Advance Auto Parts review: not qualified to install battery 15

It sounds to me that they took care of you by having the vehicle repaired by someone of your choice. Yes it's a [censored] situation to be in and it's not like it happens often, but seriously, ITS A FREE SERVICE what the h#ll do you expect? A certified master tech with 20 yrs hands on experience? Get over it mr ungrateful and change the da#n battery yourself next time lazy cheapo!

this is the draw to bring in customers
i long for the days of trak auto and high gear were you sold parts and that was it . Nothing qualifies that guy behind the counter to put your battery in or diagnose your car with the obd scanner. They offer this service as a customer draw. a courtesy like free beverage refills at a fast food restaurant. touching the customers car for ANY reason is problematic because that customer wants a cheap way to hold someone accountable for there stupidity in in managing there car maintenance issues. these parts chains don't care about the employees there just fodder. and that services they provide are for the the people who want to delay the inevitable. GOING TO THE SHOP. these are not techs these are sales people who don't want to do this in the first place.

I had my battery tested at Advance Auto this past Friday, and just as I thought, I needed a new one. I chose them because I knew they had free installation. I'm a female and I've changed turn signal lights, etc. but as far as I know, I don't even have the tools to change a battery. Anyway, I bought a new Silver battery for about $105 and then was told I had to come back after 3:00pm for the installation because the guy who installs batteries wasn't there yet. I came back about 4:00pm, went in, and they told me to pull in the back of the store, told me how to get there, and said he'd be out in a minute. Turns out it was this creepy alleyway where the dumpsters were... but no problem so far. I waited for about 10 minutes and called them, making sure I was in the right place. Yes, he says, I'll be there in a minute. Waited 15-20 minutes, no show. Called again, a woman answers and says the guy had to go get money or something for the store and he'd be back in 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile there I am in this awful alleyway and it's pretty much dark out. I told her to forget it, and that this was really, really bad customer service, that it's dark and I'm in an alleyway, had a sick elderly person at home, and that I'd come back another day. In the meantime, I'm fuming because due to the fact that I do take care of an elderly relative, it's hard for me to leave the house, and at the same time, I need a good working battery in case there's an emergency with her, let alone just normal use. To make a long story short (if it's not too late), I called them this morning and they said to wait until after 12:30pm. So I got there at about 1:00, called them from the alleyway, and the guy came out. Didn't seem like he knew all that much about what he was doing. And guess what, he couldn't get the old battery out. Told me to take it to a gas station. Then said I needed to bring my old battery back to the store because the price I paid includes them taking my old battery. I told him well the price was also supposed to include free installation. I will NOT go there anymore for any part or service, not even a spark plug. I haven't decided whether I'm taking them the old battery or not, but right now it's a moot point, because until I can get out of the house again, I have a brand new battery sitting in the back of my car for who knows how long. Never again. And while he was messing around under my hood, I'm really hoping he didn't screw something else up!

SOP at Advance is GREET everyone that walks in - even if you are with another customer.
Say "Hey! Can you answer something for me."

Hey Maryland Lady
[protected] call this number tell them the story, if nothing happens call Ethics Point.

What you experienced was total BS. Everyone that works at Advance Auto has to replace batteries, EVERYONE! The GM and AGM need to know this.

Head quarters should not allow cashiers to install batteries.

there are NO MECHANICS at advance auto. Everyone in the store is basically hired as a cashier sales clerk period. Forcing cashiers to work on cars is basically the company PIMPING folk. When they have to pay out for repairs like that they are getting what is deserved because they are forcing cashiers with no mechanic training to do repairs om cars

The biggest scam is that the company allows the customer to ASSUME that the cashiers are in fact qualified to do auto work knowing full well they are not. So headquarters is perpetrating a fraud regarding qualifications of cashiers to do any mechanic work whatsoever and they should be held 100% liable for all potential damages. No adverse actions should fall upon the cashiers because they should not be forced to do work that they have no training or qualifications for in the first place. In fact, if the cashiers are injured under the hood of cars, the company should also be held 100 % responsible because they are being forced to do jobs they have no training to accomplish

