Mondays at the tire shop

[5er_tom]

I got many funny looks when I carried a bag of golf clubs on my motorcycle.

[wmtire]

Just had a older female customer who had a great sense of humor and her self deprecating comments cracked me up.

She had came in earlier in the week with a bad tire pressure sensor which was also not showing up as the correct tire on her vehicle. I priced a replacement and she came back today to get it.

I needed her to apply her parking brake and turn her ignition to on but not cranked for us to put the vehicle in learn mode to program the new sensor to her vehicle.

It was one of these push button start cars. She didn't know how to just turn on the acc but not crank it nor how to apply/release her parking brake. It was almost a keystone kops scenario in trying to get her to follow my directions on this.

When it was over she said that although her hair was kinda dark, that she dyed it and she was a natural blonde in her youth. This made me laugh, and she did too.

[wmtire]

Another story about employees. Hired a young man about four weeks ago. He worked the first week kinda ok, but was late three out of five days.

The second week or his seventh day, he calls in and says he had a dentist appointment he forgot about but would be in as soon as it was over. He missed the whole day. He was already off that Monday for Labor Day

The third week he calls in on monday and says he's sick. Calls in Tuesday and says his vehicle is broke. Doesn't show up or call Wednesday. Shows up Thursday with a myriad of excuses but I was in a bind and let him finish the week.

This week, which is his fourth, he doesn't call or come in till this Friday morning. He acts like nothing is wrong and starts moving tires. I say sir, we don't allow customers in the shop area. He looks at me and ask what does that mean. I tell him that it means exactly what I said, this area is for employees only, not customers like him.

He then starts trying to tell all kind of lies and I tell him I'm not interested and I didn't need him. He stomps out and leaves.

[Flybob]

I was checking into a local airline for a trip to the Caribbean several years ago and an island resident was apparently returning home with a new tire for his vehicle. The counter agent tried to tie a baggage tag to it, but the string was too short. He then tried to tape the tag to the sidewall but it immediately fell off. Then you could see a light bulb go off. He grabbed a large stapler and stapled the tag to the sidewall and with a big smile of success put it on the luggage belt.

Originally Posted by wmtire

Had a man call up on the phone yesterday asking if we had a tire in stock, which we did. He then says his son will be up there in a few minutes.

When his son arrived, he had the wheel only on the back of a motorcycle, attached with bungee cords to a very small L shaped rack behind the seat. I asked him how he was going to carry it back once I mounted a tire on it, and he said he would figure it out. I thought to myself this is going to be interesting.

I mounted the tire and returned it to him, and he paid the bill. I went to the next customer. Every time I would glance at him, he was trying to position the tire/wheel in a different way. This went on for about thirty minutes. I did ask him if he knew anybody with a truck, that could get the tire for him. He said the only one was his dad, and that's whose tire he was hauling on his motorbike.

I never did get to see the final solution as I was mounting a pair of tires on the front of a SUV when I heard him drive off, but it had to be quite the sight to see. I guess this is one of those "where there's a will, there's a way" type things

[SlowrideHD]

Originally Posted by wmtire

I asked him how he was going to carry it back once I mounted a tire on it, and he said he would figure it out. I thought to myself this is going to be interesting.

I mounted the tire and returned it to him, and he paid the bill. I went to the next customer. Every time I would glance at him, he was trying to position the tire/wheel in a different way.

I guess this is one of those "where there's a will, there's a way" type things

Git 'er done!

[Jfkmk]

Originally Posted by wmtire

Another story about employees. Hired a young man about four weeks ago. He worked the first week kinda ok, but was late three out of five days.

The second week or his seventh day, he calls in and says he had a dentist appointment he forgot about but would be in as soon as it was over. He missed the whole day. He was already off that Monday for Labor Day

The third week he calls in on monday and says he's sick. Calls in Tuesday and says his vehicle is broke. Doesn't show up or call Wednesday. Shows up Thursday with a myriad of excuses but I was in a bind and let him finish the week.

This week, which is his fourth, he doesn't call or come in till this Friday morning. He acts like nothing is wrong and starts moving tires. I say sir, we don't allow customers in the shop area. He looks at me and ask what does that mean. I tell him that it means exactly what I said, this area is for employees only, not customers like him.

He then starts trying to tell all kind of lies and I tell him I'm not interested and I didn't need him. He stomps out and leaves.

You handle these things incredibly well.

[Dakota 1120]

Originally Posted by SlowrideHD

Git 'er done!

You would be amazed at the amount and/or some of the things strapped to a little motorbike in South East Asia!

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Dakota 1120

You would be amazed at the amount and/or some of the things strapped to a little motorbike in South East Asia!

Not just SE Asia.

