On A Dark Desert Highway
Here’s the deal. We like to bitch about poor service all the time. I mean we gripe about meals, hotels, car dealers, mechanics, plumbers, … you name it. We spend far less time talking about the times when the service is not only good, but excellent. Or, in this case, exceptional.
Capital Thinking • Issue #107 • View online
I guess I was expecting the car to kick right over, because it took me a minute or two to realize not only was the car not starting up, it wasn’t even making a sound.
Blinded by a brightly lit dashboard message I’d never seen before (Passive Antitheft Activated), I guessed the car was trying to tell me something was wrong.
It needed a new key, maybe?
Glancing out the driver’s side window, I couldn’t help but notice the sky was even darker than it had been only a few minutes earlier.
At least, it wasn’t snowing here yet. But at this point, I was just happy to be out of the mountains and closer to home.
Reaching the outskirts of Artesia, New Mexico, population about 9,000 and some change, I pulled into the nearest convenience store to top off the tank and pick up a snack or two. I still had more than 200 miles to go.
After my pit stop, balancing the extra large Slurpee in one hand and yanking on the heavy car door to close it behind me, I slid the key into the ignition like I’d done 1000 times before.
I guess I was expecting the car to kick right over, because it took me a minute or two to realize not only was the car not starting up, it wasn’t even making a sound.
Here I sit in car that won’t move.
In a town I don’t know.
200 miles from home.
With a winter storm blowing in. And it’s getting colder and darker by the minute. Great. Just great.
Blinded by a brightly lit dashboard message I’d never seen before (Passive Antitheft Activated), I finally figured out the car was trying to tell me something.
It needed a new key, maybe?
Now, that was something I could get fixed. Pronto.
Back into the store I go to ask the clerk for a phone book or a contact where I could reach a locksmith. Wasn’t much of a problem since there weren’t too many locksmiths in town.
As I recall, there were only two and only half of them were willing to make the long trip to town on a wintry Friday afternoon.
After waiting for at least 10 minutes - which seemed to take forever - the locksmith showed up, took one look at the car, and let me know there was nothing he could do.
“Nothing at all?”, I asked.“Nope. The problem isn’t with your key. Well, not with the key alone. You’ll have to get it fixed at the dealership.”
“Hey - I’m just passing through. Is there even a dealer close by?”
“Oh, yeah. I can run you over. It’s only a few blocks or so.”
So, off we go. To the dealership.
The locksmith, kind person that he was, dropped me right at the front door and didn’t even charge me for his time.
Stepping into the spotlessly clean dealership, I was immediately greeted by a salesman. Guess he was the “next up”.
I have to say he did a great job of hiding his disappointment in finding I wasn’t in the mood for a new car. He pointed me to the service area near the back.
Once there, I met the Service Manager, Don, who turned out to be a really great guy.
Right away, Don ordered someone to haul the car to the shop and gave me instructions to “walk down the street and get something to eat”.
He’d have more information for me when I got back.
Sure enough, he did.
But the news wasn’t good. Yes, it was definitely part of the ignition system that failed. Problem was, they didn’t have that part in stock.
In fact, the closest replacement part was nearly 90 miles away and he didn’t even have anyone to send to get it.
See, he’d already let most of his mechanics go early for the long holiday weekend. It was just him and one other guy - and they were planning to head out themselves for some deer hunting across the state line. They were already packed.
I guess he could see that I wasn’t too happy so after a confab with the dealer (his boss), he offered to let me go pick up the part, loan me the car to make the trip, and the shop would stay open until the car was repaired and I was back on the road.
Whoa! How can you not take them up an offer like that?
In less than 15 minutes, I was on the highway headed east to the dealership on the state line. Evidently, they’d been warned I was on the way, because I didn’t spend more than 5 minutes before I was on my way back to where I started.
By the time I pulled back into the dealership, it was more than a little past closing time - as in, dark.
Country dark.
But true to their word, the shop was open and ready for me when I returned.30 minutes later I was out the door, out of New Mexico, and happily headed home.
Here’s the deal. We like to bitch about poor service all the time. I mean we gripe about meals, hotels, car dealers, mechanics, plumbers, … you name it.
We spend far less time talking about the times when the service is not only good, but excellent. Or, in this case, exceptional.
My car originally quit on me about 3 in the afternoon. On a Friday before a holiday. During a winter storm warning.
Point of fact, it began snowing around 6 and never let up after that.
The locksmith could have stuck with “There’s nothing I can do”. He didn’t.The dealership could have simply said “We don’t have the part”. They didn’t.
Instead, everyone went out of their way to try and get me back on the road as quickly and as cheaply as possible.
Did I mention the dealership didn’t charge me for driving their car all afternoon? And they paid for the gas?
Did I mention the mechanics didn’t charge me extra even though it was late and they should have already been on the way to their deer hunting trip?
And did I mention that every single person I met that day was more than polite, helpful, and considerate?
When’s the last time you experienced service like that?
When indeed?
None of them stuck to the script. None of them were interested in pointing out to me what they couldn’t do.
Instead, they all went out of their way to find a way to be helpful, courteous, and kind.
And isn’t that exactly what we all want as customers and clients?