Young gentleman was very polite and helpful. Rendered aid each time I entered for inquiries about my tires.

Having been a loyal Discount Tire customer for a very, very long time (over 30 years), I couldn’t help but be somewhat heartbroken when I walked into the Discount Tire store at 9415 FM 1960 Rd, West (Houston, TX 77070) to see the lobby practically empty (during rush hour traffic) – with only one customer in the entire place. I suppose long past is the time when they used to have their lobby full, customers bustling around all over the place, because Discount Tire WAS the place we could count on for great customer service. Well, it seems those days are gone – hence the empty lobby.

I came into the store to buy two new tires and I wanted them installed on the front, not the rear like they recommend. Why? – Because front tires wear faster and because (to me) new tires in front give better braking and steering control. Moreover, when travelling at highway speeds, what would you prefer – a tire blowout in the front or a blowout in the rear? My money says a rear tire blowout offers a higher chance of survivability than one in the front. Thus, I would prefer to avoid a front tire blowout at all costs. But most importantly though, I wanted the new tires mounted on the front because that was what I wanted.

I have read the research and I understand the physics behind placing the tires with the most tread in the rear (rear tire hydroplaning is harder to correct for) and it makes perfect sense. However, I still wanted the new tires mounted on the front (the tread on the other two tires was still good). When placing my request, the salesman would not budge; “the new tires MUST be mounted on the rear” he says. So I walked out and purchased my tires from a tire store down the street (and saved money in the process).

Whatever happened to “the customer is always right?”

FYI: I was told by a tire salesman recently, that mounting new tires on the rear is a tricky way for tire retailers to push you into replacing all four tires, since “you wouldn’t want to be driving around with a couple worn tires.”

Just a quick side note: all of the tire manufacturers and tire retail stores recommend continued tire rotation from the front to the rear and vice versa. Question: doesn’t rotating the tires as is recommended placing the more worn tires in the back, contrary to the spirit of their “mounting the tires with the most tread in the rear” policy?