I Tyre Of Your Timing

(My car is due for its MOT, a yearly safety check required by law in the UK, and the tread on my two front tyres is getting close to the legal limit, so I book a mobile tyre company to come change them for me. I book online and get an email that gives me a reference number and confirms that my time slot is from 8:00 to 11:00 am. It also says that on the day of my appointment, I’ll receive text updates. At 10:00 am on the day, I’ve heard nothing, so I call the office to check.)

Me: “Hi, I’ve got a booking today between 8:00 and 11:00, but I’ve heard nothing from you. Could you check what’s happening for me?”

Staff #1: “Okay, what’s your name please?”

Me: “It’s [My Name]. I’ve got my booking reference, if that would help?”

Staff #1: “No, we can’t look up bookings by references. Can you tell me your…” *list of details*

Me: *confirms all details*

Staff #1: “Okay, I’ve found your booking. It’s [reference number], correct?”

Me: *face-palming* “Yes.”

Staff #1: “Right. Thank you for confirming your booking. One of our team will call you back shortly to answer your query.”

Me: “Wait, what?! Why does someone have to call me back? My appointment slot is 8:00 to 11:00. It’s now 10:20, and I have to leave for work by 11:30. I need to know what’s happening.”

Staff #1: *sighs* “Okay, I’ll let them know it’s urgent.”

(She hangs up before I can say anything. Almost half an hour later, having heard nothing from them, I ring back. I have to confirm all of my details again, and I finally get transferred to a member of the sales team, to whom I explain the situation. By now it’s 10:55.)

Staff #2: “Right, I see from your booking form that you could also do after 3:00 pm, is that correct?”

Me: “I said I could do after 3:00 pm if you gave me at least 24 hours notice to rearrange my customers. You sent me an email confirming that my time slot was 8:00 to 11:00 am, so no, I can’t do 3:00 pm any longer.”

Staff #2: *pause* “Oh… Well, the problem is that we don’t actually have your tyres in stock yet, but they should arrive by about 2:00 pm.”

Me: “Why didn’t anyone call to tell me, then?!”

Staff #2: “It says on our notes that someone tried to ring you three times.”

Me: “I’ve been in all morning. My phone has not rung once, and I have no missed calls or voicemails.”

Staff #2: “Umm… Well, I guess we have an incorrect number then.”

Me: “I have the booking confirmation in front of me. Both my home and mobile numbers are listed correctly.”

Staff #2: *stammering now* “What I mean is we must have DIALED the number incorrectly.”

Me: “Three times?”

Staff #2: “Yes. Well. Umm… Is there any way you could do this afternoon? At any time?”

Me: “I can be home at 3:30 pm, but I would have to leave again by 4:00 pm, or I’ll be late to my last customer.”

Staff #2: “Okay. I promise I will have one of our mechanics waiting at your house for 3:30 pm, so they can start as soon as you get there.”

(I get home at 3:30 pm and there is a van outside my house that has the logo for a completely different mobile tyre company on it. I go over to check anyway, and it turns out it is the mechanic there for my booking. When he gets out of the van, he’s wearing a pair of work trousers that have a third mobile tyre company’s name on, and a jumper with a fourth company’s logo on.)

Mechanic: *handing me a bit of paper* “Sign here, and we’re good to go.”

Me: *reading the paper* “I’m not signing this until you’ve finished the job.”

Mechanic: *sighs* “Just sign and I’ll get started.”

Me: “This says that you’ve changed my tyres successfully, that you didn’t damage my car, and that I’m happy with the work you’ve done. I am not signing this until AFTER you’ve changed my tyres!”

(The mechanic grumbled a bit but did start the work. Luckily, after that, things improved. My tyres were changed correctly, and I made it to my last customer on time. When the head office sent me the invoice, they’d also knocked 10% off as an “apology for the error and inconvenience.” I still won’t be using or recommending them again in the future!)