Outside Help

[Tithera]

Stopped at a gas station to get some cigarettes when my car wouldn't start. I sat cranking it for a good 5 minutes, getting madder by the second. Finally, a guy came to my rescue with some jumper cables. Funny thing was he was a customer service rep for my mobile service. I cracked a joke "Wow, you guys really do great customer service!" He laughed. So thank you guy from Verizon. Why can't everyone who walked past me before you be that kind?

[Anakah]

That's awesome! Maybe tell his manager what a great employee he was?

[JustaCashier]

Yeah, what Anakah said.

I was the "rescuer" a little over ten years ago, when I came home one day and spotted one of my then customer's "art car" across the street with her sitting in it, and it sitting on a flat tire.

I went over to see if I could help, but she said that she had already called the Auto Club, although they were quite a bit past their ETA. She also mentioned someone else she knew stopped and offered to help.

I told her that if she had a proper spare, and everything needed for a tire change, I could probably do it in less than ten minutes, and she could cancel the Service Call. She said "No, I'll wait a little longer for the Club, I'd hate to have them waste a trip, maybe you could check back in a little while, though."

I told her I needed to pick up a few things at the grocery store (next door to the little vacant lot she was in), and that would probably take about twenty minutes, then I'd take my stuff home and put it away, and check back in with her if I didn't see the service truck there.

Do all that, no service truck yet, so I head back over. She relents, so I check to make sure she has everything. She does, except for the lug wrench.

I had been carless for over 4.5 years at that time, but still had a fair amount of tools, although they were very disorganized what with them getting scattered my last few years at the house (I kept most in the toobox in the trunk of my '67 VW Beetle before it died on me, and just a few very basic in the house). Plus, I was still highly disorganized in general, with the recent move to the apartment.

Anyway, after a few trips back and forth, I didn't have the proper sized socket to fit her lug nuts, that I intended to use with my breaker bar. I still had my star (lug) wrench, but none of the four sizes fit.

About to give up, I came up with one last chance. I realized I had the spare key to a friend of mine's minivan which he parked in my assigned spot, because he commuted by ferry boat to his work about 3/4 of a mile away from me.

I go back over, and find his lug wrench, and whaddya know! The lug wrench from his '90's Chrysler Product minivan, fit my customer's '80's Subaru Wagon!

Got the tire changed, while lecturing her on getting a star wrench that would work with her car, and giving her instructions on how to do the job safely, should she ever have another flat and would feel comfortable changing it herself.

Just as I was tightening up the lugs, who shows up 1.5 hours after her initial call? Yep, the driver. He had either gone to on his own, or been sent to by dispatch, the wrong location of [Grocery Store] which my customer was stranded near. He went to the on about 2.5 miles away. Fortunately neither my customer or myself are Sucky, so we didn't rip him a new one. I had to chuckle though, he had his lug wrench in hand, and checked each of the lug nuts I'd just tightened. Dunno if that was a pride thing to make himself feel like he'd done something, or if it was so he could actually say he'd done something to be able to bill the Club (if that's actually how it worked).

So, anyhow, my customer wrote a nice letter to my bosses, which got me an "atta boy" from them. I apprectiated the letter greatly, but actually didn't help her in the interest of the company, but because I "knew" her. I would have likely done the same thing for anyone I know, and perhaps a stranger as well. But, I also enjoyed helping her because I like her. She's an artist (which I am far from being) and her art is whimsical, (which I like), and she just has this cool, wacky, funky, independent thinker attitude which I like.

Oh, and the next time she came to my work, she brought me a box of chocolates!


Mike