Person/Company:

Big O Tires

Location:

El, Dorado Kansas

When:

November 2018

Reason for Visit:

Tire blowout on the highway.

My Rating:

★★

What I Liked:

I liked how clean the facility was. Minus a few cobwebs in the display tires, the showroom was well-kept. The girls working at the desk were nice enough, and the mechanic was friendly.

What I Didn’t Like:

I didn’t like the markup on their tires. I don’t know that this is the situation, but I feel as though they recognized my situation as desperate and pounced on it. In fact, when they saw my sarcastic response to their first price presentation, they marked it down a bit, saying, “I thought that looked high.”  What do you think? But I was in a desperate situation. Ultimately, they provided one mediocre option and marked that option up to a premium. Due to my situation, I felt as though I couldn’t do much but pay up. The following day, I went tire shopping and found the exact same tire for almost $40 less (per tire) – keeping in mind that this was AFTER they had marked it down. So I bought the new tires from the other facility.

My Recommendation:

Well, I can’t really tell you what you should do because your circumstance will likely dictate that. For me, the ONLY reason I would ever visit a Big O Tires again is if I happen to be in another desperate situation where ANY other option is simply not available.

Do you know what’s messed up, though? I thought that I might be a good guy and give a small shop like that a little support. I had actually and deliberately passed the Wal-Mart a few miles back – that sells similar tires for much less. I guess there is a reason some giants exist.

Not a fan!