Kal Tire

Recently, while traveling from Victoria to the North Island, I picked up a huge nail in my rear tire. It was close to closing time, but the staff got me in almost immediately and sold me new tires and replaced them so I could get home. The staff was friendly, very empathetic, and efficient in completing the work. This is an example of 5 star customer service!

This shop is reliable for repairs and is great for doing maintenance on tires after you purchase them there but the counter service is terrible. Even with three people supposedly dedicated to the counter I waited for about 15 minutes just to check my car in for a repair a week ago. The staff wandered back and forth, no one making eye contact until I finally piped up with a loud objection. This was the longest wait I've had, but there's always a wait, even when I'm the only one there. Kal Tire needs to figure out how to have counter people that just work at the counters and pass the paperwork on to others!

One of the worst experiences, drop by to see if they can replace 2 tires due to a recent hwy blowout. They told me it would be roughly 2 hrs wait, which I was fine with due to booked appointments. 1. 1hr inn notice 2 tech keep approaching the front desk trying to see where this prebooked appointments are indeed coming in, no response or anything from the customers so rather then giving the walk in jobs they have waiting in front they have the techs wait for the next appointment schedule for that morning 2 brought the issue up to them after closed to 1 1/2 hr waiting, stating rather than having them wait, why not just do the vehicle now. Their response was to ask each other if this was okay before actually dealing with the walk- ins customers. 3. Finally, it was my vehicle next, and to my suprise, after the front desk tech checked the vehicle, they could not proceed since I'm only replacing 2 tires, not four , since "they were not the same brand" , asked why they said they will be held liable for doing this service on just replacing 2 tires...I'm just speechless never in all my years have I ever heard such ridiculous excuses and upsell crap. Told them that's fine I rather take my business elsewhere if this how they run their shop. I just find it ridiculous, and a couple of the customers were actually asking why they can't change just 2 tires. I didn't wanna waste any more time going trying to understand their business practice and the people they hired to justify this...I just called Mr lube explained to them the situation gave me the go ahead drop by in their colwood location after 45min problem solved Never again, yes, it's a convenient location, considering I live 5 mins away, but business practice and this hard upsell have to stop

I took a leaking tire to this shop and was told that the tired was previously repaired incorrectly and that they couldn't fix it. Wanted me to buy new tires. They claimed that the previous fix, used two and hence couldn't be fixed. Took the tire to another shop, and this time, I looked into the tire. Only one plug in place, not two like Kal Tire claimed. The other shop fixed it without issue and showed me that the tire was fixable and had a lot of life left. Apparently Kal Tire is famous for doing this kind of trick. In summary - if they tell you your tire cannot be fixed, and push to sell you tired, get a second opinion. --updated-- What is interesting is AFTER I posted this review the owner responded, claiming that my tired where 80% below use, or fixed poorly, and hence why they don'ts be repaired. Hover in the words of their own technicians, my tires has over 50% life left, and only reason for replacing them was because of poor prior repair job (not true). Take a look how they spin this. Instead of saying sorry and apologizing, they try to make it look like they are a good citizen and not a scam. "Response from the owner 15 minutes ago Thank you for your feedback Paul, Any tire that has been run below 80% of the recommended pressure should be considered un-drivable. When a tire is driven with low or no pressure it generates heat which damages the tire’s inner wall and affects the integrity of the tire. This can also cause a dangerous blow out. If a tire arrives at Kal Tire that has been run below 80% of the recommended operating pressure, or has been repaired incorrectly, we will not attempt inflation or repair the tire. We understand that it’s disappointing to hear, but we do have a responsibility and a level of safety standards to not engage in unsafe work or release a vehicle that is unsafe to the vehicle owner and other drivers. It is also Kal Tire policy to not allow our customers to put air in their own tires for the same reason."