To Laugh Or Cry.... That Is The Question
Most of you already know that my car overheated on the interstate a week ago and we took it to the shop. The shop told us that the necessary part is really hard to find and that they ordered it through Chrysler. Well, Chrysler is bankrupt and so the part is on national backorder. We were #93 on the list to receive this part, which they said could take weeks or months to get in.
A team of us have been looking everywhere for this part in the meantime. We've looked nationally at junkyards, parts stores, ebay, you name it. It's simply in high demand and hard to find. I even had a friend who works at Chrysler make some calls.
Nathan found the part finally at a place in Minnesota who was willing to overnight it to us. So, we received the part yesterday and I drove it up to the shop. The shop isn't technically allowed to put in parts that aren't from their dealer, so we were going to have to transfer our car to a different mechanic. When we got to the shop with the part in our hands, I gave them my sad story about how I have 2 small kids and I'm without a car. I told them that we might have to cancel our vacation plans since we don't have a car to take. I even told them I could show tears to the manager if they needed; they were deciding whether or not to make an exception and put the part in for us. I even offered to bake them cookies.
They told me they'd talk to management and call me within the hour with their decision. Nathan got the call from a man who started with the words, "I feel dumb." Now, if you've ever had your car in the shop for a week or longer, those are not the first words you want to hear. It turns out that once we showed up with the part in our hands, they decided to recheck their own inventory again and realized they had the part there this whole time. In other words, they could have fixed my car 7 days ago. If we hadn't bought the part ourselves and waited for them to order it, it would have sat there for weeks or months when they had the part there the entire time. There go their cookies, that's for sure.
Now, I won't tell you what shop we've been working with. Before this incident, I was just telling someone that I've enjoyed working with them and that the employees we've worked with have been so professional and personable. I won't mention again that they failed to find our part in their own closet. Wait, how did that logo get right there? :)
I'm glad Nathan answered that call instead of me. Nathan is cool and easy going. I may have gone a little postal in the moment. So, they are supposed to fix our car today. I've had time to think about how I will respond when I pick it up, being careful to show forgiveness and compassion. Everyone makes mistakes. I was impressed that they were honest about the mistake when they could have just put our part in and not said anything.
I think God was trying to teach me trust and patience this week. I sort of learned it.....I hope enough that I don't need another lesson for awhile!!
A team of us have been looking everywhere for this part in the meantime. We've looked nationally at junkyards, parts stores, ebay, you name it. It's simply in high demand and hard to find. I even had a friend who works at Chrysler make some calls.
Nathan found the part finally at a place in Minnesota who was willing to overnight it to us. So, we received the part yesterday and I drove it up to the shop. The shop isn't technically allowed to put in parts that aren't from their dealer, so we were going to have to transfer our car to a different mechanic. When we got to the shop with the part in our hands, I gave them my sad story about how I have 2 small kids and I'm without a car. I told them that we might have to cancel our vacation plans since we don't have a car to take. I even told them I could show tears to the manager if they needed; they were deciding whether or not to make an exception and put the part in for us. I even offered to bake them cookies.
They told me they'd talk to management and call me within the hour with their decision. Nathan got the call from a man who started with the words, "I feel dumb." Now, if you've ever had your car in the shop for a week or longer, those are not the first words you want to hear. It turns out that once we showed up with the part in our hands, they decided to recheck their own inventory again and realized they had the part there this whole time. In other words, they could have fixed my car 7 days ago. If we hadn't bought the part ourselves and waited for them to order it, it would have sat there for weeks or months when they had the part there the entire time. There go their cookies, that's for sure.
Now, I won't tell you what shop we've been working with. Before this incident, I was just telling someone that I've enjoyed working with them and that the employees we've worked with have been so professional and personable. I won't mention again that they failed to find our part in their own closet. Wait, how did that logo get right there? :)
I'm glad Nathan answered that call instead of me. Nathan is cool and easy going. I may have gone a little postal in the moment. So, they are supposed to fix our car today. I've had time to think about how I will respond when I pick it up, being careful to show forgiveness and compassion. Everyone makes mistakes. I was impressed that they were honest about the mistake when they could have just put our part in and not said anything.
I think God was trying to teach me trust and patience this week. I sort of learned it.....I hope enough that I don't need another lesson for awhile!!
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