MechanicMan Saves the Day!

My car battery died the other day while I was at work. Although there was nothing to warn me of it, I had asked one of the other managers to walk out with me when I was leaving. I can't really say that I had felt that something was wrong, but I am glad I asked, for whatever reason. You see, we park in a public garage that is about 2 blocks from the theater. On this day, I was parked on the 5th floor and, at the time I was leaving, there were very few cars left on that level. So when we got to my car & it wouldn't start, I was miserable. For one thing, I had been very hot & tired (the a/c at the theater is not very strong in the lobby due to its size - our ceilings are at least 3 stories up and, since the building houses 15 auditoriums, 2 concession stands, a small arcade and a bar, there is a lot of space to cool). As I had been working the bar most of the day, I had been standing under lights that get very warm. My stockings were sticking to my legs, my jacket was sticking to my arms, and I think my makeup was melting. I turned the key and heard, "click ... click ... click ...(silence)." Two more tries and I had the same results. Crap. I called my insurance emergency road service while Victor, the guy who walked out with me, called the other manager on duty to see if he had jumper cables (neither Victor nor I did). Fortunately, he did and pulled up to my car just as the woman from the insurance company told me a tow truck would be out within the hour. I had her stay on the line so we could make sure that was all I needed and, when the car started, she canceled the tow truck request. Thank goodness - I would not have been very happy had I needed to wait an hour in the car for a tow truck. South Florida's heat & humidity in August can get pretty rough.

Anyway, I started calling places the next day to price a new battery. It seemed the best deal was through Advanced Auto Parts because, even though their batteries are the same price as a few other places, they do not charge for installation. I found out why! The next morning, my son came by to jumpstart my car so I could get it repaired. We went into the store and the manager told me it would be just a few minutes as the other guy there was currently putting a battery in another car. He joked that "It must be Battery Day!" (hahaha - a real comedian in our presence). When the other job was finished, the man came back in & decided that first, he needed to test my battery. I told him I was sure the battery needed to be replaced as I have owned the car for 5 years and have never put a new battery in. Also, the past 2 times I had driven it (home from work two days earlier and to their store that day), I needed someone to jump it so it would start. To me (a mere woman who only manages a movie theater), it was pretty much a no-brainer but I guess, to men in the automotive business, it was much more complicated. So, out comes Leslie with his battery testing machine. He hooks it up to the battery, punches in a few numbers and then decides he is missing something so he goes back inside. After a few minutes, I also go inside to see what is taking so long. I guess Leslie works on commission because, in spite of the fact that he had been in the middle of testing my battery, he decided to help another customer! I said, "Excuse me, but I need to get to work. I had been told this entire process would take 10 - 15 minutes and I have already been here for almost a half-hour. I need to leave here within the next 30 minutes. Can we please get back to my car?" Dave, the manager who originally told Leslie to help me, looks at Leslie ringing up the other customer's items and, in what seemed to be shocked disbelief, said, "Leslie! Finish helping this lady! I will ring up that customer ... she needs to get to work!" Well, Leslie seemed to have his own agenda and continued ringing up the customer. As he finally saunters back out to my car, Dave follows us. At this point, Leslie turns his machine back on, pushes some buttons again and then proudly states, "Your battery is dead. You need a new one." My son and I just looked at each other in amazement ... where do they get these people? Dave said, "Okay, it's dead - let's get you a new one." Having called several places the day before to get information on batteries, I told him, as we were walking back into the store, which type battery I wanted. He gives the battery to my son, who has just brought in the old battery that Leslie had removed, so they could start installing it while I paid for it. When I went outside, I noticed that Leslie had somehow split one of the terminal connectors. I thought that didn't look right but what do I know about cars? Perhaps that was necessary in order to connect it. Leslie completed the installation, smiled at me and told me, "Go ahead and start your car." I turned the key and heard ... nothing! No clicking, no humming, NOTHING! Leslie looked baffled. He looks at it again and reaches to the battery with a pliers and tells me to try it again. This time, although the motor does not start or even click, sparks start to shoot out from the battery connection. My son jumps back and starts laughing. Leslie looks, moves the pliers and said, "Go ahead. Try it again." More sparks! At this point, I am getting very frustrated and am looking at my watch to see if I will make it to work on time. Leslie said to me, "See? This connector is split (DUH! I saw you split that when you were removing the battery, Ace!) so you just need to replace that." I asked him how long it would take him to do that, to which he responded, "Oh, I can't do that ... I'm not a mechanic!" HOLY COW - what is wrong with this picture? When I reiterated that I had to get to work, he said, "Well, you know ... sometimes things happen that can't be helped. You can be late." Obviously, this man is an extremely conscientious and responsible employee. When I told him that was not an option, he said, "Well, all you need to do is ... until you can get the car to a mechanic, whenever you have to drive it, have somebody hold onto this clip with pliers and the car should start." Oh, yeah - I am going to ask a friend, co-worker or maybe a total stranger to come with me and touch a pair of pliers to my battery terminal while I hit the ignition. I don't think so! Leslie starts back into the store with me following. He gets the part that I need for the car and then starts to tell Dave what the problem is. Another customer in the store tells me that he is a mechanic, and he can put the part on. Dave says, "Yeah - he can do it for you - he won't charge very much." At this point, I don't even care about the cost. I have now been at Advanced Auto for approximately 40 minutes and I really need to get to work. MechanicMan came out to my car and said, "See? This is split (while pointing at the connector) and that's why it won't start." Obviously, these gentlemen think I have absolutely no brain whatsoever! Well, MechanicMan tries to unscrew the old connector but is having problems. As I stated earlier, I've had the car for 5 years and have never replaced the battery. The terminal is corroded. Leslie sprays something on it (I am assuming it was some sort of rust remover) and MechanicMan continues to try to unscrew the nut that is holding the connector so tight, to no avail. Leslie goes inside and, just as he is coming out the door with a hacksaw (I kid you not ... he had a HACKSAW!), MechanicMan managed to loosen the connector. Leslie looked devastated; he really seemed to want to use that hacksaw! MechanicMan finally gets the piece off, replaces it, gets it tightened around the battery terminal and tells me to try starting my car. It worked! I was so relieved! I asked MechanicMan how much I owed him and he said, "Whatever you want to give me." And, although I was thinking I didn't really want to give him much at all, I gave him $10. So, between the money I paid MechanicMan and the money I had to pay for the part, I ended up saving a whole dollar and eighteen cents over what I would have had to pay at one of the places that charged for installation. And, in spite of the fact that I have no way of knowing this for sure, I have a funny feeling that if I had splurged on that extra $1.18, I would have been out of the shop and on my way to work much earlier.

Maybe I would have even had time to stop for a cup of coffee to jumpstart ME!