Midwest Chick's Place

So I needed to get my tires rotated.  Thought I’d take it to a guy I know who owns a garage.

Called and made an appointment with whoever answered the phone.  Everything looked like it was cool.  Until I walked in a week later….

‘Hi, my name is “Real Name” and I have a 4:00 to get my tires rotated.’  (I was thirty minutes early).

Blonde Fluff (hereafter known as BF) behind the counter (whose picture is next to “vapid” in the dictionary): ‘We close at 4:00.  You couldn’t have an appointment for then.’

Me:  ‘Well, I called last week and someone that wasn’t you and wasn’t the owner said I could come in at 4:00’.

BF: ‘Well you’re not in the book and no one else answers the phone’.

Me: ‘Well there’s only four people who work here and I know I didn’t talk to two of them.  Can you check with the other two?’

BF: ‘It can’t be them (refusing to check).  No one else answers the phone.  Are you sure you called the right place?’ (like there’s so many places that answer the phone with the name of a garage that they aren’t associated with and make me an appt to get my tires rotated–kill me now because I can see where this is going)

Me: Starting to lose my cool at this point.  While grinding my teeth I grated out the following:  ‘Yes, the number is on my car because I have a sticker of this shop on it.  Yes, I am sure I called here. Yes, I have checked my phone and the number I called matches the one on the sign outside.’ (the sticker on my car has since been removed).  ‘Is the owner here?’

BF: ‘No, he’s at home.’

Me: ‘Can you call him please?’  

I won’t go into how futile this was.  I ended up just walking out.

Next day:

I call to talk to the owner because if this happened to me, it’s happening to other people and could negatively impact his business.  BF answers the phone.

Me:  ‘May I talk to Owner?’

BF: ‘I’m not sure he’s here.  What’s your name?’

Me: ‘Real Name’

BF: ‘What company are you with?’

Me:  ‘I’m not with any company (for the love of all that is good, this girl didn’t remember everything that happened yesterday?).  Can you please get Owner on the phone? He knows who I am (I explain my connection in a little more detail).’

BF: ‘What’s this about?  I’m not sure he’s here.  He comes and goes and I sometimes don’t see him.’

Me:  Really getting lit up because now it’s clear I’m getting the run around/stonewalled.  ‘It’s about yesterday afternoon.’

BF: ‘Oh–that ‘Real Name’ (like there’s so many of us).  I’ll check if he’s here….  pause… pause… ‘he’s under a car.  Can I have your name?’

Me, banging my head on my desk….  ‘It’s ‘Real Name’ and I’ll even spell it for you (real slow).  My number is ………’.

Needless to say, I have yet to get a callback.  Pretty sure Owner’s balls are MIA.

I got my tires rotated the same day at a different shop a quarter mile away (I called them while I was in the parking lot and they said to come on in and they’d take care of me, which they did) They are also doing my brakes next week (I asked them to check them while the tires were off and they had a price for me when my tire rotation was done–that is customer service right there).    Besides there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that I would ever set foot in Owner’s shop again.

I was trying to support a guy I know and got backslapped with a side of fuck you.  I’m so totally done.  

If I know the guy and got treated that way, what about people he doesn’t know?