CAR REPAIR ONE LINERS
Hello, glad you stopped by.
Taken your car in for repairs lately?
If its still under warranty you probably visited a dealership repair shop where the waiting rooms are really swell, (that is if you are driving a pricey car.) These little intimate rooms offer a selection of gourmet coffee and day-old doughnuts (there are no fresh doughnuts in any dealer’s waiting room, it just doesn’t happen) and a service rep sits down and talks to you about your life and what seems to be troubling your car. They give you a car nicer than yours to drive home, wave goodbye and promise to throw in a wash job when they finish just because they are such nice people.
On the other hand, if your warranty has run out you head for a repair garage where the mechanics wear oil stained coveralls and carry dip sticks in their hip pockets.
No matter what the problem they promise a quick fix -…’this won’t take over 15 minutes if you want to wait.’
Two and a half hours later you’re still sitting on a steel bottom correctional institute chair bolted to the floor and leafing through a 1959 spark plug catalog somebody threw on the floor to soak up an old oil slick.
You automatically get a new battery and shock absorbers if you mention the funny noise the motor is making. And, if you bring the car in to have a wiper blade replaced, you drive off with a new set of tires.
Occasionally some naive woman comes in for a major tune-up and leaves her car along with a check list. She gets a ride home in a tow truck with no passenger seat.
The minute she is out of sight the mechanic uses the list to wipe the oil stick. Then he adjusts the pistons to knock when the car is driven under 25 mph instead of knocking when it hits 40, seals the glove compartment so it won’t keep popping open and adjusts the carburetor so the motor will race and it will take both feet on the brakes to keep it from moving off at a stop light.
And, when she picks up her car and gets the bill, there is an overtime charge.
That’s for the five hours it took to drive across town and back, to pick up a part from a supply house that’s only open at night. Something like a plumber who has to make a second house call after hours, because he didn’t have anything in his truck to unstop a toilet.
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Moving on to some notes from my SOCIAL SCENE weekly Sunday column.
Willie Nelson blew into town with his entourage and band to play to a full house at Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club.
Gene Rainbolt picked up the tab for the evening, charging each invited guest a $500 contribution for cancer research at OMRF and the OU Cancer Institute. Tight jeans and designer boots led the fashion statement for the evening and 650 guests piled into the club to raise $360,000.
A group of bankers ”Billy Bob Bovine and the Embryo Transfer’, led by Jay Hannah, (don’t ask about the name, I’m sure it has some deep significance,) played boot scootin’ music throughout the evening, even enticing Burns Hargis to pick up a guitar before the Willie Nelson show began.
Beer and barbecue with all the fixin’s was plentiful. Rainbolt who was celebrating his birthday even though it wasn’t his birthday, welcomed by name all the fellow octagons he spotted. Needless to say they didn’t rush up to the podium and take a bow.
Willie Nelson performed for guests seated in the round in the two formal dining rooms. Some of his classic tunes included Whiskey River, Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys and On the Road Again. All and all, it was a stellar evening!
Gene Rainbolt, Charlotte Lankard, Willie Nelson and OMRF President Steve Prescott
UPCOMING PARTIES:
The “Roaring Twenties” will be the theme for the 2009 Heritage Hills Historic Home Tour Oct. 24 and 25 from noon to 3 p.m.
Home from the following streets will be on the tour: NW 14th, NW 15th, NW 16th and NW 19th streets. A garden also will be featured on NW 19th and the Overholser Mansion will be included on the tour.
Lunch tickets can be purchased for both days of the tour as well as items featuring the Heritage Hills log. Go on line at www.heritagehills.org for ticket information. Tour chairman is Lee Ward and co-chairman is Anne Boozer.
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The Oklahoma county Medical Society Alliance will host its 19th annual Nichols Hills Kitchen Tour Oct. 25 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Each of the kitchens will feature local guests chefs, cooking demonstrations, luxury table settings and floral designs. Also featured on the tour will be a Coffee Bar, Bake Sale and a question & answer session with kitchen designer Karen Black-Sigler.
Admission tickets are $12 each in advance and $15 each the day of the event. They can be purchased at A Karen Black Company, Jamie’s, Lime Leopard, Mediterranean Imports, New Leaf Florists, On A Whim, Tony Foss Flowers, NuNu’s Mediterranean Cafe and Paper Lion in Edmond.
Proceeds benefit Schools for Healthy Lifestales and Health Alliance for the Uninsured. For more information call 323-1553.
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The Oklahoma Heart Hospital Volunteer Auxiliary will host its Second Annual Golf Tourney at Gaillardia Country Club, Oct. 5. The tournament includes 18 holes of golf, lunch, awards reception and a silent auction.
Proceeds will benefit the Oklahoma Heart Hospital patient needs and educational needs and community projects.
For more information call 608-3388.
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Fall Fashion Event and Accessory Demonstration, Sept. 29, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., Balliet’s at 50 Penn Place. Appetizers, wine, makeup and accessories demonstrations , $35 per person. Sponsored by the Board of the OU Breast Institute; event’s proceeds will benefit the Institute.
25th Anniversary Auction benefit for Free To Live, a non-profit animal sanctuary, Oct. 11, 3 p.m., Clarion Meridian Convention Center. Buffet and cocktails, $30 per person in advance, $40 at the door. For more information call 282-8617.
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Orchids in October, a luncheon tibute honoring Michel S. Laird, Oct. 8, Myriad Botancial Gardens Crystal Bridge, noon; $50 per person; 297-3474.
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Comments
Peggy, your description of how some dealerships and manufacturers handle their clients is spot on. Just imagine if you had to do that on a routine basis? I work with clients with vehicles that have defects that require regular visits to the repair shop. Unfortunately, that selection of coffee and donuts doesn’t make up for the inconvenience.
Not to mention “shop charges.” When quizzed, they’ll tell you it covers the rags and such. Other businesses think of this as “overhead,” but at car repair places we get to help these guys cover their tail pipes.