Firestone Complete Auto Care

For what it’s worth I’ve used this place many times and never had a problem. Solid and professional.

My car broke down on the highway on my way home from Columbus and I was towed to this Firestone location. The guy who was helping me looked like he was put-​off that my car showed up there in the first place. He seemed more inclined to help people who were there for an oil change vs. helping someone out who was a victim of bad luck with no other place to go. I told him that I thought the battery needed to be replaced and he said he would take a look. After about 1.5 hours of waiting, he called me to the desk and told me he couldn’t find anything wrong with the car, then proceeded to charge me $ 105 for the diagnostics test that came back inconclusive. I asked him why he ran the diagnostics as the check engine light was not on, he told me it was standard procedure. I told him he should have told me he was going to do that before doing it, I felt swindled. He then told me to go to a dealership that sold my make/​model of car and that they should take a look at it. I asked him of any lodging nearby where I could stay since it was a Sunday and the service department at the dealership wasn’t open that day. He said, «nope, good luck.» and that was it. I was upset because I still had another 2 hours to drive and I didn’t want to break down on the side of the road again. Luckily they must have charged the battery a little as I was able to make it home, albeit with white knuckles and heart palpitations the whole way home thinking my car would break down again.
Bottom line, I paid $ 105 for a service that Auto Zone would have done for free, and the manager obviously could care less for my safety/​well-​being. I feel like if I was an owner of a car repair shop I would have at least offered a little empathy for someone who was in my situation. I took my car to my mechanic back home the next day and he said, «oh, you need a new battery.» They changed the battery for less than the cost of the diagnostics at Firestone and my car has been running perfectly since.
I don’t know if all Firestones are run this way or just this one. All I know is that I do not plan on giving Firestone my business ever again because of this negative experience.