Just remember one thing - The 2 clowns running the Advance Circus are the same 2 clowns that screwed up Best Buy, When they took over at Advance, 2008, the morale went to hell and they get these multi million dollar bonus' ever year, 2 years ago they cut everyone's wages and they got the bonus packages. They cut the Cust Contact Center and shipped those jobs to India. They eliminated the trucking and farmed that out. It is so bad my prediction is IF the economy picks up and jobs open up - Advance will be a Ghost town, because everyone now starts at minimum wage. In reality their are a lot of the FULL TIME workers that have been mechanics and got out for medical reasons and auto parts are the only thing they know. Best Bet... Shop at a NON corporate owned/run stores, like Bumper to Bumper, Car-quest, NAPA, Auto Value anything owned by a real person.
Advance has turned into a joke. You apply and some company decides with the special tests that you are A OK. and when they show up most couldn't find their as$$ with a road map.
Free OBDII scan is for selling parts, nothing more. And you can change parts until you own the company - BUT until you get it diagnosed by a real Mechanic you are burning cash. The ASE Parts Pro is nothing more than a certification that says they can sell you parts more accurately than the next guy with out it.
One otheir thing the more info and or certificates you get as requested by Advance...pay does not increase.

absolutely right! just like these stupid in store test designed to teach the employee how to suggestive sell a whole boat load of crap that t the customer doesn't need so they can bring it all back at a later date. installing batteries and
obd testing should not be happening. and also amazing is that people with years of key holder experience in retail auto parts are relegated to red shirt status( counter person) and nimrods from family dollar are given management positions over veteran and experienced parts people. the company does not actively recruit from with in for promotions and they constantly hire upper management from outside the company. there are no set policies so if they want to fire you they have one all encompassing catch all GAVE POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE! advance auto-zone operate with in the gaps of the customers perception you must know about cars because you sell parts. call a parts store to diagnose your car over the phone and not take it to the shop.

CDL this is te biggest FARCE as of yet.
You talk of getting rid of someone There was an RPP that took about a year to send out the door. had 37 write ups for Smoking in the doorway, swearing at the customers, porn on iPhone displayed to customers and fellow Team Members, showing up late, and drunk / drinking on the job. The reason? He had high sales numbers.
There were customers that had Ethics point on "speed dial".
He once told a customer while pointing at his ASE Parts Pro patch "This means I am smarter than you." The customer wanted a One Wire GM style Alternator for his boat. That is all. Went to a NAPA Store and got what he wanted.

For anyone else If you have your batt changed at Advance MAKE SURE they connect the OBDII to a jump pack so you don't have problems. GM cars have a code system in place which will disable your Auto. same with Honda's, VW, BMW, Audi, Mercedes if it is not done properly your car MAY end up at the dealership, just make sure your attorney notifies Advance they will be paying the bill to make right again.
Also Note: You can install R134 in your own car...and that is OK. BUT! the Advance and Zoners can not do this for you. Why? You must be Licenced to install R134 on a customers car. And it is a Federal Law that anyone cannot clear OBDII codes on an auto they do not own.
O'Reilly's does not install Batts, wipers, lamps.

now advance has daily sales goals for employees under the ignite banner. measuring productivity which basically force feeding customers anything to increase your sale numbers and their bottom line.i See it coming a points system. i am totally disgusted with advance no advancment more time consuming bull like asking for email address drink counting before u can finish a transaction. hell i came to advance with 20 yr as key carrier at other autoparts stores was a part mgr asst store mgr and latter a store mgr i set up two of the biggest commercial account in my area when i worked for nappa. and for two yrs just a counter guy.at advance even showing some of the younger mgrs things i came in the door knowing. cant wait to break this auto parts cycle and soon,

an employee for 4 years, this place is a complete joke. Incompetent store level management followed up by completely lost district management straight to the top= no clue darren jackson. Ever since this [censored] took over the company, it has been a steady downhill slope . the ignite and CDL system is just absolute trash, no more than two employees working at peak hours and no more than 210 hours a week for a store. Although there is some quality people still working for this company, there still is ignorant people who do not know there face from their ###. The check engine scans are a waste of time and labor. to think that a $200 code scanner is going to diagnose your car is absurd. Advance has done everything to themselves, the batteries are absolute crap as is almost anything stocked in the store except for the name branded parts.

there commercials show just how much they care about you. at one time selling autoparts was respected and one of the lowest jobs was flipping burgers but i think advance and the zone have that beat .all the micro managed bull low pay horrible hours and no respect from the company or customers.during the holiday season we didn't receive so much as a card from corporate but some our commercial accounts sent us popcorn tins candy cards ect. i have seen this company manufacture reasons to fire people like changing schedules behind employees backs or hounding gms with nitpicking mystery shoppers mystery callers and when these gms step down or quit bring in someone from outside of the company to break up that existing team so they can bring in part timers that will keep the minimum wage revolving door going.

yea and if you dont meet your ignite sph goals u get put under a performance improvement plan and if ur sales dont go up they get rid of you ive worked at this place for 6 years and this is the first year they started enforcing this bs all i can say is when they get rid of all the good knowledgeable ppl stores will be going out of business i dont recommend anyone to work there...