customer service the *right* way

so, last night, i managed to aggravate my meniscus injury by kneeling on my bed for more than 0.3 seconds. no joke. i woke up completely hobbled and annoyed. seriously, i had DARED to just THINK that i was so happy to be able to be walking around work pain-free yesterday — i even thought “gee, i better not say this out loud or i might jinx it”.
between a combination of work priorities and having used up all my sick claims for the rest of the year, i went into the office this morning. i happened to pick up the HR director at the gate and gave her a ride down the hill, too (yes, i know how to suck up). i kind-of-asked her if it was all right for me to park in the close-to-the-building visitors parking since i was gimpy, but i probably would have parked there even if she had said no.
so, four hours of training a new temp to cover me while i’m on vacation next week, lots of hobbling and even more “oh! what’s wrong?!” commentary from co-workers, i finally gave up and left to come home to rest up and ice my knee before going to see my physiotherapist tonight.
fast forward 45 minutes.
i’ve driven back to North Van, gotten rockstar parking on Lonsdale so i can hobble into the postal outlet to pick up whatever it is my mom sent me via XpressPost (btw, i HATE signature-required mail). i’ve hobbled back to my car, levered myself in and i try to start the car so i can go home.
catch that? TRY to start the car. not start the car. TRY.
i’ve had a crash course in early-model Volkswagens these last 10 months i’ve had Liselotte. from the long list of things i’ve had fixed to the even longer list of little quirks to the franchise. one of the most annoying things has been the ignition. if you don’t have the steering wheel in JUST the right position and your key doesn’t slide in JUST the right way, you can spent quite a few minutes just trying to turn the car on.
at first, i thought it was a faulty ignition (hey, my Geo never did that). then i thought maybe it was temperature related (it seemed to happen more during winter). then, one day at work when my boss came out to listen to my fuel pump (to diagnose that intermittent power problem), it happened and he said “oh, yeah. that’s annoying”. since, i’ve just shrugged and said “oh, you those silly Germans”.
back to today, i’m parked on a major street. the steering wheel has locked, so there’s just a very small range of motion for me to move it in hopes of finding that sweet spot where the key will actually work. it’s hot. i’m starting to get sweaty. and frustrated. and overwhelmed. although, i managed not to cry, which is a total victory.
instead, i called the Beetle Spa. i had a very positive (even if very brief) experience with them about a month or so ago. i figured there was no point in calling BCAA — they wouldn’t know VWs. upon calling the Beetle Spa, i gave the guy who answered the phone my name and described what the problem was. first point scored: he knew what i meant. second point scored: after he put me on hold for a very short time, he came back on the line and called me by name. third to 1,000,000th points scored: he asked me where i was and came to rescue me. no charge.
seriously. he got in his Jetta, drove to where i was, got in, worked his mojo and got my car to start. without asking me for a dime.
well, he did ask one thing: “remember the Beetle Spa“. hell, how could i not with that kind of service?
thank you, Ted! you and your little moustache saved my day.