The Pep Boys review: Bad treatment of employees 76

Pep boys fired one of their best manager on June 3 2008 who work at the forest park location// I will never shop their again and advise every one else to do the same, he was of the most helpful and honest manager they had he tried to solve every one problem, he was a good leader, if any one know where he has is please post so I can carry my automobile there, pep boys is going to rip people customer off and show no concern, I hope that they get what is coming to them in the long run. So as a customer don't go there.

While having a new tire mounted someone in service area where work is done went into my car and took IPOD valued at 500 dollars work crew denies doing this but item was not in plan site and someone had to search to find it. Their policy states company not responsible so I have no recourse.

When you buy tires from Pep Boys, they'll tell you that their Definity tires are made by Cooper. Most people associate the Cooper name with good tires made in the USA. Actually, these Definity tires are made in China. The tires may or may not be good, but employees shouldn't say that they're made by Cooper.

Definity can be owned and operated by Cooper and still be made in China. I don't think it's misleading at all for the employees to say that the brand Definity is made by Cooper.

My mother just bought a set today [protected]) in size 185/70-14. All say "Made in USA" on the sidewall. I've never checked, but have been told the DOT labels contain info on who makes the house brands.

Its not that the company doesn't treat its employees good, it is because pep boys lets any old [censored] and inexperienced ###s to do work which they have no skill or talent or knowledge in. The employees are as bad as the ### that employ them. Pep boys is a rip off, from its founders to employees. All of their biggest concerns are monetary.

I totally agree! pepboys doesn't care about there employees one bit. I recently sent my manager a very long and detailed e-mail about my concerns in the work place, some of my co-workers performance and his assistant managers actions toward me and in front of customers. I ended up being counseled about my poor work performance, also they let me know if i miss another day in the next 90days I would be fired. problem with that is that i dont get any sick days being part time. but i work 40+hrs a week. so that i dont get any benefits. they are very unprofessional and are only worried about making a dollar any way they can. I worked at jiffy lube before going to pepboys and as horrible of a reputation as they have, There employees and customers were always there focus. because they knew with out eather there would be no business. Just to show there dedication they would go over everything with you and open your door when you go to leave

I agree with the comments. I work as an installer and have been 6 days a week only 40 hrs for 7 months. In that time i have been making 8.40 an hr doing not only installer work but mechanical work and now they want me to help out at the service desk. After being told i am not getting any raise as no one is (yeah i bet exec got raises) what is my incentive for doing all of this work. I am told to get the employees breakfast in the morning in my own car on company time. Have not ahad any breaks during the 6 to 7 hr shifts i work. The store manager has his buddies he goes out and rinks with and treats special from the rest of us. And i am told i should be thankful i have a job. Well i am thankful just not that i am treated like a slave

my husband works for pep boys and I agree with what alot of you are saying - the medical plan has taken such a terrrible turn for the worse - I try to avoid taking my kids to the doctors because I know we will be stuck with a huge bill since this new system pays so little or is used up so quickly for a family of 5 what they offer is close to nothing. And now the vaction time has been taken away and no sick days either. I know in this economy so many people are happy to just have jobs but on the other side - you feel like you are an underappreciated shmuck. Pep Boys does not take care of there own so I dont think they really would give a second thought about there customers. But I do have to say there are some really good mechanics out there not all of them are incapable ###s.

oh I almost forgot - we havent received our W2 forms yet and it is 2/17 - where the HELL Are they?

I have worked for Pepboys for 4 years now when i came onboard it was good. Now im on 2 years with no raise lost vacation time they took away our paid holidays. But we are told the new plan is better not even close. I have been sick for almost a year and i have to spread out what tests i can get done because i cant afford to go to the doctor we just got our new "fund" and mine is almost gone already what am i suppose to do to complete these tests? Better yet what happens if one of my 4 kids gets sick i cant even take them to the Doctor as it is because i owe the office 400.00 in unpaid by insurance bills... But Pepboys cares about its employees? I spend more time at work than i do at home with my family. I am a salaried manager and now im expected to work 55 hours a week rotating Sundays Im not allowed to have a Saturday off and if i need one i am expected to take one of my personal days to cover that day WHY THE HELL SHOULD I HAVE TO USE A PTO DAY. I was told when i started Pepboys was a family friendly company but yet i never see my family i leave before they get up and see them for an hour before they go to bed because im expected to work 11 hours a day because lunch is an hour but last time i checked NY was exempt from punching out for lunch not that i ever get a chance to take one anyway due to the shortage of hours we are allowed to spend to have coverage so i can leave for lunch. Then we were told we are not allowed to have this day off or close this day but i need to in order to get my kids to and from school. I sometimes wish they would just fire me! atleast then i can see my family. They keep adding more rules and more tasks to do during the day but layoff people so who has to do the work "salary manager" this company sucks they lay off 50 people in store support which we dont have enough of But they added new "trainer positions" to teach employees how to sell things how bout we hire people for more than BURGER KING and get people with a clue rather than someone who wasnt good enough to work at burger king because they couldnt flip burgers fast enough i could go on for hours and hours but truthfully what good will it do besides none i wish i could find a different job i would be gone tomorrow but with this economy i cant so guess im stuck for now maybe i will win the lottery

