Photograph by
M. Fearghail, 5/30/2023, Tuesday, 1:17 PM
Introduction
Greetings, on this third day of
meteorological summer, y'all! The introduction to the article
of 5/27/2023 began with the following sidenote.
. . . Friday, 5/26/2023, my '06 Frontier and I hauled trash,
bought Molly (our ol' puppy) edibles at the Tractor Supply, got gas,
and bought groceries at the local store. With groceries in the truck
bed, warming in the sun, my ol' truck would not crank! A good
Samaritan, in a black Dodge Ram, and I tried to jump start my truck.
The battery was fine. The good Samaritan brought the melting
groceries and me to the house. Thanks, good Samaritan! The
local towing service hauled my ol' truck back to the barn. The repair
saga continues next Tuesday. The plan is to tow my truck to the
fix-him-up shop. I'd say that he needs a new starter. Stay tuned!
This article is the “stay tuned”
follow up to that sidenote -- and what a follow up it was! First,
this article summarizes the new starter saga -- and the cost. Then,
the reason why the above photograph is in this article will be
explained. The conclusion will confirm, well, that “a dollar
ain't worth much nowadays, boys” (as Dad said for many
years). It will also educate folks, who need it, as to what true
customer service is all about. I hope that Rusty Wallace Nissan is
listening!
I hope that this 104th article on humor
will draw a comment or two, give you a good laugh, or at least grant
you a polite chuckle! Thanks for stopping by, to read a while, dear
reader.
The New Starter Saga
The introduction mentioned how the saga
started. The tow cost $100 cash. That Friday, I called
Rusty
Wallace Nissan and set a repair appointment for
Tuesday, at 8:30 AM -- with the assumption that the repair would
be that day or the next, depending on if they had a new starter in
stock. The breakdown had to be on the Friday,
before the long Memorial Day weekend. On Monday, good
folks, in this once great nation, paused to honor those, who fought
and died for our freedom. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I enjoyed
a family gathering, with her folks, on Memorial Day.
The next day, Tuesday,
5/30/2023, the same local towing service hauled, at another $100
cash, my '06 Frontier and me, to Rusty
Wallace Nissan, about fourteen miles away, for the appointment
that I'd scheduled the Friday before. As I'd predicted, my ol' truck
needed a new starter. Of course, the shop didn't have one in stock,
as I'd suspected. The polite service department lady estimated that
-- in hope -- the new starter would arrive the next day, be
installed, and my truck would be ready for pick up. I walked to the
business next door, Enterprise,
and rented a 2022 Toyota Corolla. My purchase of a $2.01 bottle of
water, including tax,
was on the way to the monthly chiropractor appointment, in the
rental.
The next day, Wednesday, was day
two of the starter saga. After a couple of phone conversations with
the polite service department lady, I had assumed that my
truck would be ready late that afternoon. The new starter was in.
It's a two-hour job. The rental got me to Rusty Wallace Nissan,
about 4:30 PM. The polite lady in the service department, ironically,
had left voicemail on my cell phone, at 4:27 PM. I saw my truck, at
least. He was still waiting his turn! Amazing! Apparently, the
technician that had diagnosed the bad starter, the day before, had to
do the work. He was busy on a transmission, for another vehicle.
What? Can't someone else replace the starter? The wasted
trip was my “shame on me,” for assuming that the service would be
done promptly.
Thursday was day three of the
starter saga. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman drove the rental to and from
her last day of work, before summer break. It was a half day, and I
didn't expect a call, to say that my truck was ready, until late in
the afternoon. With no call from Rusty Wallace Nissan yet, I called
the polite service department lady, about 5:10 PM. Well, she
really hoped that my truck would be ready the next day!
The technician assigned to service my truck was still elbow deep in
the transmission, for another vehicle. Again, what? Can't
someone else replace the starter?
Yesterday, Friday, was day four
of the starter saga. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman answered the polite
service lady's call, at 10:48 AM. (I'd predicted that she would call,
while I was in the outhouse.) My truck was ready! So, I
returned the rental to Enterprise
($220.97 total
cost).
Then, I walked next door to Rusty
Wallace Nissan,
to get my truck. The polite service department lady was at lunch. The
General Manager was also at lunch. I really wanted to speak with the
General Manager. “Go straight to the top” is my motto.
The service department manager -- with whom I'd wanted to speak,
since the General Manager was out -- handled my payment. Please
notice that I am not calling the service department manager a “polite
lady,” as I've called the polite service department lady.
Taking
three full days (Tuesday morning to Friday morning) to replace one
started was too long!
It's a two-hour job! I expressed that thought -- politely -- to the
service department manager, hoping for her apology and assurances. If
our roles were reversed, I would have been far more cordial, polite,
and understanding -- with assurances that Rusty Wallace Nissan was
working to improve service timeliness and customer satisfaction.
After all, the “Service & Parts” section on Rusty
Wallace Nissan
states, rather excitedly, in part:
We know how difficult it can be to try and go about your day
without your usual mode of transportation. . . . [O]ur team can work
efficiently to get your vehicle out of our shop and back on the road.
Notice
the word “efficiently,” in the above quotation. The
service department manager, however, took a rather combative stand.
She kept emphasizing that all repair shops, not just that one, were
backlogged, causing repairs that should take a day to take several
days. It's, apparently, the “new normal.” The
unpleasant service department manager needs to improve her style of
so-called “customer service!”
