So, here’s the update on the car situation.
We left our poor little car at a random auto shop in Needles, CA. Keep in mind that this was a guy who told our tow truck driver that he would definitely be there on Sunday. He also told the next tow truck driver (on Sunday) that he would definitely be there on Monday. When we called on Monday, we got no answer.
Lesson #1: Either work your posted hours, or tell your customers when you’ll return.
On Tuesday, Dave called the repair shop and talked to a woman, who said the guy was checking it out and would get back to us. Dave called the Ford dealership in Needles just to find out what our other options are. By the end of the day on Tuesday, Dave called the repair shop again. They said it might be the clutch but it might be something else, so he was going to keep poking around.
Lesson #2: The customer shouldn’t have to keep calling you – you should call the customer.
So, today Dave called the Ford dealership and got more information. He also – finally – got an estimate from the repair shop, and it was actually more expensive than the dealer!! Ultimately we decided to have the car towed to the Ford dealership. (Unfortunately we had to pay a $72 ransom to the repair shop for their “diagnosis” work.) Too bad we didn’t choose the dealership in the first place on Saturday! But now we feel like the car is in good hands. The guy at the dealership said they could definitely have the car fixed by the end of the day on Friday, so we should be able to pick it up on Saturday.
Lesson #3: Don’t charge your customers when you didn’t actually produce anything.
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