I got hired in 2007 .. never give me my 6 month rise and ..after working in the service desk I was move because I wanna be a mechanic to the shop which we all know is hard work but the lady that control like 6 pepboys in long island new york told my boss to lower my salary ...she said that's the price to be in the shop? I know i m young Ithey know I wanna be a mechanic but that's a really abusing of my dignity ..working with car is hard not easy is not the same thing lifting a tire and lifting paper this people are sucking our blood for money...so now I really hope pepboys go to ###ing hell

i was an installer for 2 years everything was great but i had to get parts with my own car i bought it at 101000 miles its now at 160 000 in 1 year then gas went up they took away mile payouts i could give a ### less about a raise after dealing with ### and doing everything from mechanic werk installer work from desk work retail work and keeping a beautiful clean shop plus showing new mechanics how to werk on cars i got moved to mechanic then the front desk screwed me by not giving me werk so i go back to installer only to find out they changed the pay from 9 and hour to 7.50 and hour and we have to book 15 hours a week to get a decent check problme is its causing problems with me and the mechanics and nobody on the desk cares pretty much im screwed they told me take your 7.50 and deal with it i learned dont ever give a company 110% (chicago land area)

pepboys claims there so broke but forgot to mention their buying closed down dealerships and turning them into pepboys express shops more of our money wasted drive up wow what a ###ing joke that was the day the big boys came 8 customers literally took thier cars and left i looked like an idiot asking all these dumbs questions some ppl dont know they just want thier car fixed and then be on thier jolly way i would love for mike odell or scott ross or dm to werk in the shop for a week and get paid like we do installers get screwed service managers get screwed its only going to get worse from here

I have spent nearly 30 years in the retail business and almost 10 wwith the "Boys" and if you want to know why the company continues to struggle you have to look no further than the complete lack of employee and management training program. As a retail manager in the electronics field for 20 years we had a bullpen of potential trainees to replace the inevitable turnover in the business, but at PepBoys there is no such program. There is absolutely NO management training and no measurement of potential success as a manager in any position- parts, service, or retail- no operational or sales training as well. In fact, the training money has been spent on upgrading a worthless on line "Learning Central" where the only goal is to complete tests without understanding anything about the subjects. And now the parts computers are being switched to a "shopX" system that is 5 times slower than the outdated systems presently in use. It's like going from the most current Windows version to Windows 95 with dial up service. That's why the stock continues to flounder and there are few smiles and empty service bays. If executives ever listened instead of implementing doomed programs over and over this company may someday come back since they hold a unique position in the auto parts industry with service bays and tires sold through service and commercial delivery. Time to wake up before the funeral.

Indeed, more for less at Pep Boys means that we will give away more value to our customers and free services as well, while we pay our employees less. THAT is the truth. The only stores being paid more are the ones that were already busy and profitable...they set productivity goals for master technicians of 130% and then cut many flat rate labor times so that we are paid less and the 130% productivity goal is UNREACHABLE, especially if you are not in a busy store where they insist on overstocking the place with technicians. Employee turnover is astoundingly high...even with the economy what it is. Eventually, Pep Boys and Mike Odell might realise the error of their ways, but until then...profits will soar!

Despite hearing not-so-great things about them in the past, I'd go there frequently simply because the hours are convenient. I took my car there for an oil change and State Inspection. I also noticed some stiffness in my steering wheel; mostly while backing up, so I had them check that.

They quoted me $1400 and told me I needed a WHOLE NEW RACK AND PINION on a three-year-old car with only 58, 000 (that has never been in an accident). They also FAILED my car on the safety inspection and told me this needed to be replaced before they'd pass me. They said it was, "a huge safety issue and I shouldn't be driving my car."

I definitely didn't have $1400, so I called my car's manufacturer all frantic and upset hoping for SOME sort of help. They told me they needed an official diagnosis from the dealer first, which is completely understandable. My car passed EVERY SINGLE DIAGNOSTIC TEST the dealer ran on the steering system. They found NOTHING wrong with my vehicle--other than my tires desperately needed replacing. I knew I needed new tires, but I didn't realize they were SO bad that THEY were causing the steering tightness! They increased the tire pressure at the dealer, which RIGHT AWAY made a huge difference in the steering.

