So last Monday I took my truck in for an oil change and tire rotation/balance. I try to do this every 6 weeks or so. Why so often? I drive a lot. Like 30,000 miles a year. So I get new tires every November (aggressive tires as living in Michigan can be challenging if you are not prepared for the winter as mother nature likes to keep us on our toes) and keep my truck in good mechanical condition as much as I can to prevent failures. This is my job and not having a vehicle would cause me expensive down time.
This one was interesting. I took it in and set about wandering the rest of the establishment while I waited. But it wasn’t long before I sat down to waste time on my phone. I noticed looking in the shop the technician was basically laying on my engine block with his head down like he was looking for something.
It’s been a solid 30 plus minutes and I’m thinking by now they would’ve moved on to balancing my tires for the rotation. But I watched him for a few minutes and he seemed to be looking for something. Possibly something lost.
About 5 minutes later he came in to the lobby and began whispering to the lady at the counter. I distinctly heard him say, “I lost the cap and I can’t find it.” She suggested checking the cross members, in the well under the truck and a few other places.
As a person who deals with customers face to face. I’m well aware of how things can get out of control when the customer feels panic. Such as I could be faced with paying more for the problem I didn’t create. (not that I would have been, but panic makes people think crazy things) The list can go on, but I’m not like most people. I gave them some time and let him look about.
After another 20 minutes, I walked up to the counter and asked the lady, “Did you find it?”. She replied like I’m not supposed to be aware, “Find what?”. I replied, “The oil filler cap he lost”.
I could see in her face she was waiting for me to get irate. I had zero intention of doing that to her as I know how shitty that is to do to someone. I’m clever and know how all this can be fixed.
She replied with, “No, but we intend to comp your oil change.”. I very calmly said, “I appreciate the idea, but not being able to drive my truck would be a deal breaker.”. She asked, “What do you think we should do?”. I simple said, “Have your person in charge go to the dealership down the road and get a new oil cap. You don’t need to comp my oil change. I just want to be able to use my truck when we’re done here.”.
I admit I was a bit surprised she didn’t think of it. But she called the manager on duty and he proceeded to get me a cap. I still got the oil change for free, though I would’ve been happy to pay for it. But it all turned out great and I hope I didn’t make her feel upset. I did my best to keep her smiling as I do for all my customers. It’s how I get do so well at my job.