"Thanks, uhm...", I looked at him expectedly, "I haven't paid yet"
"Right, we don't charge for fixing flats", he replied, still smiling.
I figured he was joking, so, "haha", followed by *pause*
"Need anything else today?", he queried.
Omigosh, he was serious. I didn't owe anything. Thank you, Discount Tire. I'll be back.
I'd walked out to the parking lot to see my rear passenger side tire was flat - the silver head of a large screw nestled within the treads. I called AAA because I can, and then set to work. The friendly road-side assistor appeared relatively quickly. By then, I had my car jacked up, lug nuts removed, and doughnut at the ready. But the tire was not budging. I asked if I was missing something.
"Oh, yeah, it's just rusted on there", he replied as he retrieved a primitive mallet from his toolbox.
He proceeded to perform a highly technical process of removing the flat tire - giving it a few good whacks with the mallet. Soon I was on my way and stopped at Discount Tire where they (surprisingly) fixed and installed my flat tire for free even though I didn't buy the tire there.
This incident marked my third flat tire in two months. Firstly, I discovered the front tire of my mountain bike was flat shortly after we moved. That's a mystery to me since I hadn't ridden it in a few months, and it was fine when we packed up. It went flat on the moving truck?
Oh well, fixed it and all's good.
Then last week, I had a flat on my commuter bike - first flat in the two and a half years and who knows how many miles. Oh well, fixed it and all's good. I'm hoping that's the end of the flat tires for a while. Does Fort Collins just have an unnatural amount of sharp road crap?
In other news, I started a part-time job last week working in the culinary department of a small hospital. I'm enjoying it, it's fun, and my coworkers are a talented and friendly bunch. There is potential to progress to bigger things, so we'll see.
For now, I appreciate the opportunity and the ability to cut back on the tutoring, which I've been doing since 2008. The burnout is real.
Hooray for Discount Tire! My guess is you’ll visit them the next time you need to purchase tires... I think they’ve got things figured out. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd hooray for you! Jacking up the car? I don’t think I’d trust myself with that. I’m impressed!
We use Discount Tires too - they are wonderful. Congrats on your new job - I hope you love it.
ReplyDeleteSR300, Discount Tire is my new go-to for everything tires!
ReplyDeleteYou've never had to change a flat? It's not difficult - go practice in your driveway!
Sandie, son Chaco recommended Discount Tire. I didn't expect to need a tire place, but I'm glad I followed that lead!
Discount Tire has generated a lot of interest just by being nice and going the extra mile to help someone out. Good luck on the new job.
ReplyDeleteAbby - I did not know this about Discount Tire. Great to know! I haven't tried to remove a flat tire since 1984. I wonder if it is like riding a bike? I remember we had to learn this to pass drivers ed in school. In those days we couldn't wear pants to school so there I was in a skirt in 1972 learning how to change a tire in knee socks and a skirt. I guess if you can do it "ladylike" then you can do anything!! As they say, Ginger Rodgers did everything Fred Astaire did only backwards and in HEELS!
ReplyDelete