There are two kinds of service: one is good. The other is the manner in which a bull services a cow.
I won’t identify the make and model of my first car (but take a look at this week’s photo of a model of one). It was fresh off the production line that was east of Calberlah, west of Danndorf, south of Jembke and north of Lehre. Another hint: quite far from the Black Forest.
Back to my account of good service – bad initially, but great eventually. My new car came with a requirement for an unusually frequent number of mandatory maintenance inspections and services to maintain its warranty. After several I was somewhat dubious if they were being done as claimed.
This time I left the oil cap ajar, noted that there was dust on several parts that were to be checked. When my car was supposedly ready, I did my detective work. Only a very few had been completed!
I asked the lab-coated, clip board-holding service manager, “Have all the required inspections been done?” After getting a very enthusiastic positive response, I took him for a tour of my car. I teased the loose cap and traced my finger across the dust of the components that hadn’t been serviced.
Result: absolutely every time I returned for any service whatsoever, the dealership’s loudspeaker blared out, “Mr. Wolochatiuk’s car has arrived.” At that, there was a clank of dropped tools and a scurry of boots. From then on, without delay, I’d get great service.
Years later, late one Saturday evening, I was driving back through ‘Motor City’ (aka ‘Motown’). The generator light was flashing and the car’s headlights were dimming. At the gas station, I asked the mechanic, “Could you check it out?”
Indifferently, he replied, “Sure – maybe Monday.” As he pumped gas for several other cars, another car of my type pulled up. “You got a problem?” he asked. He told me to drive two blocks, then go down a back alley to a garage with the lights on. “Hans usually works really late.”
After I described my problem, Hans asked how many miles the car has been driven. At that, he popped the hood (at the back of the car), tweaked something with the generator, then said with a heavy Teutonic accent, “Do that after the next 100,000 miles. No charge.”
That’s great service!
