not presumptuous.

After the style of:

postulate: it is stupid to jump off ledge without looking how high it is.
defence: I am too blind to look therefore it is not stupid.

that you insist you don't know the facts ( because it is 'very hard' ) and that somehow makes you not presumptuous.

**aussiblue** · Today, 12:20 PM

Quote:

As regards thicker skins and surviving I note that I've been a member of the forum longer than yourself is one thing.

By a few months only both of us in the forums relatively earlier days. And I was a also member since 2001, and still am of this forum, now as a super moderator of this forum https://www.fordforums.com from which it sort of sprung. Not that I see that as particularly relevant either; a newby could be more knowledgeable that either of us.

And no I am not offended by any of your comments which I perceive as defensive rather than offensive. Neither do I see them as harsh.

Debate in the forum be it on car issues or forum etiquette is always interesting and often useful and I will continue to try and provide you and others with what I perceive (albeit perhaps sometimes naively) as helpful and unbiased advice or responses even if others don't always agree with my perception.

**Captain Stubing** · Today, 12:38 PM

Back on track... Is it worth complaining to Bridgestone?

Any input is appreciated. I don't know who deleted the other thread, one comment being moderated may have fixed it, but it's not the end of the world.

**aussiblue** · Today, 12:40 PM

I also understand the concern with being identified by Bridgestone. I also try and minimise the risk of being identified or located from my post for various reasons and more so in certain circumstances that create risks (e.g. attempted night time tool theft from my shed after inviting a Ford owner from an unrelated forum to my place to help fix an issue with his car).

**aussiblue** · Today, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Back on track... Is it worth complaining to Bridgestone?

I really have no suggestion on this but would observe that, with the weakening of consumer laws in recent decades, I see more of my complaints to businesses of all types getting placation attempting PR responses rather than any real remedial action. So expect a low value hard to redeem gift voucher rather than a change in practice.

**fordomatic** · Today, 12:48 PM

All I want to know is if it was fixed properly or not? It’s not a hard job to put a new hub on after they tightened your nuts too tight and snapped multiple wheel studs.

As I stated in the other thread, it’s 100% worth a complaint to head office and I bet your car will get fixed quicker if you do. Also, negative reviews scare businesses. In the past when I’ve had issues I’ve used that threat to ensure things got sorted quickly.

**aussiblue** · Today, 01:05 PM

Also note the tyre replacement industry is an extremely competitive low margin sector often employing relatively unskilled low paid workers so I now I never have high expectations when buying new tyres. Even my low expectations are sometimes not met. e,g one franchise dealer ran out of standard tyre valves so fitted an extra long truck duel wheel ones that got cut off by the curb while parking later the same day (and given the fitter was actually a friend of one of my sons I was hoping for better), another removed all the shims from my upper A arms that had been fitted to adjust the camber and castor on my Fairlane to spec claiming it was too hard to align the wheels with them in place (they wouldn't even return the shims when I asked getting very aggro and claiming they were unneeded had binned them).

Since Doug Chivas (of charger racing fame) closed his local tyre shop, retired and then sadly passed away I haven't really found a replacement I totally trust like I trusted him

abrogard · Today, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordomatic

All I want to know is if it was fixed properly or not? It’s not a hard job to put a new hub on after they tightened your nuts too tight and snapped multiple wheel studs.

As I stated in the other thread, it’s 100% worth a complaint to head office and I bet your car will get fixed quicker if you do. Also, negative reviews scare businesses. In the past when I’ve had issues I’ve used that threat to ensure things got sorted quickly.

oh they fixed it good - here's a view of the finished job to prove it...

https://imgur.com/titQ8Oo

foxtrot3 · Today, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abrogard

I had a thread of this same name but it all went wrong. Wandered away from the question, and started to become problematic which was not, never is, my intention.

So I have had it deleted and simply put this here as a 'placemarker' so's any who were following the thread will know what happened.

And the answer to the question: Don't know. Unresolved. It's a typical franchise thing I suppose. Is it worth complaining to KFC?

Too many unknowns. End of story.

Quote:

Originally Posted by abrogard

oh they fixed it good - here's a view of the finished job to prove it...

https://imgur.com/titQ8Oo

Hi Not a matched set of nuts and not right for a steel wheel. Should be similar to this ( https://www.custommustangs.com.au/fo...heel-nut-kit-5 ) taper seat then reduced section before the hex part to hold the small plastic wheel trim in place. Cheers MD
PS: Why do you want to complain to KFC?

abrogard · Today, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxtrot3

Hi Not a matched set of nuts and not right for a steel wheel. Should be similar to this ( https://www.custommustangs.com.au/fo...heel-nut-kit-5 ) taper seat then reduced section before the hex part to hold the small plastic wheel trim in place. Cheers MD
PS: Why do you want to complain to KFC?

I have replaced them with standard nuts.

complain to KFC was a rhetorical question.

**aussiblue** · Today, 04:24 PM

Just make sure KFC's finger licking good grease does not get on your nuts.

Franco Cozzo · Today, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordomatic

All I want to know is if it was fixed properly or not? It’s not a hard job to put a new hub on after they tightened your nuts too tight and snapped multiple wheel studs.

As I stated in the other thread, it’s 100% worth a complaint to head office and I bet your car will get fixed quicker if you do. Also, negative reviews scare businesses. In the past when I’ve had issues I’ve used that threat to ensure things got sorted quickly.

I love a review on Google, especially one where someones given shit service and ****ed me off, get your mates to give it the thumbs up so it appears up top. My previous employer was super sensitive to negative feedback on Google, the CEO went off her head when we got bad feedback and started looking to point the finger at everyone except herself.

