A fork in the road

forkpic.jpgWe came to a fork in the road on Saturday.

I was loading the boot of the car with a few bits and pieces as we prepared for another Home Open at our place. (By the way, it still hasn’t sold.) A piece of paper fluttered out of one of the boxes and landed beside the car. As I bent down to pick it up I saw something interesting.

On the way home from taking Emily for breakfast it seems that I must have driven over a fork and one of the the tines (spikes) had lodged itself into one of the rear tyres. I didn’t want to try pulling it out because I knew we’d lose all the air in the tyre immediately. (Click here for a look at the damage.)

It was around 1:30 on Saturday afternoon so my chances of finding an open tyre store were very slim. I rang the Bridgestone Tyre Centre in Marchant Way, Morley. The phone rang for a long time before someone answered. I asked if they were still open but they weren’t. The guy said that he was just finishing up his paper work. I told him what had happened and to my surprise he said I should head on in.

James and I jumped in the car and off we went. The fork made a ticking noise as it hit the road repeatedly. About a kilometre into our journey we heard a huge clunking noise as the handle broke off and clattered around the wheel well.

We got to the tyre centre and the guy got us to drive straight in. He did the job without any fuss and was very friendly, even though we were soaking up his Saturday afternoon. He took the wheel off the car, the tyre off the rim, removed the fork, prepared the inside of the tyre, patched the hole, put it all back together, balanced the wheel and put it back on the car.

Once he was done it came time to pay up. Just $25.

We were back on the road ready for the rest of a very busy weekend.

It’s rare these days to find someone who will provide great service. It’s even rarer to find someone who will go above and beyond the call of duty in providing service. This guy opened his shop after hours and provided exceptional service.

I know that it’s a bit far to travel for tyres for most readers but if you are in the Perth area and needing tyres, consider Bridgestone Tyre Centre at 10 Marchant Way in Morley.

Have you experienced exceptional customer service recently? Is there a business we should consider using becuase they go beyond the standard? Let me know in the comments section of this post.



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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He has worked in radio at Perth's media ministry Sonshine for over 25 years and has previously worked at ministries such as Compassion Australia and Bible Society.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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2 Comments

  • Same in Derby. We didn´t even know it was a Saturday (us being on holiday, that is!) when we came in there in the late afternoon with a broken exhaust. I was wondering, though, why the guys were drinking beer! 😉
    They fixed the problem immediately and for a small price, too.
    Guess Derby has just that one Garage, so it does not matter that I can´t remember the name from back in 1995.

    Seesh. I´m glad it was just a spoon that I once lost (and found) on a highway in your great country!

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