Tommy’s Garage

Editor’s Note: Welcome to another new contributor, Trymian. We have known him for a long time and look forward to his ongoing contributions.

Small town life is better.

I live in a small town near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Actually, I live out in the county. The small town I’m referring to is the county seat. I work there and do most of my shopping there.

Recently, I took my Blazer to a local garage for an oil change and tire rotation. Normally, I leave my vehicle at the shop and someone there gives me a ride to work. Today, the owner didn’t have a driver around, so he said, “You want to take my truck?” “Sure,” I said. He tossed me his keys. It’s a big ol’ GMC Denali. Nice ride. I hopped in and drove it to the office.

I know the garage owner. He’s a good man. I’ll call him Tommy.

A year or two ago, I needed some new tires. I decided to try a new brand from a different garage. You don’t know if a new brand will be better or worse until you give it a try. So, I stopped by a garage a bit down the block from Tommy’s garage.

I walked in, talked to the staff, picked out some tires and was getting ready to pay when the clerk said, “Oh, our internet is down. Cash or check only.” I said, “Why didn’t you tell me this when I walked in?” He said, “There’s a sign on the door.” I said, “Well, you know no one looks at signs on the door right? You should have mentioned that at the start.”

I could have paid cash, but I prefer to use a card. Plus, I was irritated that the clerk hadn’t told me up front that their credit card system was down.

I left and went to Tommy’s place. I told Tommy I needed some tires and I asked him if his internet and payment system was down. He said, “Yeah, it’s down, but you can pay me tomorrow.” That’s good customer service.

Tommy put on some new tires and sent me on my way. The next day, I called Tommy to see if his Internet was back up. It was. I went by and paid for my tires.

Small town life is better.