I went to a trusted independent mechanic (recommended by two of my co-workers) who installed four brand new tires and told me--AGAIN--there was absolutely NOTHING WRONG WITH MY RACK AND PINION! He also told me that even if there was, there is NO WAY it would ever cost even close to $1400! (Oh, and by the way, he PASSED my car on the state inspection--which I should have passed in the first place at Pep Boys!)

I am FURIOUS! Pep Boys not only caused me three days of stress and money-worrying, but they had me second-guessing my car's manufacturer that I've been loyal to and trusted for many years! Plus I was scared to even drive my car! Shouldn't someone who "knows about cars" simply at least suggested tires FIRST before going all "rack and pinion" on me?

Moral Of My Story/Lesson Learned = NEVER GOING TO PEP BOYS AGAIN!

I literally made more money in 1997 as an entry level oil change guy at a dealership.when i was in college..
fast forward to 2009.. I am now a college graduate with 8 years of engineering work behind me, and as a result of the downturn of manufacturing, my compnay closed due to importing goods/general down turn. So, instead of being a drain on society, I pulle d up my bootstraps and went back to what i knew, automotive. pep Boys flat out LIED about the base salary and comission I would be getting. I am now, and i swear may god strike me dead as i type this if i am lying, I am making LESS money working 40+ hours a week at the Boyzzz than i would have brought home on unemployment.

The first chance i can get i will be out of there. the few long term emplyees that are there are also very disgruntled and the techs we have in the shop, much to my initial expectations, are actually very talented. And trust me, they are looking for a way out too.

I will NEVER give that blood sucking company another dime out of my pocket.

way to go pep Boys. May you go down in flames in all your glory.
and Mike Odell, go ### your smug self.
Rememebr the demise of circuit city, because you are about to repeat it.

Ironic that Mr. Rooskie brought up failed big box retailer Circuit City, as Pep Boys recently, (in spite of all their financial crisis which prevent wage increases to employees), has begun hiring former Circuit City executives! Supposedly this spearheads an attempt to break into the remote starter and car alarm market, but isn't it common sense, when a company is attempting to streamline expenses and increase sales, to avoid paying high level executive salaries to people who not even a year ago guided a company into bankruptcy? Pep Boy's track record shows a history of attempting to plunge headlong into new ventures and directions without necessary planning, foresight, and store level support because someone, be it a CEO or Board of Directors, sees some exciting new toy and needs it NOW, without considering feasibility, logistics, or possible consequences. As examples, I offer their Baja line of scooters, mini-bikes and go-carts (which have all been recalled for failing to meet EPA regulations, an issue which should have been investigated before attempting to mass market them), the previously mentioned charge into an area of the market which is gimmicky, unproven, and risky, and the current attempt to guarantee 29 minute oil changes in stores that are so understaffed due to payroll restrictions that half the time there is no lube tech present to do the job!

Pep Boys does have many good employees; people who are competent in automotive parts sales, service sales, and repair work, but in order to be a successful company, Pep Boys must return to the basics of the automotive industry. Forget about novelties, remote starters, hats with ponytails, car alarms, etc. Forget about micromanaging and controlling every aspect of store level management, from what days your management staff takes off during the week to what mechanics are allowed to have on top of their toolboxes. Take care of your employees, from decent insurance to a good pay structure, and concentrate your efforts on supporting them in doing what they do best: selling automotive parts and automotive repair services. If you can build and retain a strong core of well paid, talented people, who take pride in their job and in their store, and focus on the foundation of automotive parts and service, the opportunities for expansion into other aspects of the retail and service industries will follow, but in the correct order of time. To quote the old proverb, "Do what you do best, and do it well, and new opportunities will present themselves in the fullness of time."

The greatest asset of any business is its people, and with appreciation, development, and retention of qualified, skilled, and satisfied employees, your business will grow. If your employees are bodies that you can plug into tightly controlled system to fill a space, yes, you will save a great deal on payroll expenses by staffing your stores with minimum wage button pushers. But you will get what you pay for, and your performance and growth as a company will reflect that. If you have a company staffed with underpaid, unhappy, under-qualified people, all the new products, business plans, and diversified strategies will not stop your potential customers from walking out the door and across the road to deal with a parts or service expert instead of a McCashier. If you want the best, you will have to pay for the best, and treat them like the best. If your business plan is satisfied with trading skilled, motivated people for register drones, please carry on as you are, and I look forward to some great deals at the going out of business sale. Your new Circuit City executives should be able to offer some pointers on that.

