*published May 26, 2005
So I was ecstatic when I found the guys at the corner Shell Station. They keep my repair costs reasonable, tell me how to avoid future breakage and make certain that my minivan is safe to drive.
As much as I like these guys, however, we don't always speak the same language. I try to describe the problem and they try to understand, but we're usually reduced to the same four words: "Just check everything out." This approach sometimes leads us down the path to confusion.
Recently, I took my minivan in for general service. Handing the key to Joseph, I said, "I need an oil change, and we're going on vacation in a few weeks, so could you just check everything out for me?"
Smiling sweetly, he replied, "You bet."
I had been tinkering around my house for about half an hour when one of the younger mechanics called. "Mrs. Carline?" he asked, then continued cheerfully, "Your alternator's out. That's what was making the funny noise."
Huh?
"What funny noise?" I asked.
"The funny noise you hear when the car's running," he replied, still confident.
"I never heard a funny noise."
The glee ebbed slightly from his voice. "Well, you can really hear it when the hood is up."
"I don't drive with the hood up."
"Well, the alternator is out and you can hear it…" his voice trailed off.
Squirrels and treadmills aside, I know just enough about cars to ask, "Doesn't the car refuse to start when that's broken?"
The sound of verbal back-peddling could be heard. "Well, it's not all the way out, but it's almost out. It's burnt up pretty bad, which is why it's making that noise." He was clinging to the noise defense desperately by now.
"Okay," I finally relinquished. "Fix it."
"All right, ma'am," he said, sounding a little cheerier. Then he added, "Oh, and while you've got the van down here, we recommend an oil change."
D'Oh!!!
"That's why I brought it in," I hissed into the receiver.
"I'm sorry!" wailed the young mechanic. "I was just reading the note that Joseph gave me!"
I don't know why I was so combative with him. Maybe I thought the "oil change" request should have trumped the "check everything out" request. I certainly didn't mean to make him cry.
"All right," I replied soothingly. "Just fix my car and call me when it's done."
A few hours later they had my car in proper working order, for a little less money than they had estimated. I drove out of the station a happy woman, with a new alternator, new oil, and I think they even fed the squirrel.