Bit O' Justice

My assistant Donna was kind enough to take me to pick up Pearl tonight. Turns out she was going to a concert just a few miles away.

It had been a crazy day. And the commute to the dealership would make it just a little crazier.

I HAD to be at the service center by 6. And even though we leave the office by 5:15 and were in her car and on the way roughly 7 minutes later. To make it more complex along the 8-mile route, there was a ballgame tonight. And then, minutes after bypassing a bunch of traffic to glide onto the interstate ... we hit the parking lot zone. With just a few miles between us and the exit, an accident brought traffic to a halt. It took nearly 20 minutes to go 2 miles!

We pulled up to the side entrance of the service center at 5:57 p.m. Turns out there were a few people ahead of me, so we had plenty of time. I claimed my paperwork while the serviceman retrieved Pearl. I glowered when I looked at the summary. It said the seal, the subject of the recall, HAD been leaking. That was all the priming I needed.

As luck would have it, the sales department was open 'til 9. I drove straight from the service bay over to sales, parking Pearl just a few feet from the space where I first laid eyes on her.

My salesman was on vacation but the sales manager, who had been there the day I bought the car and on my subsequent visit, was in. I was very calm in my delivery of my complaints, but stern. The sales manager was apologetic and repeatedly told me that I was right. (Well I knew THAT.) I laid my argument out succinctly and at one point, he was finishing my sentences.

He was appalled (and seemed sincere) when I told him that they had stranded me at my office today, with the "one-way" shuttle. That, more than the recall oversight, seemed to trigger a string of "what can I do for you" statements. "Let's make your next oil change on us."

"It already is," I reminded him. Well, let's get the one after that -- and a tire rotation. OK. I'll take it. I didn't let it continue, though I think it would have. I wasn't angling to get anything except the satisfaction of someone admitting fault and, at least promising to address the issue. And yeah, OK, having someone bend over like the most distorted of moves in Twister, to kiss my a**. I figured I was owed at least that much.

Before I left, as the sales manager and I stood talking in the showroom, I spied a couple inspecting Pearl. I stifled a snort as one of the duo suddenlyl noticed the plates and sheepishly walked away. (As someone who's done this before, it was fun to watch someone else do it.)

Sorry, folks. That one's mine.