The merry-go-round that is business continues apace, the phone is ringing off the hook and customers are their usual impatient selves, (God love 'em) we have just had a lady in who had just spent over £350.00 on her front drivers side brakes with an "approved RAC" garage, nothing wrong with the fitting of the brake components but the top wishbone which connects the suspension to the chassis was in a dreadful state, almost worn out and dropping off, hence the new brakes were binding and getting hot as the whole wheel was moving, I am afraid i had to break the good news to her and said it needs doing at the earliest opportunity. I always wonder about garages that seek affiliation to a trade body as it suggests to me that the usual word of mouth way of getting work is a closed door to them, not always admittedly but where there is smoke...
As a mechanic of all manners of vehicles, trucks, machinery etc for the last 27 years i thought i had seen most things, but rest assured you never know everything and people can still shock you. last week we had a customer call in with an immaculate BMW 3 series, he was on his way to his holiday caravan in Aberystwyth West Wales, he said his steering was vibrating really badly, this being on a Friday afternoon amid the ensuing chaos we were not that keen to inspect yet another job, but as always my conscience got the better of me and we got him in the workshops somehow. A quick inspection and a readout from the laser temperature gun showed a fault on the drivers side front brake calliper, it was reading 178 degrees so was obviously critically overheating, just a few more miles and it would have been the fire brigade needed, not our services!.
I sent the couple off for a walk around the town and and pointed them in the direction of the best cafe and said we will be a couple of hours. Much sighing and missing skin from the hands later and the still extremely hot calliper was removed and a new one fitted, for good measure we checked both sides so that the braking on the front would be nice and even.
Our man duly returned with said wife a couple of hours later and after the bill was settled off they set for their caravan holiday in Aberystwyth, albeit later than planned.
That as they say would be that normally, but towards the end of last week an older gentleman that i kind of recognised parked a little hatchback car to the side of the yard and started to walk towards me with a box of Beck's beer in his arms, I walked towards him and said "Hi" still not completely sure who he was, he handed me the box of beer and I said err....thank you, "That's for you and the lads for saving our holiday weekend in Aberystwyth" and as he said that the penny dropped.. "oh my life " i said, "thank you so much, sorry I didn't recognise you without the BMW" "No that's OK he said i have my wife's car so its probably confusing you".
So having shaken his hand i returned to the workshops triumphantly bearing gifts...none of which could obviously be consumed on the premises but its the thought that counts and we have obviously made a new friend !.
As a mechanic of all manners of vehicles, trucks, machinery etc for the last 27 years i thought i had seen most things, but rest assured you never know everything and people can still shock you. last week we had a customer call in with an immaculate BMW 3 series, he was on his way to his holiday caravan in Aberystwyth West Wales, he said his steering was vibrating really badly, this being on a Friday afternoon amid the ensuing chaos we were not that keen to inspect yet another job, but as always my conscience got the better of me and we got him in the workshops somehow. A quick inspection and a readout from the laser temperature gun showed a fault on the drivers side front brake calliper, it was reading 178 degrees so was obviously critically overheating, just a few more miles and it would have been the fire brigade needed, not our services!.
I sent the couple off for a walk around the town and and pointed them in the direction of the best cafe and said we will be a couple of hours. Much sighing and missing skin from the hands later and the still extremely hot calliper was removed and a new one fitted, for good measure we checked both sides so that the braking on the front would be nice and even.
Our man duly returned with said wife a couple of hours later and after the bill was settled off they set for their caravan holiday in Aberystwyth, albeit later than planned.
That as they say would be that normally, but towards the end of last week an older gentleman that i kind of recognised parked a little hatchback car to the side of the yard and started to walk towards me with a box of Beck's beer in his arms, I walked towards him and said "Hi" still not completely sure who he was, he handed me the box of beer and I said err....thank you, "That's for you and the lads for saving our holiday weekend in Aberystwyth" and as he said that the penny dropped.. "oh my life " i said, "thank you so much, sorry I didn't recognise you without the BMW" "No that's OK he said i have my wife's car so its probably confusing you".
So having shaken his hand i returned to the workshops triumphantly bearing gifts...none of which could obviously be consumed on the premises but its the thought that counts and we have obviously made a new friend !.
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