Can you complain about loyalty when a business refuses to provide the service they offer?
I share my vehicle with my mother who often drives my kids around when I am busy doing work for my job. Between my mom and my kids, I need my vehicle to be reliable and trustworthy. So when my car had two no crank-no starts at different times yesterday including one time in a dark parking lot, I knew I needed to get my car looked at as soon as possible. Of course, it was too late to call anyone last night so I came up with three game plans on how to tackle the problem in the morning.
My first course of action is to call a multi-stall garage my family has used for a long time and was at earlier in the week for a separate issue on a different vehicle. I called when they opened and was told a service advisor that I needed a battery and starter check which can be done at many places including auto parts stores. I was told that it was unlikely it could be looked at this morning and knowing the business as well as I do, it didn’t bother me much. There are many parts stores, garages and dealerships within a short drive from my home, so it was no big deal. I called the dealership that I purchased parts for my vehicle and they were more than willing to take me in this morning.
When the time came to call in to work and tell them I would be late, my boss was surprised that I was not going straight to that first garage as they are always looking for work. This situation of where I was going to have testing done was never a big deal to me, but really bother my boss. The issue was not about missing work, but that I was using another repair shop for service. I explained the situation and how time was of the essence. My boss could not argue with that, but was going to reach out to that business who would not take me this morning. The non-issue to me was about to be someone else’s daily dose of drama.
I went to the dealership who was willing to take me in same day and the vehicle was not diagnosed with a bad battery, starter or alternator. The problem was a combination of a bad On/Off button as well as the ignition switch. That type of ignition has always worried me and now I have seen the reason why. Two hours after I walked in, I left with my car fixed and ready for my mother to borrow again. After working through my lunch, I only ended up missing less than three hours time. I was disappointed that I did not get the opportunity to help a small business, but at the end of the day I was where I needed to be. No special parts order, same day work and I was treated much better than expected.
