Steel-belted pain
Today is a good day at work—we’re celebrating a product’s release that means an entirely new way of treating certain diseases. Actually the product has been out there for a while, getting evaluations from doctors. But it’s nice to be part of something that improves the quality of life for people.
Yet I need to get over my irritation from buying tires, even though it was the easiest process I’ve ever encountered. I've needed new tires for a while but have been putting it off as long as possible. With several major trips coming up in the next couple of months, I figured I better bite the bullet and pay through the nose (and mix my metaphors).
Those companies that have grasped the internet have a better chance of getting my business. I went to several tire store websites, but there was one that stood out. It went into detail on my car and recommended several good tires. It was the only site where I saw the tires that came standard with the car (a function of asking if it was the sports package or standard). Of course those were $205 per tire. But after reading evaluations, I went with another well-known brand that cost $122 per tire. Here’s the part that hooked me: they allowed me to check and see which near-by store had them in stock, reserve the tires, and make a reservation to have them installed. Total time in the tire store this morning getting 4 tires installed—25 minutes. And five of those minutes were spent waiting for the people in front of me to get served. As I said, it was a smooth, easy process.
The irritation comes from all the fees, services and taxes that are piled on top of an already expensive transaction. State environmental fee, waste tire disposal fee, spin balancing, sales tax...all these things added another $26 per tire (21% for those keeping track) to the cost. None of these charges are hidden or misrepresented in any way, nor are they unexpected. It’s just the accumulation of all these additional items that bugs me. It was like hearing “But wait, there’s more” and in every instance the ‘more’ was a bad thing.
Reading through this post again sure sounds like an old fart’s rant. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go take some Geritol and chase those damn kids off the lawn…and turn down that racket!
Yet I need to get over my irritation from buying tires, even though it was the easiest process I’ve ever encountered. I've needed new tires for a while but have been putting it off as long as possible. With several major trips coming up in the next couple of months, I figured I better bite the bullet and pay through the nose (and mix my metaphors).
Those companies that have grasped the internet have a better chance of getting my business. I went to several tire store websites, but there was one that stood out. It went into detail on my car and recommended several good tires. It was the only site where I saw the tires that came standard with the car (a function of asking if it was the sports package or standard). Of course those were $205 per tire. But after reading evaluations, I went with another well-known brand that cost $122 per tire. Here’s the part that hooked me: they allowed me to check and see which near-by store had them in stock, reserve the tires, and make a reservation to have them installed. Total time in the tire store this morning getting 4 tires installed—25 minutes. And five of those minutes were spent waiting for the people in front of me to get served. As I said, it was a smooth, easy process.
The irritation comes from all the fees, services and taxes that are piled on top of an already expensive transaction. State environmental fee, waste tire disposal fee, spin balancing, sales tax...all these things added another $26 per tire (21% for those keeping track) to the cost. None of these charges are hidden or misrepresented in any way, nor are they unexpected. It’s just the accumulation of all these additional items that bugs me. It was like hearing “But wait, there’s more” and in every instance the ‘more’ was a bad thing.
Reading through this post again sure sounds like an old fart’s rant. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go take some Geritol and chase those damn kids off the lawn…and turn down that racket!
posted by Dwight at
2:56 PM
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