Great mechanic, wonderful person
Wednesday 14 November 2007
Great beginning to the day.
Returned with the truck as the mechanic/owner requested just as he was opening the garage door, waved to him which surprised him into a belated response. As I carefully parked a fast man in a Honda had swiftly pulled in beside me and hurried to the door. He was the first of us all to the counter, and the elderly man, once a architectural mechanical engineer, had his car in the bay. We all were in for inspection. The in-a-hurry moved to the counter in front, and was told he could pick up in an hour. I quietly waited in a seat as the elderly man registered, and was told his vehicle passed the safety inspection, but his fan blade belt is on the verge of breaking, also a safety issue. (It also bleeds oil like a sieve, but the mechanic mentioned that lightly and in passing, more concerned about the man’s safety and preventing future expense/ waste of time when the belt breaks.) The man went out to see and despite the obvious poor condition and very reasonable charge for replacement declined; I was a bit shocked, given his profession and the car’s poor maintenance. The car had over 160,000 miles on it and the belt was never changed!
With humor the owner made himself available at the counter and we exchanged some banter as the paperwork was processed, some of it on the merits of preventative maintenance and the type of truck I own. Nice to have a mechanic who treats a woman as an equal! He was even more expansive after the inspection; “You really have taken good care of it,” and bemused that I prefer standard to automatic.
Yet he wasted no time, and within ½ hour of arrival I drove away as promised yesterday. Embedded in every word, action and gesture his integrity and devotion to excellence came clearly. As I left I shook his hand warmly and smiled into his eyes as I thanked him, trying to convey my delight in interacting with such a genuine person. Again nonplussed he smiled belatedly but I think he caught the drift.
I now have a mechanic to recommend!