Jamison and I have been looking at making or buying longboards. Yesterday we headed to Daddies Board Shop. We found a couple of awesome boards and a really cool store.
Good job, Daddies! :-)
Thanks, Bike N’ Hike!
Yesterday I discovered a broken a spoke in my rear wheel. Today I took it to Bike N’ Hike, knowing they’d get me rolling again. After I told them I hoped to get it fixed sometime today, they removed the cogs and spoke guard, installed a new spoke and nipple, and trued the wheel. Putting it back together, they handed me the wheel and said, “Get out of here. We have enough of your money.”1I don’t know if they have enough of it, but we’ve bought five bikes from them in the past few years. I returned later today to buy some new brake pads. I think it’s about time to get Suzi a fun, new city bike
Woo hoo! Thanks, guys.2This isn’t the first time Bike N’ Hike’s taken good care of me. :-)
- 1I don’t know if they have enough of it, but we’ve bought five bikes from them in the past few years. I returned later today to buy some new brake pads. I think it’s about time to get Suzi a fun, new city bike
- 2This isn’t the first time Bike N’ Hike’s taken good care of me.
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Good Guys: Les Schwab Tires and Bike N’ Hike
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?
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My Faith in Humanity, Restored by Mechanics
I hate taking my cars to mechanics; I feel like I’m setting myself up to get screwed. I’d do the work myself but I can’t. I don’t have the equipment, the know-how, and I can’t seem to do even “simple” things on cars without getting upset, hurting myself, and swearing. So for me, mechanics are a necessary evil. I have to trust them to fix what’s broken, only what’s broken, and not break anything else in the process. Maybe that’s how other people feel about lawyers, doctors, and other experts. If so, my sympathies…
Recently, my aging Honda Odyssey decided it needed another transmission. Not wanting to pay the higher cost of dealers, I took it to Dave’s Trans Action Transmission. After telling me I needed a remanufactured transmission, Dave’s told me that if they installed the transmission, I would get a warranty on the parts, but if a Honda dealer did it, I would get a warranty on both parts and labor.
After investigating the cost difference, I decided it was worth having Beaverton Honda do the work. Immediately upon getting my car back, the check engine light went on. I returned the car to the dealer this morning so they could read the error code with their diagnostic computer. As I sat in their waiting area, I wondered what they’d done to my car and how much more I’d have to pay to them.
After a few minutes, Mark came in to tell me the news. It’s not the transmission; it’s the catalytic converter. They can’t get the error code to stay cleared without replacing the converter. The car won’t pass emissions testing with the error code present. The car has to pass emissions testing before I can renew its registration. He concluded by reminding me my registration expires next month. A perfect storm of events. Wow, this guy’s good selling his services.
Mark then recommended that I take my business elsewhere. What?! That’s right. An exhaust shop can replace my converter for a fraction of what he would charge. As he said, there are a lot of repair jobs that should be done at the dealer, but replacing a catalytic converter isn’t one of them.
Two mechanics, in as many weeks, diagnosed my car and told me I could get better results elsewhere. Is it Christmas already?
Thanks, Dave’s and Beaverton Honda.
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Quote of the Day — Fred, the TSA Employee
If you have any questions about what’s allowed and what’s not, I can tell you. I can even tell you why the rules exist. You can raise your hand or yell, ‘Hey, Fred!’
Fred, the TSA Employee at PDXNormally, the security lines at PDX are brutal. They’re not particularly long; the pain is caused by TSA agents yelling at the waiting travelers to get their tickets out of their jackets and get their IDs out.
Today was different. Another TSA agent not assigned to check IDs was roaming through the lines, offering assistance on the process and a little humor, referring to the X-ray and metal detector area as “stressville” and his domain as “the relaxing area.”
It was a nice change.