MY 95 PLYMOUNT VOYGER WAS TOWED INTO PEP BOYS (NO START) AFTER MANY ATTEMPTS TO REPAIR PROBLEM PEP BOY TOLD ME THAT THE FUEL PUMP WAS BAD AFTER REPLACING FUEL PUMP THEY STATED THAT THE OLD PUMP WAS OK. INSTEAD OF LEAVING OLD FUEL PUMP IN TANK THEY INSTALL A NEW ONE THAT WASNT NEEDED AND CHARGE ME FOR THIS ITEM. REQUESTING REFUND FOR PUMP THAT WAS NOT NEEDED

I agree to some extent. I have been with the company for a year. I am an Fully equipt ASE certified Master Mechanic. In the short time I have been with the company I have seen a high turnover rate in the Service Department in Service managers, service writers. Seems that the DM is more interested in how polished the shop is and that all the paint is clean and the concrete floors are waxed and polished than he is replacing the stone age equipment that never works properly or at all. (Who the hell cares if a mechanic bay is polished. If I were a customer I would be more concerned with the quality and the time frame of work being done on my car not, on the appearance of a bay that a customer should never be able to see.) MR. Mike Odell hear me loud and clear one last time. You want a good profitable company? Pay your employees better stop hiring from craigslist, screen your employees fully, treat them well, get the cry babies HR/ LP stitches you have working in your shops out. Build a brotherhood between mechanics and you will have a force to be reckoned with even against a dealership.
Upgrade your stone age equipment, upgrade your ### insurance plan with affordable rates, stop under staffing your stores, spend less on waxing the shop and more on on site training for your mechanics/Techs. And you yourself might stay CEO of this company, because your stock holders have had all they want of your 2000.00 golf tickets and 3000.00 suits to last us a long time. Hmmm. I kinda remember this with another CEO
( Was it Bernie Ebbers) Of yeah Prison ### Bernie that's what we call him... To CEO or Not CEO that definitely is the question at hand. Long live The Pep Boys team short live the screwed up management of this company. MANNY MOE & CRACKHEAD. I sure miss Manny and Moe though...
Sincerely,
Pissed off

I have been an employee of Pep Boys almost 30 years, I work in one of the toughest states for employment (California). All of you need to be thankful that Pep Boys hired folks like Mike Odell, Bill Shull, Bill McCall etc.. Pep Boys was going in a very bad direction and these guys worked countless hours designing and implementing a plan to turn the company around and gain customer confidence. I am of the oppinion that if you don't like it at Pep Boys then move on to something that you like, don't complain about a company that did not fold like Mervyns, Gottchalks, Circuit City etc... Your senior team at Pep Boys had to make some very tough decisions and I like you did not want the cuts to happen to some of the programs the Pep Boys offered as a "Benefit" but it was necessary, If you are not a contributor you are holding us back from being a GREAT company.

I was overcharged for services NOT performed. How about that?

I cannot post here the receipt for services which I had to pay but if you visit my website you can read the entire story and see the proof!

Some of the things they detail on the receipt I cannot figure out. I mean I don't know who thinks this stuff up at Pep Boys but I advise everyone who reads this to check out what I put up on the website and see what you think about the situation. I want to thank you in advance!

