I recently worked a temp job for a few weeks at a small local shop. I saw these guys practically bend over backwards to help their customers out, especially the elderly. There was this one couple… they must have been in their 80’s… they brought the car in for a tune-up, and it was smoking and knocking and all kinds of wore out. The shop manager loaned them his car, explaining that it would take a few days to get one of the parts needed for the tune-up. All the guys in the shop pitched in for the parts, and they completely rebuilt the engine and transmission, replaced all worn suspension parts, and even fixed the air conditioner & power windows. When the couple came to pick up their car, the shop manager said they didn’t owe anything, and refused to take any money from them even when they tried repeatedly to pay for the cost of the tune-up.
Me and a few of the customers secretly planned an appreciation day for all of them: Beer and hotwings at Hooters, and massages. (They loved it!)
These guys are proof that not all mechanics are scam artists or incompetent bozos. Guys that really care about their customers are the greatest mechanics in the world.
A good day to have a mechanics appreciation day would be the hottest day of the year. After all, most shops don’t have air conditioning in the service bays, and it doesn’t matter where you live, hot is hot.