We just had our first snow of the year. Most sane people might stay off the road, enjoy the sight, or if they really had to, drive between work and back. No detours!
Yet, my shop is busy. One customer has a smell coming from his blower motor. He likes to "wait" for repairs and apparently he wants to wait in the middle of a snow storm. Another had facial hair like General Stevenson from the Civil War and he wanted winter tires for his brand new car. He left after we told him that we had to order them.
Snow days bring out several peculiar characters. There's "give my snow-covered car an oil change" guy. Sometimes I wonder, what does he really want? His car to be cleared off of snow? I can't open the hood with that sheet of ice on it. Maybe, he finds it amusing that the mechanic gets to endure Chinese water torture as the snow kicked up under the car melts on him. Perhaps it's the thrill of putting your life in danger to fulfill an errand that could have got done some other day. Who knows!
Don't forget the "I needed my truck fixed three hours before I brought it in" plow guy. The one who reminds you how much money he's losing by not being on the road and that he'll be your customer "forever" if you help him out. Of course, he's waiting for the repair, no matter how long it takes. Did I have to mention that you'll never see him again?
Then there's "will you do the job real cheap and I'll bring my own parts guy." I'm not sure what snow has to do with it. He probably figures that if you're open in the middle of a snow storm, you have to be really desparate and will work for peanuts.
The Crazies don't just come out during a snow storm. They seem to congregate the day before major holidays, like the third of July for example. Some Crazies come at certain times like 3:30 PM on a Saturday or minutes before you close on a weekday.
What kind of Crazies have you run into?
