Welcome To Case's Column
Let me say a big welcome to all of you for joining me here. I'm going to call these blog meetings Case's Column. I wanted to use "Corner", but that was already taken.
Since 2008, it's been a real privilege to come on here and share some of my life with you, and it's a big world where we live.
In these blogs, I'll just speak whatever is on my mind, but we will be playing within the rules here. I may pick a particular topic, point out an event, or shoot the breeze. I'm a little bit of an essayist at times, so I'll just speak what's on my mind, and I might tell a story or two. Or, I might spew out an opinion or three. There will be some serious moments, some tender, some poignant, but there will also be those moments that you'll just bust out laughing. But, hopefully, everything will be in good fun here. And, of course, there's a place below for your comments and thoughts as we go along here. So feel free to join me for the ride -- I sure as heck hope I'm doing this right and not making any mistakes.
Thanks for taking your time in reading Case's Column. Hopefully, you'll enjoy being entertained by it as much as I've enjoyed putting these writings together. And thanks for the time you spend in City-Data.com, where it's great to be alive!
Regards,
case44
Let me say a big welcome to all of you for joining me here. I'm going to call these blog meetings Case's Column. I wanted to use "Corner", but that was already taken.
Since 2008, it's been a real privilege to come on here and share some of my life with you, and it's a big world where we live.In these blogs, I'll just speak whatever is on my mind, but we will be playing within the rules here. I may pick a particular topic, point out an event, or shoot the breeze. I'm a little bit of an essayist at times, so I'll just speak what's on my mind, and I might tell a story or two. Or, I might spew out an opinion or three. There will be some serious moments, some tender, some poignant, but there will also be those moments that you'll just bust out laughing. But, hopefully, everything will be in good fun here. And, of course, there's a place below for your comments and thoughts as we go along here. So feel free to join me for the ride -- I sure as heck hope I'm doing this right and not making any mistakes.
Thanks for taking your time in reading Case's Column. Hopefully, you'll enjoy being entertained by it as much as I've enjoyed putting these writings together. And thanks for the time you spend in City-Data.com, where it's great to be alive!
Regards,
case44
A Broken Promise? How About A Free Oil Change?
Previously, I've written about experiences with auto service technicians and the occasional shenanigans when it comes to keeping my beautiful Toyota Camry..........well, ... serviced. You get the good and the bad. I won't go at length with the things technicians say to you just to get more money from you like, say, "We recommend that you get ____ as soon as you can..."
Well, today, all I had to get was an oil change. Nothing more. So, when your favorite blogger took his car into his neighborhood dealership/service shop to get "a little doctoring", the technician du jour had promised me that my car would be ready in one hour.
Are you with me to here? One hour.
For an oil change.
Okay, so Ol' Case goes into the TV room and watch some of the Olympics (Those skiers were really getting after it, weren't they?) and some local news from my area's NBC affiliate, all the while watching other people nearby with little kids running from one end of the dealership to the other.
45 minutes had passed.
Oh, I had a nice lady from the cashier station bring the people some peanut butter cookies and, against my power of resistance, I ate two cookies. Dee-lish. Watched another weather report talking about freezing drizzle in my area as if some of the Olympic games might also take place on my metropolitan area's freeways.
60 minutes.
Watched a little more TV, and then got bored. I decided to get up and wander around the parts area, with a small concession stand right across from it. Wandered. Then sat at a table. Fidgeted. Wandered. Fidgeted.
90 minutes.
Patience is not one of my virtues. It came time to check with a cashier to see about the status of my vehicle. I mean, when I arrived, it really wasn't that busy, even though, once inside, there were a few other folks already waiting for their cars to be serviced. The nice lady (who, ironically, brought me the aforementioned peanut butter cookies) got up and sought out a manager to get the technician and get a report. Meanwhile, Ol' Case wanders, sits, waits, and fidgets. I wasn't in the mood to go back into the TV room.
115 minutes.
Lady came back. Still no tech. Still no status.
While the world didn't come to an end, a promise had already been broken some 55 minutes earlier. The service that was promised did not get done in the time that my tech said it would.
Finally, my technician came out and, with restraint, this writer voiced my displeasure about that broken promise. The car came out fine and ready to go, but my technician finally decided that, since I was not satisfied in any way, shape, or form, that the service is on him. He gave me my invoice and we walked out to my ride.
That's right, sports fans. Your buddy Case44 paid absolutely nothing for this oil change.
Just goes to show y'all that you have to give any customer more than one would expect, and you have to prepare him/her for a pleasant surprise. If he had said an hour and fifteen minutes with my car being ready in just one hour, that would have been much better. So my money can now be better spent on other things to come. And I've got my car back, oil changed, and fluids topped.
Vacation is in just a few days. Tires get rotated next (elsewhere), but I expect that to be gravy compared to what I experienced today.
You get the good and the bad. I won't go at length with the things technicians say to you just to get more money from you like, say, "We recommend that you get ____ as soon as you can..."Well, today, all I had to get was an oil change. Nothing more. So, when your favorite blogger took his car into his neighborhood dealership/service shop to get "a little doctoring", the technician du jour had promised me that my car would be ready in one hour.
Are you with me to here? One hour.
For an oil change.
Okay, so Ol' Case goes into the TV room and watch some of the Olympics (Those skiers were really getting after it, weren't they?
) and some local news from my area's NBC affiliate, all the while watching other people nearby with little kids running from one end of the dealership to the other. 45 minutes had passed.
Oh, I had a nice lady from the cashier station bring the people some peanut butter cookies and, against my power of resistance, I ate two cookies. Dee-lish. Watched another weather report talking about freezing drizzle in my area as if some of the Olympic games might also take place on my metropolitan area's freeways.
60 minutes.
Watched a little more TV, and then got bored. I decided to get up and wander around the parts area, with a small concession stand right across from it. Wandered. Then sat at a table. Fidgeted. Wandered. Fidgeted.
90 minutes.
Patience is not one of my virtues. It came time to check with a cashier to see about the status of my vehicle. I mean, when I arrived, it really wasn't that busy, even though, once inside, there were a few other folks already waiting for their cars to be serviced. The nice lady (who, ironically, brought me the aforementioned peanut butter cookies) got up and sought out a manager to get the technician and get a report. Meanwhile, Ol' Case wanders, sits, waits, and fidgets. I wasn't in the mood to go back into the TV room.
115 minutes.
Lady came back. Still no tech. Still no status.
While the world didn't come to an end, a promise had already been broken some 55 minutes earlier. The service that was promised did not get done in the time that my tech said it would. Finally, my technician came out and, with restraint, this writer voiced my displeasure about that broken promise. The car came out fine and ready to go, but my technician finally decided that, since I was not satisfied in any way, shape, or form, that the service is on him. He gave me my invoice and we walked out to my ride.
That's right, sports fans. Your buddy Case44 paid absolutely nothing for this oil change.
Just goes to show y'all that you have to give any customer more than one would expect, and you have to prepare him/her for a pleasant surprise. If he had said an hour and fifteen minutes with my car being ready in just one hour, that would have been much better. So my money can now be better spent on other things to come. And I've got my car back, oil changed, and fluids topped.
Vacation is in just a few days. Tires get rotated next (elsewhere), but I expect that to be gravy compared to what I experienced today.
Total Comments 1
Comments
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Sometimes, adversity can bring blessings.
Posted 02-15-2014 at 11:30 AM by malfunction
