HOUSTON – Max Mohebbi used to work as a tire salesman at the NTB store located at 6755 S. Texas 6 in west Houston, but he said was fired for trying to help a customer out.
Last week, Moheebi said a customer came in to have some work done on his 1999 Dodge pickup truck.
The customer paid $400 for new spark plugs and a tune-up, but then two days later, the man’s vehicle wouldn’t start.
“He called back on Monday and said that he got in his truck on Sunday to go to church with his wife and the truck wouldn’t start,” Moheebi said.
Moheebi said he gave the phone to a manager who eventually agreed to take a look at the truck again but wanted the customer to have it towed back to the shop, since it wouldn’t start.
“I just paid for this repair,” said Robert Owens, the customer whose truck wouldn’t start.
Owens told KPRC he just shelled out $400 for the repair and didn’t have any more money.
He’s disabled since having a stroke in 2004, he walks with a cane and has a pacemaker.
He also didn’t feel it was his responsibility to pay any more money, he wanted NTB to come get the truck and Moheebi agreed.
“I said, ‘I guess nobody is giving a damn. Let me see if I can help you,’ so I waited for my lunchtime and I clocked out,” Moheebi said.
He drove over to Owen’s home on his lunch break, popped the hood and took a look. Moheebi’s not a mechanic, but he’s worked with cars for 35 years and recognized right away there was a problem with one of the spark plugs.
It was an easy fix and would only cost about $20 for the part. He offered to come back the next day and fix it for free.
“I told him tomorrow is my day off, I’ll come back and help you.” Moheebi said. “He’s sick, he’s sick, really, and I feel bad for him.”
“Well, I thought it was really nice,” Owens said.
But Moheebi told Channel 2, doing something really nice cost him his job.
When he returned to work after his lunch break, Moheebi said his manager’s told him he was fired.
“I will do it, even if it costs me my job,” he said. “I’m gonna keep doing it.”
NTB told KPRC in a statement:
“NTB Tire and Service Centers is known as a trusted name in the automotive aftermarket for providing a broad range of automotive maintenance and tire services. We pride ourselves in working with consumers to determine appropriate services for their vehicles and ultimately developing relationships that can last a lifetime. Regarding the recent allegation by the former employee, we are working with our local leadership team to gather all of the information.”
Owens said after all of this, NTB paid for the truck to be towed back to the shop and they fixed the problem for a second time.