Speaking of them, check out this doozy from 30 mins ago on their business listing:

Skills issue, imagine having your car/truck off the road for a month because they're clowns, then they send it back to you without even fixing it.

I'm coming up on four million views on Google Maps, I'm like a google maps influencer of steak and chips

As far as KFC goes, the Sunbury one is a ****ing joke, I'd give zero stars on Google if I could.

**aussiblue** · Today, 05:12 PM

The number of young people in these shops who don't know how to drive a manual vehicle is also a concern when I have to hand over my 6 Speed Manual FG ute to them. I have already had an incident in the past when getting my son's manual Mazda 3 SP 2.5 air con regassed where they drove it off the end of the ramp lift due to unfamiliarity or inability in driving a manual. Fortunately causing only minimal damage to the plastic undertray and oil filter (both replaced at their cost including the more expensive type of Ryco filter I had fitted but they still made comments that it was somehow our fault for having a manual car).

abrogard · Today, 05:25 PM

I see this thread is off and running with a life of its own like the other ones. This time I'm safely disguised as from 'australia'. I won't be deleting this one. Those I did delete were the only ones I have deleted in 25 years of posting on bulletin boards (as they used to be called).
So me and my little incident are history now but I just want to put on record that in the end they suddenly turned around on me and claimed the wrong rim was on the thing and that's why the studs broke. And, of course, claimed they would never have put it there.
Well I can tell you I can't remember me ever having done it, that's for sure.
But regardless of who I have to admit that a wrong rim does change the whole story.
So I paid them for it.
And now I'm done with them.
And the whole thing.
Can just enjoy reading you guys posting of your own experiences...

**aussiblue** · Today, 07:04 PM

Quote:

bulletin boards

Brings back memories of the 80's using Fidonet and Omen III (which eventually evolved into iiNet) using mostly my hand assembled Microbees and home built kit dial up modems in the days when Telstra insisted you get a separate land line installed if you wanted to use dial up modems.

abrogard · Today, 07:56 PM

You're ahead of me if you were there then. I can date myself specifically. Or very close. My very first exposure was in Elands NSW in their alternative school thing there. I don't know what machine.

Yes I do. I got gpt to help me out and jog my memory: a swtpc 6800 - took me straight into BASIC just like that. 'Programming' within fifteen minutes. I'll never forget. It crashed? or something caused the code to appear onscreen and I saw how it drew a circle. I changed the radius and the circle was bigger. My first 'hack' or 'prog' if you like.

I never did hand assemble anything. I even have a raspberry pi that I never actually implemented. I wish to god I had. Hats off to you.

So dates: yep, I was late. In your terms. I went to study in '97. The Elands thing must have been before then. Maybe '95. I cannot date myself prior to that.

But of course we heard all about (well, 'much about' ) those days. Punchcards. Which word itself reminds me somehow we programmed in COBOL and FORTRAN, in school there. When I got into the real world for me it was all Clipper.

Ah, mate, didn't you draw the curtains back.

**aussiblue** · Today, 08:28 PM

My first hands on with computers was the CDC Cyber 72 at UWA with Fortran using punch cards in 1972. I also worked in the Government Computing Division of State treasury and the WA Department of Computing and Information Technology in the mid and late 1980's for Denis Moore who is still a friend (he now run a second hand bookshop in his retirement). This man with the broom https://www.alex-reid.com/History/Hi...6-sweeping.jpg some time later in his life. I was also privileged to get to know many of the people here https://www.alex-reid.com/History/Hi...ing-at-UWA.htm who remained in the IT industry later in their lives. Until a couple of years ago I also used to arrange an annual "knees up" get together for those who worked in the WA Government IT industry and I still run a facebook group for them. The pressure is on for me arrange the get together again this year but the number of people I know that are still alive from that time has thinned out considerably and I think it is time someone younger took over.

abrogard · Today, 08:40 PM

Holey dooley... you're a national treasure in yourself...
What's 'UWA' - University of West Australia maybe?
Places to be in early computing, I think.

**aussiblue** · Today, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Holey dooley... you're a national treasure in yourself...
What's 'UWA' - University of West Australia maybe?
Places to be in early computing, I think.

Yes University of WA.. No national treasure here and quiet a few would say I am the exact opposite.

My use of the Cyber computer at UWA was actually unauthorised; I was not a student there at the time and was helping a friend who was struggling with his Fortran programming. He went of to be very good last I heard a very senior Oracle DBM manager at Fujitsu. By the the time I did become a part time student at UWA completing my B. Com and MBA in the mid 1970's and 80's, UWA had moved onto the PDP-11 and Fortran 80 which I accessed with my Microbee and dial up modem.

I drifted in and out of both Accounting (I am an FCPA) and computing/IT during my 40 plus years in the State Public Service in nearly a dozen different agencies.. I find accounting boring but easy and IT lost its glamour and hence a lot of my interest after those more exciting pioneering years of the 1970's and 80's had passed. Most of my early IT stuff initially came out of my accounting work and developing or implementing computerised accounting systems.

Most of my last 20 years in the Government was working as a Economist in the policy development area. Nonetheless, including part of my last year before I retired I often filled in as a CFO or an IT manager when they needed someone qualified and experienced urgently when someone resigned without notice, was sacked or more sadly died. It did help keep my skills up in these areas and deal with my propensity to get very quickly bored with any job.

**mad2** · Today, 09:47 PM

i couldn't even tell you what machine it was or how we did it ..... but i 'think' we used/made punched tape?. either mid '70's or the late '70's?. school in GTown.