Remember the good old days?
Sure you do. That’s when you
could take your car in for an oil change, drink a cup of coffee while reading
your newspaper undisturbed, and twenty minutes later, you’re out the door.
Simple, right? Think again…
A few days ago, I brought my car in, for what I thought, would be a painless transaction; i.e., they change
my oil, and I pay them for doing so.
After entering the garage, I applied
the brake and popped the hood. A serious looking man approached my window and
said, “Sir, what is the purpose of your visit?”
“Ah, to get my oil changed?” “Sir,
have you ever been here before?”“Yes, I have.” I felt like I
was going through Customs…
I then retreated to the
sanctity of the waiting area, when three minutes later, the same man handed me
a form and asked me to fill it out with my name, address and phone number. Check.Three minutes after that,
another employee entered the area to give “the report.”
“Mr. Malone, your air filter
looks good. We noticed your fuel pump does not have the Ford Motorcraft decal
on it, indicating that it has been some time since it has been changed.
My fuel pump?
She continued…”Mr. Malone, we
perform several services in addition to oil changes; can you think of any other
services that you might need today?”
I was almost afraid to answer
no.
She then directed me to step
into “my vehicle” and start the engine. Of course I complied and after the
engine started, she peered at the dashboard and bellowed, “Oil pressure good in
Bay 1!” Another guy then yelled, “Transmission oil pressure good in Bay 1!”
I felt like a space shuttle pilot
on the pad at Kennedy, going through pre-flight.
Finally, the Bay 1 Commander
handed me my receipt and requested that I call an 800 number to speak of my
“positive experience.”
With a serious tone, she
asked, “Mr. Malone, is there any reason that you didn’t have a positive
experience today?” I nearly assumed the position of attention; “No maam!”
So, with my oil and
transmission pressure satisfactory; my tires properly inflated and all fluids
topped off, I carefully taxied out of Bay1 and onto the highway, ready for
takeoff.
NASA’s got nothing on these
guys…