I worked for Pep Boys for about 15 years. The first ten years or so were great. The employees were happy, the customers were happy, and Pep Boys made an honest profit. Then something happened. I am not sure what. Perhaps the company was sold to new investors. Maybe it was when Pep Boys went public and sold stock. The change seems to have occurred in the last 5 years or so. After the change all management decisions turned to making a profit at the expense of everything else. They became very creative at it.
For the customers they found sneaky ways to get their money. All the way from little things like exorbitant prices on valve stems to marking parts up when they were moved from the parts department to the service department. They also found they could make even more money by not stocking many parts. They could mark up the outside purchases even more. They even purposely use that disappearing paper for receipts, so you cant bring things back. They even try to keep the receipt when they can. Unlike Auto Zone, at Pep Boys you will need your receipt. They try to maintain the highest labor rate possible. Sometimes even higher than the dealers. They found they could sell 4 tires for the price of 3. They actually charged the same for the 3 tires as they used to charge for the 4. You could get a refund for 1 tire by mailing in a form. They made their money on just the 3 tires and made much more because a lot of people didn’t mail in the form. They found they could add a "shop charge" to every ticket, supposedly to cover the cost of things like brake cleaner, silicone, etc. What I found them doing however was to add say a $25.00 dollar fee to the ticket; but then they would also charge an additional charge for every shop item that was actually used. They were uninterested in providing an honest fair service. They would never machine brake rotors; because they made money by selling new ones. They would over charge on certain jobs if they felt they could get away with it. They charged a oriental lady (who had trouble with English) about $2000.00 to install a used motor in her car. Keep in mind this was a warranty job; we had already installed a motor once before. They gave her the part and just charged the labor. The labor to install this motor should have been about $1000.00. (Something similar to a 1995 Lumina, 3.1 liter.)
The employees used to be treated well. We were sent for training regularly. They would pay for an employee to drive to the training place and also their room. Our pay was competitive with other repair shops. We had a good health plan. We had a 401 plan, vacations, and holidays. Most of that is gone. We used to be able to keep a microwave, refrigerator, and a radio out in the shop. Wasn’t bothering anyone. They took them anyway. It was nice to be able to use your cell phone while on test drives-in case the car broke down. Now they want you to go on test drives with no phone. They fill the shop up with double the mechanics it used to have. Now everyone fights for cars to work on and bays to work on them in. The mechanics are forced (Because they may only get 1 car to work on that day.) to find things to fix and exaggerate whenever they can. Management has found creative ways to destroy any reason for a "good" employee to work for them. They still have a few left; but most are gone. When the economy improves; the rest will be gone.
For those of you who are glad because you always felt mechanics made too much. I say you will get what you ask for. Mechanics will make less, but you pay the same to management. In return you will receive all the service you can expect from minimum wage employees, most who know very little about cars. And like most minimum wage employees they really won’t care if you are happy.
Anyone who takes their car to pep boys for service or who invests in their stock; is a fool.

Pep Boys has horrible customer service. I took my car in at 9:30 and never received a call back from the Mgr Adam until 4:00p. I called at 1:30p and 3:00p and he was out to lunch. Hopefully, I will get my car at 9:00p as promised and it works properly.

While reading through these posts I couldn't believe how much the issues that other Pep Boys employees are exsperiencing sound just like the ones we experience. I work at a Pep Boys in the state of Washington and we (my co-workers and myself) always thought that since we were in a remote location (there are only 2 Pepboys stores left in Washington, all other stores have closed down) that we were just getting neglected and forgotten about. But after reading the other posts it sounds like it doesn't matter where you work within the company's confines, your getting shafted one way or another. Just what has happened to me personal has appearently happened to so many others. I started out as a mechanic, later earning 2 ASE certifications and then was moved back to an installer in hopes for better pay. As an installer was exspected to still perform the work desired from a mechanic plus squeezing in 29 min oil changes and tires. I also was to help out with the drive up and work at the desk when the service advisors got behind. Some nights when I really got to have some fun, everyone from the service department would go home and I was expected to run the desk and do all repairs for the vechicles getting serviced by myself...isn't this a safety issue? I guess if I got injured in the shop one of the customers would have eventually found me (this was before the eyes in the sky were installed). One night in particular stands out in my mind...2 vehicles came in and I was doing my one woman show again and both cars were dead in the water. I asked if someone from retail could help me push the 2 cars into the shop (I'm not that big of a person and don't possess the brute strength of my male co-workers) but the manager on duty would not let any of the retail employees leave their areas, I ended up getting both cars into the shop (a customer saw me and offered to help), repairing them and sending the customers on their merry way. I'm used to picking up parts in my own vechicle, never getting rembursed for gas, while on my lunch breaks; as a mechanic would often work (while clocked out) on lunch to try and get jobs done, and since we are not allowed overtime would often clock out do finish up jobs and clean up before going home. I have recently moved to the desk and experienced the tactic of lets put you as part time but work you 40+ hours so we don't have to pay you benifits and you loose all the PTO that you earned when you were a full time employee. Good times, good times...

My 2003 Ford Expendition wasn't running right, dying at the light, so when I got it started, I drove it to Pep Boys, BIG MISTAKE, they want ya to prepay $90 to diagnose the problem. Then told me that the $90 doesn't come off the bill. It's in addition to what-ever work still needs to be done, at least the dealer's diagnostic cost is $25 & it comes off the bill when the vehicle is fixed. Save Money & time - DO NOT GO THERE, it's cheaper to go directly to the dealer & have it fixed right the first time.

you sir are an idiot, you want someone to work on your car for free, why would a company take of 90 beacause you had the work done there, your buying mechanics time, they're in a shop which doenst operate for free, i dont get some of you people out there you want everything for free. and fyi the dealers and never cheap

Pep Boys in Santee, CA somehow determined that the electrical harness in my Ford Escape was defective. I asked if they had seen this problem previously and they said Yes, twice. I told them I wanted the old harness. Two days and $2400 later the 'problem' was fixed and I got the car and the old harness back. After inspecting the harness I could find NO burned or broken wires. The ONLY 'defect' that I found was a severely corroded terminal. The cost of cleaning or replacing the terminal would not be more than a couple dollars.

