or, “how do you walk with balls that big?”
I made a major mistake Wednesday. I called and confirmed that my car was, indeed, paid off. Somehow, the car got wind of this and decided to fix that. I’d put in a new battery last week, but it was still cranky starting. That night, I’d headed to a restaurant to have dinner w/a friend, finally got the engine to turn over, drove there, turned the car off, removed the key.
Except, of course, that the starter was still trying to start the car (you could hear it go Rnnnnnnnnnn rnnnnnnnnnnn rnnnnnnn). Knowing that this is a ‘not good noise’ [sup]TM[/sup], I left a note for the friend and started taking the car to the garage a few miles away.
I got within about 3/4 of a mile away, when all the lights went out and the car stopped. Naturally this happened at a busy intersection at 5:45 pm. Someone helped me push it into a parking lot. After searching (w/o success) for my motor club card (no, not AAA), I gave up and decided to call a wrecker, any wrecker and deal w/reimbursement issues. ( should I bore you with details about the cell phone battery going out? No?? ok)
half hour later, a flat bed rolls up. Incredible Hulk Jr rambles out and evenutally negotiates my car on it. I get in the cab and we drive off. Now there seems to be a lot of bouncing around in this truck, but I put it down to a chronic lack of funds for road repairs (I do, after all, live in Michigan).
We get to the garage, and I pay Incredible Hulk Jr off, tell him to unload the car while I go in and get paperwork started for repair. I’m in the place, talkin’ to ‘the guy’, when 3 of the employees come in asking “are you the person whose car came in by the wrecker??”
yea, why?
“well, he dropped your car”
:eek: :mad:
“yea, it just dropped like 3 feet off the truck” So they put it up on the hoist to see if there’s damage. Sure enough: about a foot long dent in the gas tank, a deep dent in the area where the spare tire would go, and a visible dent in the “something or other” arm (Some piece of the suspension? that goes to the tire)
So, I call the wrecker company, and explain what happened. He says “how could that happen?” I don’t have any idea. I didn’t see it, however, four other people here (a customer and 3 employees) who don’t know me, saw it and reported it to me, and I now have 3 dents in the underside of my car that weren’t there before your driver got it. “It’s not possible for it to fall like you said”. Look, all I know is there’s damage, and it’s going to be handled.
“the only thing that needs to be handled is your attitude”
yes, that’s his comment to me. I’d not raised my voice, not sworn, not called him (or IHJ names), he was objecting to my statement that the damage was ‘going to be handled’.
The crowd around me (the 3 witness employees plus customer) all went slack jawed in amazement when they heard that. They all assure me that I was calm, and much nicer than they would be in the same situation.
Tow truck owner says he has to talk to his employee. Fine by me, I’ve still got 4 witnesses (and names and phone numbers) w/o an agenda.
After he talks to IHJ, he claims “my driver says there’s no way that the car ‘dropped’, it’s back tires were on the ground when he got it off the truck, and he ran back to keep it from rolling away” (can’t you just hear the Theme to Rocky in the background, extolling the virtue of the brave tow truck guy actually preventing my car from rolling away???) I repeat that there’s damage, obviously new. He says he has to see it. Great, come on down.
He gets down, looks at the damage, and asks IHJ “what did you do???”
He eventually admits that yes, damage was done, and yes, by his driver, yes, he’ll pay to get it repaired “just to be a stand up guy, ya know, 'cause after all, you did sign my release”.
I guess I look younger than I am, 'cause otherwise he wouldn’t have assumed that I was born yesterday.
even after seeing the damage and realizing that it was his responsability, he still made some snide ass comment about me being rude on the phone.
My eyes may roll back into place someday.