Back in the late 60's I had a Honda 90 Street M/C (not the step through frame trail bike} and recall tying all kinds of boxes on the back of the seat. Piled higher than my head. Rode with this load from the Seattle waterfront to mid-town Bellevue, across the old Lake Washington Floating Bridge (the one that eventually sunk). I think it took a week for the pucker in the seat cover to level out.

It's all in the balance and a heaping helping of "Don't know no better".

[Qwkynuf]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Not just SE Asia.

Back in the late 60's I had a Honda 90 Street M/C (not the step through frame trail bike} and recall tying all kinds of boxes on the back of the seat. Piled higher than my head. Rode with this load from the Seattle waterfront to mid-town Bellevue, across the old Lake Washington Floating Bridge (the one that eventually sunk). I think it took a week for the pucker in the seat cover to level out.

It's all in the balance and a heaping helping of "Don't know no better".

A sales rep that I used to work with started out selling fax machines off of a bike like that. She would ride into the office in the morning and strap one to the luggage rack, and then go door-to-door, lugging it in and out of peoples' offices until she sold it, then head back and pick up another one. I think she said that she did that for 2 years after she graduated from college. In Portland. That'd be a tough way to make a living!

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Qwkynuf

A sales rep that I used to work with started out selling fax machines off of a bike like that. She would ride into the office in the morning and strap one to the luggage rack, and then go door-to-door, lugging it in and out of peoples' offices until she sold it, then head back and pick up another one. I think she said that she did that for 2 years after she graduated from college. In Portland. That'd be a tough way to make a living!

Back in the day Fax Machines were HUGE and heavy as if they were made from bricks.

Got to admire a person that was willing to work that hard.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Back in the day Fax Machines were HUGE and heavy as if they were made from bricks. ...

Back in the day, EVERYTHING was huge and heavy.

[CAT-RN]

Originally Posted by chriscowles

Back in the day, EVERYTHING was huge and heavy.

I wasn’t. But I am now !!

Russell

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by CAT-RN

I wasn’t. But I am now !!

Russell

ROFL

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by Jfkmk

You handle these things incredibly well.

It's just one of those things. I can say this, Since Covid hit in March, I have went thru more employees than I have in the last ten years combined.


I have a "floater" that kind of comes in when he wants. He is just one of those types who doesn't want to get get ahead, and just survives in life. Only going to work when he has a bill or needs to eat. He will work hard when he shows up, but rarely shows up. I usually let him mow, cleanup etc. I've tried to full time him years ago and that was never going to work out. It's just not in his DNA.


Anyhow, he floated in about one hour before closing yesterday, and I let him work an hour. Told him he could work today if he wanted and he said he did. I'll know in about 20 minutes if that is so. LOL

[SlowrideHD]

I'd guess that if you paid him for yesterday, and it was a Friday night, likely he won't be dragging in today.
May be back Monday....good for a follow up story!

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by SlowrideHD

I'd guess that if you paid him for yesterday, and it was a Friday night, likely he won't be dragging in today.
May be back Monday....good for a follow up story!

Oh no, he don't get paid till closing time today. He did show up today and we have been biz-o.

Mechanic even brought my truck back to me this morning. Turned it off and it won't crank back. Has to have it towed back to his shop. It just keeps getting more funny by the day.

[myxkp]

Originally Posted by wmtire

Ya may get a kick from this last lady but I'm still scratching my head. She comes up here driving on a flat front passenger tire. She says she wants it repaired. I ask her how far she has driven it on a flat.

Her reply was "from her house." Well that's about a worthless piece of information to me so I ask her how far away was that.

Her next answer was along the lines of "not too far".

So now I have two questions that do me no good, so I go for broke and ask how just how far away is her house

Now she gets huffy and says she's not telling me where she lives. I explain I don't need to know where she lives but do need some idea of the distance she traveled with no air in the tire. She says she doesn't know that, and I realize it's time to stop.

I tell her the tire will need to be replaced or we need to put her spare on for her. She says she has no spare, and does agree to purchase a tire.

Now if you aren't laughing at all this, here's the kicker. I didn't have the size tire she needed, so she left and I started a new post.

P.S. if there are any good graphic artists reading this, any way you could make a graphic of a bat entering an outhouse with a cuckoo clock on front. That would describe what I was thinking when dealing with this customer.

I’m not an artist but the guy camping next to me is and this is what he created when I share your imagery
Hope you enjoy it

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by myxkp

Attachment 240033
I’m not an artist but the guy camping next to me is and this is what he created when I share your imagery
Hope you enjoy it

I do enjoy it. Thanks

[wmtire]

Monday should be fun. Stopped by the shop awhile ago and this trailer is sitting on the corner of our parking lot with two flat tires which may be the least of their problems

[Flybob]

One is a little more than flat. Probably ran over one of the nails that fell off the trailer.