Despite the service department
manager's combative style of “customer service,” I still thanked
her, since my truck had a new starter -- finally. In common sense,
I suggested to her that, when a person calls, to set a service
appointment, and if the shop can't get to it for a few days, then set
the appointment a few days out! Please! My truck could have
rested in the “barn” (i.e., garage) at the house, instead of
“basking in the sun” in a parking lot, at Rusty Wallace Nissan,
awaiting his turn.
Let's see what this starter saga
cost in total! Calculators ready? Let's punch buttons! The two
tows cost $200 total. Rusty Wallace Nissan's total cost was
$1,218.10. (That was for all labor, supplies, sales tax, the new
starter, an oil change, and a tire rotation. I'd asked for the oil
change and tire rotation. With labor and parts,
the starter cost $1,079.26 -- if you can believe it.) The
Enterprise rental car total cost was $220.97.
Did you get
$1,639.07 total? That's what I got. I guess that
Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I will eat soup beans and “taters”
a while.
$2.01 for a Bottle of
Water
You ask, “What do the high-dollar
costs of the tows, the rental, and the new starter have to do with
the price of a water bottle?” Well, I'll answer, from the “for
what it's worth” department.
As I'd stated before, on Tuesday, while
going to my monthly chiropractic appointment, in the rental, I
stopped at a Shell station, to buy a bottle of water. (Yes, I know. I
should have carried a bottle of filtered tap water from home.)
Of the numerous selections, I picked
“Niagara: Natural Spring Water.” It's a 16.9-ounce bottle of
spring water. The company is Niagara Bottling, LLC, in Diamond
Bar, California. The water comes from “protected springs” in
either Roaring Gap, North Carolina, or Blue Ridge, Georgia. Well,
that was good. (Yes, I read labels.)
The price, without tax, for that
bottled spring water was $1.84. (It was the least expensive
option.) Adding the sales tax, the cashier rang up $2.01!
(Yes, I should have asked for a cup of ice! It may have cost only a
dollar.) I had three one-dollar bills and no change. I asked if the
cashier had a penny, and she did. So, thanking her, I walked out with
my bottle of water. It tasted like spring water.
The cashier, a bit older than me, had
started the conversation, as I was buying that high-dollar bottle of
spring water. She complained about the outrageous cost of that
bottled water, and she bemoaned the future of this once great nation,
with concern for her children and grandchildren. The cost of
everything is outrageous, as we both agreed. Growing up, store-bought
bottled water didn't exist! We had spring water and well water. Once
I started driving, I filled an empty soda bottle with tap water and
carried it with me.
My final comment to the cashier was,
“Well, a dollar ain't worth much nowadays.” She understood
and smiled. I think that Dad must have laughed.
Conclusion
First, yes, Dad (Earl Ferrell,
9/17/1927 - 1/25/2008) was right: “a dollar ain't worth much
nowadays!” It's worth way less now than when he was still
living. The inflationary rush toward “Socialist Utopian Oblivion,”
in this once great nation, is “progressing” rather quickly.
Viewer analytics for this website
indicate that at least three of my seven articles on inflation are
viewed almost daily -- despite the few comments that they are
drawing. Those articles are:
An
Invitation to the First President of the USSA to “Show Me the
Money” Tree (published 5-22-2021)
President
Biden's Reply to My Letter – Over a Year Late (published 7-27-2022;
article #341)
Raise
the Debt Ceiling, Increase Income, or Lower Spending? (published
1-23-2023; article #386)
The recent raise the debt ceiling
ruckus, at the federal level, has convinced me, once again, that the
majority know that “the house is full of garbage spending.”
Instead of “hauling off some garbage spending,” they want
to “raise the roof, to add more garbage debt.”
Finally, on true customer support, the
two ladies at Enterprise
were both excellent -- at the Tuesday rental and Friday return. They
were professional, personable, very polite, and understanding --
especially when the rental required three days, not just one. When we
need or wish to rent another vehicle, then they will have our return
business!
Rusty
Wallace Nissan, however, is a different story. The polite service
department lady was doing her best, to ensure that my truck was
serviced as quickly as possible. She was friendly, polite, and
understanding. She admitted that Rusty Wallace needed to improve its
“efficiency” and speed of service.
The service department manager,
however, needs to improve her attitude. Her combative style was
coming from her personality. You can't train true customer service
into a person, who has a combative, defensive, and negative
personality -- as she does.
Early next week, I plan, Lord willing,
to communicate with the General Manager of Rusty Wallace Nissan. The
content of this article will be explained. I will suggest highly that
the business become “efficient” in the service department, as
their website says that it is. I will also suggest that the service
department manager receive remedial training, to understand true
customer service. Rusty Wallace Nissan will no longer get
my return business.
Well, I'm done with this little “life,
such as it was,” article. Yes, the new starter saga was
aggravating, but it's over! It's even a little funny today. Life
has its “good, bad, and ugly,” with apology to Clint Eastwood.
The temporal aggravation, involving
the delays and the cost for the new starter, are behind me.
What's coming up next? Will it be good? I hope so. Eventually,
everlasting life at Home will be perfectly wonderful. Once I join
Dad, and so many others, at Home, I wonder if he will laugh, when I
tell him about this little temporal triviality? I figure that he
will.