Welcome to Tire Barn. My Name is "Rude"

Last night I went to dinner to share in some Italian goodness with the Batman family and Jordan at Olive Garden. After filling myself with chicken Marsala the Batman family decided to have a drink at Moon Dog and I went along for the ride. Sheryl ended up joining us toward the end of the pitcher fest (yes I was drinking beer) and we headed to see my buddy Pedro at the Blue Martini.

The Blue Martini might be one of my favorite bars in town and is within walking distance of Moon Dog. So we headed over there for a couple martinis. About half way through I had a genius idea. However, I will tell you about that idea in my next blog post.

We go to leave the bar, I say goodbye to Pedro, and then head back to our cars. That is when Mrs. Batman begins to talk about a truck that she saw on their way to the bar that had a back tire that was wobbling. She said that it was wobbling so much that it made her think of the time that she lost her tire while driving down the road. And when she said that I was shocked. There is no way that stuff happens. Do it happen? Really? Tires falling off while driving?

Anyway, so Mr. Batman says, “You know, that was Ricky’s truck right?” And she laughed, said she didn’t believe it, and carried on. Wait a minute? Back to this whole tires falling off while driving. And the tire that she said was wobbling was a certain tire that I had changed a few months ago. Yes, you heard that right. I changed a tire all by myself. Well, Chris was there to help, but he spent more time laughing that I actually got my hands dirty than helping me change the tire.

So when I woke up this morning I went to Tire Barn, where the tires are covered under warranty, to have them one checked for air pressure and two looked at about the wobbling that I was already worried about. I walk in and the first guy that I talk to was eager to help. He said that they could get me right in and told me to pull into the first bay.

Then, the second guy that I dealt with was super nice. He was talking to me about the tires, the car I used to have and the issues I had with those tires, and about what balancing the tires on my truck would do for you. He then takes me inside to deal with a third individual who would take care of the paper work. This is when it gets interesting.

He has the most pleasant look on his face. He began typing into his dirty computer and asked me for the phone number. I provided that and then he says, “What about that tire in the back of the truck?” Now, the tire in the back of the truck, if you were not aware, is the tire that is from the famed flat tire changing story.

So I respond with, “Yeah, that tire is flat.” Expecting him to ask if I was interested in replacing it or if they could look at it to see what the issue is, he says, “Yeah, I know it’s flat. What do you want me to do with it?”

The thing is he said it so rude I wanted to jump over the counter and ask him to repeat it. Of course you all know that I am an absolute wuss and would never do anything like that. I said that I was not interested in fixing the tire. From that point he didn’t say a single word to me and assumed I knew what to do from there. He didn’t give me an ETA on the tire, didn’t explain the paperwork that I had to sign, nothing. The jerk just sat the paperwork and a pen (that was covered in grease by the way) on the counter and just walked away.

So I leave and start to think about how that is such an awful way to run a business. I mean, I own my own business and I would never think of being any where close to as rude as that guy was to me. I understand that people have bad days. I understand that people can have issues on their plate that they can not control that can effect their mood but come on. It was a Saturday morning and he was acting like it was killing him to take care of me.

The moral of the story is that if you are working in a business situation you need to treat your customers, whether covered under a warranty or not, with respect. I actually just wanted to vent more than anything that people can honestly be so rude.

OK, I feel better now.