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Debris flattens tires on 128; tire store responds to news by advertising its wares
By adamg on Mon, 04/27/2015 - 7:26am
So there was debris on 128 south by Rte. 9 this morning and several cars drove over it and got flats.
And NTB in Natick, which sells tires, replied:
Appears 6 cars with flats just before 20A Rt 128S #Newton stretch #fox25
— Scott Tetreault (@BostonNewsMan) April 27, 2015
@BostonNewsMan @universalhub NTB in Natick has tires!!
— NatickNTB (@NatickN) April 27, 2015
When somebody complained, the store responded:
@trisweb @BostonNewsMan @universalhub were close by and we can help, how's that #tactless?
— NatickNTB (@NatickN) April 27, 2015
@trisweb @BostonNewsMan @universalhub it's all good, just trying to help the public. With over 2k tires in stock and a full service shop!
— NatickNTB (@NatickN) April 27, 2015
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Comments
Guess I'm jaded
This doesn't bug me. Should it?
Flat tires suck but it's not a life or death situation. If Herb Chambers was tweeting news of fatal car accidents with "Looks like the family needs a new car to get to the funeral -- call Herb!" I'd think it was tasteless. But this seems like the normal, stupid, commercial tweet which might even be semi-automated.
Welcome to
Marketing in the digital age. The wording could have been a lot better better as far as showing some concern and empathy (or at least giving the appearance) go, and if they were REALLY on their game they would have run some sort of discount on the spot, but in practice there is nothing wrong with this and it's exactly how social media marketing should be done.
its a flat tire you weenie.
its a flat tire you weenie. they dont need to show concern and empathy for a flat tire you coddled manchild.
edit: though i agree an incentive beyond reminding people they exist would have been interesting
It's going to be ok.
Whatever is going on that has you reacting like a 7 year old, it's all going to be ok.
You've got at least 6 cars disabled on a busy highway, and the cause is debris in the road. You also have a whole lot of tow trucks or people putting on spares/donuts on said highway. I'd say safety is a concern, and it would be a best practice to address that. Not a requirement, but a best practice.
You also have people who have to change tires, wait for someone to come do it for you, or wait for a tow. Tires are also not cheap and generally not something anyone is happy about having to purchase unexpectedly. So some empathy before the hard sell could go a long way when you're effectively cold calling these potential customers.
Speaking as a professional here and not just from opinion. For once.
But please, inform me on more digital marketing and communications best practices.
They should have offered free towing
Particularly given the situation, where one spare might not be enough.
Good Thought
Logistic could make that tough though. Depending on the size of their tow fleet (if they have one) it could end up leaving drivers stranded even longer. They could contract with local companies, but unless they could hammer out a deal really quickly (if they don't already have one in place with anyone), it could have cost them more than it was worth to pick up the cost.
Something like "Show us your tow invoice and we'll take N% of that off the cost of new tires" or something like that could have been a good middle ground.
I was at (a different) NTB
I was at (a different) NTB yesterday and there was a guy arguing with the lady behind the desk about the bill for $23 they were trying to get him to pay for his oil change.
He claimed that his coupon for $19.99 off should make his total bill under $5 and she was trying to tell him that it wasn't a coupon and it wasn't for $19.99 off; it was an ad for their $19.99 oil change promotion that they were running, and after sales tax and waste disposal fee it totaled $23 and change.
"You're telling me that this coupon you sent me is no good? "
'It's not a coupon; it's marketing. It's an ad.'
"So you're gonna charge me $19.99? I don't got that kind of money."
This went on for at least 10 minutes before she just gave up and let him leave without paying.
One of today's flat tire
One of today's flat tire victims ought to go to Natick NTB, get a set of new Pirelli's, and refuse to pay at checkout. "You tweeted this morning that you were 'just trying to help the public'."
Anybody who puts a set of Pirellis
on their car deserves every flat tire they get. Had a set once on my '88 Honda Prelude - worst tires I ever had in terms of ease to incur flats and sidewall damage.
Twitter is an advertising platform
The whole business model of twitter is brand awareness and advertising. If you think twitter is some altruistic service you're naive. If you don't like advertising (like me) don't use twitter and rent TV shows and movies instead of watching broadcast (though you still get product placement). Free things are supported by advertising.
Am I The Only One?
This immediately brought to mind the Three Stooges episode where they infest a house with ants and mice, then knock on the door and ask "Do you need an exterminator?"
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
Do people sit at their screens
Searching for something to pretend to be offended by?
A bunch of cars got flats, they are close by, they sell tires...come get some tires for your car!
Simple enough.
Do people sit at their
Wild Turkeys hit by cars?
We sell roasting pans and gravy!!
What I found extremely aggravating
about this morning's incident was the fact the traffic reporters took great pains to explain how the debris was actually a drive shaft, but never bothered to tell drivers which lane (or lanes) the debris was in.
(while I normally don't drive into work, this morning I had to go to Fall River for a field meeting before heading into the office. Ended up taking I-93 through the city instead because of the I-95 incident)
Wouldn't help much to announce that
In fact, it could make things much worse. The reason? Debris does not stay in one place. A big truck hits that drive shaft, it spins into an adjacent lane, and the information is suddenly outdated.
Nice theory
So that must explain why, when monitoring traffic reports (and the MetroTraffic working frequencies), I almost always hear the reporters give both a description of the debris and what lane(s) the debris is in when such situations are described.
But I suppose you're now going to tell us of your decades of experience as a radio traffic reporter in rebuttal.
No experts needed
Basic laws of physics. All you need to know. Cars hit things, things scatter.
I'd hate to be your insurer if you depend on the radio to tell you where crap is on the road, rather than using common sense and eyesight. I guess that explains your problems with tires.
Come on now
How is someone going to see a nail on the highway? Happened to me a couple weeks ago, and I found out when I came back from my business to find a completely flat tire. Fortunately I carry a compressor (that's a tool that'll pay for itself many times over) and I was near that rare beast, an actual service station that fixed the flat in ten minutes. Kudos to Alewife Mobil, and if you're ever near the corner of Mass Ave and Fresh Pond with a motor vehicle issue, this is the place to stop.
Yes, I do use common sense and eyesight
But having an idea what lane(s) the debris may be in on a multi-lane highway may actually give drivers a better idea of exactly what to expect as they approach the location - and minimize their chances of hitting said debris. How that is a bad thing?
Also, I've owned four cars since 1987. The only car I ever had problems with the tires was the aforementioned 1988 Honda Prelude because of a poor tire brand, not because of my driving habits.