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Okay, couldn't think of a more original title, but all this talk of bad weather suckiness reminded me of a story from a month or so ago.
I'll live on the west coast of Canada, and though our winters are generally mild, when the temperature goes down, the rain turns to snow and ice hits the roads, so it's crazy for driving. We had been warned that this winter would be harsher than usual, but many (myself included), waited until the first snow started falling to get our winter tires. Needless to say, our local tires shops were busy, and alot of them don't do appointments because of the volume of business.
I had lucked out, and been told to show up at my shop-of-choice at opening, and I would be able to get my tires fairly quickly. I showed up well before opening, but still found myself about 8th on the "first come, first served" schedule. I was about an hour into my two hour wait, and the waiting room/service area was filled to capacity, when Ms. "I need it done NOW!" walked in.
She walked up to the desk, past the waiting hordes and announced that she needed her tires put on immediately. The receptionist told her it was first come, first served, but if she wanted to leave her car here, they could get to it mid-afternoon. This, of course was not good enough, and she declared that she needed an appointment. Again, no can do, you have to wait your turn.
She tried to argue that she was a "preferred" customer and always got appointments. By now the owner was hearing this, and reminded her that past appointments were for car repairs, not tires. She then announced that she was calling her husband, and he would straighten it out, since it was obvious that she needed her tires now. The owner laughed as she pulled out her cellphone, and told her that if her husband had a problem with it, he could come down and explain to all of us waiting why she was so much more important. At this point she huffed, put her cellphone away, and announced that she was never doing business here again! as she flounced out of the door.
Without missing a beat, the owner looked at us and said, "She'll be back, cause we've got her winter tires stored upstairs."
I'll live on the west coast of Canada, and though our winters are generally mild, when the temperature goes down, the rain turns to snow and ice hits the roads, so it's crazy for driving. We had been warned that this winter would be harsher than usual, but many (myself included), waited until the first snow started falling to get our winter tires. Needless to say, our local tires shops were busy, and alot of them don't do appointments because of the volume of business.
I had lucked out, and been told to show up at my shop-of-choice at opening, and I would be able to get my tires fairly quickly. I showed up well before opening, but still found myself about 8th on the "first come, first served" schedule. I was about an hour into my two hour wait, and the waiting room/service area was filled to capacity, when Ms. "I need it done NOW!" walked in.
She walked up to the desk, past the waiting hordes and announced that she needed her tires put on immediately. The receptionist told her it was first come, first served, but if she wanted to leave her car here, they could get to it mid-afternoon. This, of course was not good enough, and she declared that she needed an appointment. Again, no can do, you have to wait your turn.
She tried to argue that she was a "preferred" customer and always got appointments. By now the owner was hearing this, and reminded her that past appointments were for car repairs, not tires. She then announced that she was calling her husband, and he would straighten it out, since it was obvious that she needed her tires now. The owner laughed as she pulled out her cellphone, and told her that if her husband had a problem with it, he could come down and explain to all of us waiting why she was so much more important. At this point she huffed, put her cellphone away, and announced that she was never doing business here again! as she flounced out of the door.
Without missing a beat, the owner looked at us and said, "She'll be back, cause we've got her winter tires stored upstairs."
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