When someone treats me poorly, my first inclination is to complain about it, preferably in a public forum. In the last couple of weeks or so, a couple of businesses have been great. I thought I’d tell you.
Les Schwab: My daughter Heather and a couple of her friends were heading to central Oregon for a few days. As they headed east from Salem, the car started to make weird noises from one of the front wheels. Heather called Suzi and she called me. Even when the car is sitting in front of me, my car fixing skills are poor. Distance doesn’t improve the situation. From long distance, my diagnosis was the constant velocity joint. After all, I’d had one go out on me, so that’s what all front-wheel crunching noises must be, right?
Heather was near a Les Schwab store, so she drove in and told them about the noise. One nice gentleman put the car up on the lift, checked the transmission, bearings, and whatever other mechanical things might be under there (maybe CV joints?). He noticed that the mud flap was loose, that it likely caused the noise, and suggested he fix it with a couple of zip ties. He did so, lowered the car, and sent Heather on her way, safe and sound. The fix is invisible and likely permanent. The charge: $0. Thank you, Les Schwab!
Bike N’ Hike: A few days ago, my bike’s freehub locked up in a relatively short, low-intensity ride. I went to Bike N’ Hike, bought a new rear wheel and they moved the cassette over. I transferred over the tube and tire. On the next ride, the new freehub started to act up. I was clueless.
I went back to Bike N’ Hike, this time with the entire bike. One of the guys put it on the stand are started going through the gears. He pulled out a tool I’d never seen before and adjusted the derailleur hanger to be parallel to the wheel. He adjusted the other derailleur settings, played with the wires, and other stuff I didn’t understand. He took the bike off the rack, rolled it to me, and sent me on my way, safe and sound. The charge: $0. Thank you, Bike N’ Hike!
I’ve done business with both Les Schwab and Bike N’ Hike before. They’ve earned my business. Even so, I didn’t expect this level of service from either. They’ll get more of my business. Maybe now, they’ll get some of yours.
What businesses have gone above and beyond for you?
2 responses to “Good Guys: Les Schwab Tires and Bike N’ Hike”
I’m definitely in the same boat as you – my initial thought is to complain, but it is so refreshing to have a business treat you right. Not that free is the answer all the time, but just being taken care of.
Bob, you’re right. Getting bad free service is no favor. I’ll still look elsewhere next time. Both instances above were getting service beyond expectations, and being free was just a bonus.