So, Pep Boys in Santee California ripped me off to the tune of $2400 simply because they thought is was easier to replace and entire electrical harness than to search for a defective terminal.

I suspect the mechanic needed the work (there weren't many vehicles in the shop at that time) and he probably got a 'nice' bonus for bringing in a $2400 job.

I've NEVER been back to any Pep Boys, and I don't hesitate to let anyone know of their incompetitent mechanics

I have worked for Pep Boys for 10 years, and I think it's a great company to work for. I started on the parts counter, was promoted to 2nd assistant, and now I am the Commercial sales manager. All you guys who have problems with the company, maybe you should take a step back and take a look at yourself. First of all, if you don't like the company, LEAVE! I know I won't work a job that I am miserable at. And as far as insurance goes, HELLO, they have went back with a copay plan along with the healthfund. And you usually get paid for the quality of work you do. So, quit [censor]ing, get off your butts and get to earning the raises you all want.

My jeep (1990 Cherokee) sputtered and died on the road - no gas getting to engine...started again a few minutes later. Took into neighborhood Pep Boys as good past experience...not this time. I thought (and told this the guy) maybe a fuel filter, fuel pump, or a clogged line?

Manager (John?) called me up later next day and told me good news (fuel filter and pump checked and OK) but that some manifold gasket is shot (Fuel injectors?) and sold me a $650 repair. Next day, now paid and fixed I thought, 2 hours later on freeway, did same thing again...died on freeway...same exact symptom...obviously not fixed. Guess nobody checked work?
Being as it was Xmas eve and ~7:30 PM (still open), called back to Pep Boys on the same phone number as the manager had called me from earlier, saying it was fixed. Got attitude/swearing and the big shock...he also told me never to call him especially after he was off (How was I to know?). Towed car back to Pep Boys...(I do not feel that I should have to pay again for tow as they did not fix problem.) FYI, Car as repaired lasted 3 miles. Merry Xmas.
I am not happy with service or attitude...feel that I was somewhat robbed...they fixed something $ but not what was actually broken. A shoddy way to do business. Still a fuel delivery problem exists and needs fixing.
Do I have any recourse with these clowns? What would you do?

On Friday Feb 4th I brought my car to Pep Boys for new tires. When they were finished after hours, I was told my debit card was declined and I had to leave my car there. My balance on my checking account was $500 short so I figured they must have recieved at least $500 and was told to come back with a print out from my bank if that was the case. They actually got $800 out of my account so I took my bank statement to Pep Boys and I was told there is no one they can contact on weekends about my payment so my only option was to pay them in full and hope for my $800 back after Monday Feb 7th. My bank advised me not to pay them and contact the BBB instead, but since it's a weekend, they are closed as well. I am left without a car because anyone who deals with financial issues for Pep Boys is off weekends...then why are they even open on weekends?

This company has gone down hill since my husband started 8 years ago. He is refused lunches and breaks and scheduled for 10-12 hours per day. His manager hides from the customers and will hand write a work order and tell the techs to get on it. He has been told after clocking out and getting ready to go home after 9 hours to clock BACK in so that the manager can leave the store for 2 hours for "lunch". The regional doesnt listen to the employees complaints and has a "if you dont like it then quit" attitude. He is also racist against whites and blacks and only hires hispanics for management positions. He has said that the going salary is $35k for management yet the hispanics are making $50-60k in this region. The last manager told us point blank that the regional does not like whites or blacks and he was told to not consider a black employee at all... Needless to say he quit after working for Pepboys for 17 years. The Human resources department doesnt care, if you call them they refer you to the regional and then he relatiates by trying to get you fired. The benefits suck! They have raised the deductable to $2500 per person. Oh and the money... its gone... In the past 8 years he is now making $5000 less than what he was making when he started. Needless to say while he is working his A$$ off, I am at home sending in resumes to different companies for him.

The Corporate guy who posted above... you are locked in with the grandfather clause so no your not affected. Its that attitude of "LEAVE" that shows that as a manager you do not care about your employees and as long as YOUR paycheck is not effected the rest of the Pepboy employess can go to hell. Way to go A-Hole! Want to HELP the stores... find locations that are not hidden, make sure that the MANAGERS that are hired are hired because they have the job skills and KNOWLEDGE of how to repair a car. Not some nut job that doesnt put his employees safety first. The cameras you have installed in the stores.. Watch the footage and take notes... OH and when a different customer is calls every single day complaining about the MANAGER screwing something up or being rude... TAKE NOTICE! Complaints against a manager and not the rest are a HUGE flag. So get off your corporate butt and DO YOUR JOB!

