A couple years back, I went into Monro Muffler and Brake Service in Hudson, NH, which is immediately in front of Walmart, to get an annual Inspection Sticker for my car.
About a half an hour or so later, the Monro service rep informed me that my car failed because I had “microscopic cracks” in the sidewall of one of my tires and claimed I needed four (4) new tires on my vehicle. When asked to actually see it, you practically needed a magnifying glass to see what the heck he was talking about – the actual tread on all four tires, incidentally, was excellent.
To remedy the situation, the Monro employee suggested that they could easily replace all my tires for about $400 right then and there. I thought that price was a wee bit ridiculous – just like the claim of having “microscopic cracks” in the sidewalls. Since I had about a month to replace these tires, I told the guy I wanted to “shop around” for a more reasonable deal like at Tire Warehouse, which is just up the street a little ways from Monro’s.
Unfortunately, in the state of New Hampshire, once an establishment “fails” a motorist for an annual inspection sticker, it registers it in a statewide computer system. So to go to a rival service shop assuming they’ll overlook the failure, they instead will notice what previously happened when they plug in your vehicle’s license plate number. In other words, it’s absolutely crucial that you totally avoid shyster establishments like Monro’s when going for an inspection sticker because once they “fail” your vehicle, you’re sort of stuck with them.
Approximately 1-2 weeks later, I went back to Monro’s with my four new tires hoping to now get my inspection sticker. After about 20 minutes or so, while I’m sitting in their customer’s waiting area, they drive my car and park it about 200 feet away in Walmart’s parking lot, despite the fact that there were more than ample parking spaces at the time in front of Monro’s.
The service rep then walked past me and said, without even looking me in the face, “your car’s all set”. Wow, nothing like being a little “pissed-off” about not being able to bilk me for the cost of four new tires – and then actually buying them at a nearby rival establishment about a mile from Monro’s.
In addition to that, at the time, I had a New England Patriots’ chrome license plate frame, which surrounded just the edges of my rear license plate. So rather than putting that back on my license plate after applying the current year inspection sticker, the Monro service rep just simply left my Patriots’ chrome frame on the front passenger’s seat of my car – what a BLEEPIN douche-bag!
Needless to say, I’ve NEVER been back to Monro’s after that rude and ignorant experience, and I would highly suggest anyone reading this do likewise. There are plenty of “reputable” establishments around Hudson NH that offer Mufflers, Brakes, Inspection Stickers and even “reasonably priced tires” – I recommend that you consider somebody other than Monro’s for any of these vehicle services.
UPDATE: I have since found out that Monro Muffler and Brake Service has purchased Tire Warehouse. When it rains it pours, I guess. Needless to say, I DEFINITELY WOULD NOT recommend anyone purchasing tires or anything else from Tire Warehouse, mainly due to the shysters (Monro’s) who now own that company.
UPDATE #2: This incident had taken place on May 2, 2008. Monro’s Manager was: Randy A. Landue; and the Technician was: Dennis Karhan. One of these two Rocket Scientists — 09LER — wrote on the receipt, under the Mechanic Notes and Measurements section: “rear plate bracket removed”. Next time, why not try saying that to my face!
UPDATE #3: As of 3-23-18, I called the Salem NH Court in reference to the Monro Mechanic here in question, Dennis Karhan (residing in Tyngsboro MA), specifically about his Possession of a Controlled Narcotic Drug arrest on Aug. 2011 in Pelham, NH. I was told by the Court rep that Mr. Karhan still has an Outstanding Warrant against him for $259, and was additionally charged with Operating with a Suspended License in that same calendar year. And Dennis Karhan was 37 (now 44) at the time of his arrest in Pelham on Aug. 2011 — hardly considered still a “kid”. I’m sure glad to see, though, that Monro’s in Hudson NH loves to hire good, wholesome, law-abiding individuals representing their company — NOT! How does that old cliche go? Not all Crooks are Druggies, HOWEVER, about 99.9 percent of all Druggies are Crooks. And oh, by the way, if Karhan was arrested in 2011 for Driving with a Suspended Driver’s License, wouldn’t a Mechanic (like Karhan) driving customer’s vehicles in and out of Monro’s service bays to its parking lot also be considered BLATANTLY ILLEGAL? I do believe it would. So now looking back at my whole “failed” Inspection Sticker experience back in May ’08, it appears that Mr. Karhan was screwing me just to support his own Drug habit. Unbelievable!
One Bad Decision Away From Homelessness 