BTW.. refusing breaks and lunches = against the law... I see another class action suit coming because they are ALL documenting the hours they work and THE TAPES DONT LIE!

My husband has worked for Pepboys for 12 years. His income and benefits have dropped drastically. I have to admit that I do not believe Pep Boys cares about their employees but just about every company in America falls in that category. My husband has a work ethic, but he really does not like working for Pep Boys anymore. Unfortunatley he works with people who do not have the same integrity and would rather stand around and do nothing. Maybe they collect welfare and don't want to actually earn a paycheck. I have no idea. Pep Boys has sent a clear message buy cutting benefits to crap, and showing no appreciation whatsoever for longevity or loyalty. Not only are mechanics making crap hours, and have crap benefits, Pep Boys charges them for working on their own cars.

I’ve had my car back into this location 4 times to repair my car. They’ve taken $2500 from me and have yet to fix my car. They replaced many parts that I am certain didn’t need replacing. They’ve broken my engine and replaced it twice. They’ve taken a month and a half (so far) to make these so called repairs and have yet to get the job done right. Today I took my car back because, despite my replaced engine, the check engine light comes on, the car dies if it is running in park and they actually gave me the car back without any antifreeze. Customer Service is an absolute joke.

Even management is completely unsympathetic. They never call you back I’ve had to call daily to check on the status of my car only to continue to receive more bad news. I cannot believe that they are allowed to perform any services at all. They should stick to selling parts. Unless you need tires and may be an oil change, stay as far away as possible from this Pep Boys.

Despite hearing not-so-great things about them in the past, I’d go there frequently simply because the hours are convenient. I took my car there for an oil change and State Inspection. I also noticed some stiffness in my steering wheel; mostly while backing up, so I had them check that.

They quoted me $1400 and told me I needed a whole new rack and pinion on a three year old car with only 58, 000 (that has never been in an accident). They also failed my car on the safety inspection and told me this needed to be replaced before they’d pass me. They said it was, a huge safety issue and I shouldn’t be driving my car. I definitely didn’t have $1400, so I called my car’s manufacturer all frantic and upset hoping for some sort of help.

They told me they needed an official diagnosis from the dealer first, which is completely understandable. My car passed every single diagnostic test the dealer ran on the steering system. They found nothing wrong with my vehicle other than my tires desperately needed replacing. I knew I needed new tires, but I didn’t realize they were so bad that they were causing the steering tightness! They increased the tire pressure at the dealer, which right away made a huge difference in the steering.

I went to a trusted independent mechanic (recommended by two of my co-workers) who installed four brand new tires and told me again there was absolutely nothing wrong with my rack and pinion. He also told me that even if there was, there is no way it would ever cost even close to $1400! (Oh, and by the way, he passed my car on the state inspection which I should have passed in the first place at Pep Boys!). I am furious.

Pep Boys not only caused me three days of stress and money-worrying, but they had me second-guessing my car’s manufacturer that I’ve been loyal to and trusted for many years. Plus I was scared to even drive my car. Shouldn’t someone who knows about cars simply at least suggested tires first before going all rack and pinion on me.

BEWARE - PEP BOYS -Franklin Square Gastonia
About 6 months ago, I had over $800 in work done on my vehicle. This included tune -up, inspection, replacing all belts etc. They were professional, and did good work. A couple of weeks ago, I was driving on the Interstate and my Air Cond. stopped working. I checked it when I got home and discovered the AC belt had broken and was gone. The belts had a 1 year warranty so I took my vehicle back to them. Of the service managers and mechanics I recognized only 1 mechanic from 6 months previously. That kind of turnover tells me a lot. After he told me on the phone he could and would get on it right away. Almost an hour later my vehicle was put inside AFTER a person who came in after me had his car worked on and left. The mechanic who pulled my car in sat down and smoked a cigarette for 10 mins. before he raised the hood. He messed around for another 10 mins before he even picked up a wrench. He then called the service manager out and they told me they would have to charge me what basically was another hour of labor because another belt had to be taken off one side to get the AC belt on. There was 2 whole bolts that had to be loosened on the second belt and they wanted to charge me almost an hour labor for that when all of them were changed in less than a half hour last time. I told them no way was that going to happen and the agreed to reduce it. The mechanic then smarted off and said well I'll do it but only because I have nothing better to do. He then sat down and smoked for another 10 mins. He did that again and I told the manager to either get him to do the job or give me the vehicle. He put another mechanic on it and it was finished about 20 mins later. When I started to pay I saw they had given me & 13.50 credit for the belt warranty, but had charged me $ 27.00 for the new belt. I am not a rocket scientist but I can add and subtract, and even Stevie Wonder could see thru that one. I asked them what the deal was on the 27.00 belt and he said there had been a price increase. I said you really want me to believe there was a 100% increase in 6 months. He said well we really are not supposed to replace it anyway unless you bring the old one back. I told him if this one came off I would call him and he could dodge traffic on the Interstate to bring it back. The ser. Mgr then told the guy on the register to "CS" it. He didn't know what that meant and the Mgr. told him to charge 13.50 and code it customer satisfaction. What that really means is when they get caught trying to rip customers off, they do what the should have done to start with. They still charged me the equivalent of 1.5 hours labor and then tacked on a 10% Shop Fee. I asked what the heck that was and he said it was new policy and pointed to a small sign on the front of the counter that said that would be added to all work. I asked why and he says it is for the use of tools and equipment. For 10% of what I ended up paying I could have bought the lazy &#@ a brand new socket set and still came out. This is just another way to rip off the customers. I told them to enjoy the money I was giving them after they bill like lawyers and add all their special charges, and doubling the cost of parts, etc but they would never get another dime from me. I waited a couple of days and then called their parts dept. and asked the price of an AC belt for my vehicle and it did have a price increase from 13.50 to 14 bucks and change…Defense Rests. If this keeps just one person from giving away their money in this kind of economy it will be worth it. I do not know why but it seems the worse the economy gets the more many businesses resort to questionable, if not unethical practices.

upon having a fan belt break in desert 50 miles out of Yuma had to be towed an only garage available was Pepboys, here is original quote $383.71 with final cost $910.31 8 hrs. later, MISSING BOLTS NONE HOLDING ON AIR CONDITIONING & NEW WATER PUMP BEING HELD BY SCREEN DOOR BOLTS NOT AUTOMOTIVE TYPE BOLTS purchased from Lowes Hardware per their request if we wanted to get on the road to Calif we had to go buy an pay for them, an now and rattle noise coming from engine, next day took to La Habra Ca. pepboys an they replaced all non proper bolts with proper ones @ no charge an thought work was unapproriate also, but now power steering pump leaking as well as timing chain making noise an transmission leaking

i used to get paid ### working for pepboys so sometimes when customers piss me off i snap on them back. f*** it im not taking ### for minimum wage. moved on, now im happy. you can ask any tech or mechanic in the shop how they like pepboys pay they'll say f*** pepboys! trust me. is that they need a job that's it! no one gives a ### about the customers and the ones that act like they do put up a good show doing it.

I went in thinking my transmission was the issue when it was my brakes and I had just had them done on 7/23/2011 and it was only 9/20/2011.They say that the melt on the pads were rubbbing together and that I need to change them. I don't know no better so I said ok. Now he comes back and says I need calipers, brake hose and brake fluid. Then he comes back and say I need some rotors which I also had changed. So I leave and an hour or two after they call and say come to the store cause you need something else. Get there I need a master cylinder. They charge me a arm and a Leg!
Now I've paid and I going home my car starts driving funny so I go back and he tells me that I need transmission fluid. I brougt 4 quartes he puts them and i tip him. Mind you they said that all I needed know was two new front tires and I should be good. I didn't have the money for two new tires so I brought used one's. As soon as I put the tires on the car started making the same sound that took me to pepboys to began with. It was late, so first thing morning I took it back to a pepboys near me and I give him the receipt and the keys and left. When I came back he said that I needed hub assembly both outer tie rod end this is the Manager now!

At the Lake Worth he don't see how they did a Brake Inspection and didn't see all these problems with the brake system. I called Customer Complaint and made my complaint.spoke to a lady named Sheila she said they would contact the store and call be back she didnt call. The store in Tamarac called and was trying to tell me they told me that I was going to need other brake stuff done which was not true. I said you all said once I get the tires I would be fine.they said they will call me back the service manager called me back and said bring the car back to them i said no I don't trust anyone at that store to work on my car at your location.Can I take it to the one near me? She said she going to call them and call me back she did and said to bring it to the Lake Worth Store. I called the Lake Worth Store to make sure the Manager said let him call me back cause he needs to get an ok from he's boss.He called back and said the only thing they will change is the hub making noise. I told him thank you and called the complaint center.

I explained what was told to me she said they have the same info and there was nothing more they could do. I wanted with this I said even with my receipt from the parts I got from AutoZone on 7/23/2011 she said yes that is right. I need help. They charge me 1048.78. I need somebody to help me get what I paid for which is SERVICE. I don't think if I went with a Credit Card to pay for my service and when there bank try to get paid they couldn't they would just let it be. They would go through my Credit Bureau til they got paid, I want justice to be served.