Oil Change

I got the oil changed in my car today, and I must say, it was a wonderful experience. I usually hate having to take care of car-maintenance issues because I feel so clueless. Is it normal to have one area of knowledge so totally off your radar? It probably shouldn't be, at any rate. Nonetheless, I know almost nothing about cars. The one exception to this is changing a tire. Thanks to Daddy, I have been able to change a tire by myself since I got my license. And unfortunately, I have done it enough times since then that I'm pretty confident in my tire-changing abilities. However, if anything else starts to go wrong, I get this sinking feeling in my stomach and immediately start to think of who I can call who might possibly take pity on me and help me out. And when it comes to taking my car into a shop, I'm a nervous wreck. I just know that the mechanic will take one look at me and know how totally ignorant I am. I hate the feeling that either A) You're being taken advantage of and sold unnecessary services or B) The guy just has no patience for you.

This is why I appreciate so much the place where I get my oil changed (called Time-It Lube, if you're curious). They have their female-customer-protocol down to an art. The guy who comes out to the car always opens the car door and the waiting-room door for me. Um, yes, please! The mechanic always goes over everything with me before I pay the bill. Example: "We checked your oil filter and it's good for another few oil changes, we checked the fluid levels in thus-and-so, and cleaned off the battery whatchamacallits. Your whatsit cap is on good and tight, and such-and-such and so-and-so." (It all makes so much sense to me :) ) Then after I have paid, they start the car, usher me in, and close the door for me. I come away feeling so feminine! On top of all this, they have a "Ladies' Day" on Wednesdays and give 15% off to any lady that comes in. I'll take that.

I've never paid attention to how they interact with guys that bring their cars in. I wonder how different it is. Probably just the opening doors part. I guess they can afford to give a ladies discount because so few ladies bring cars in. I sure wouldn't want to if I had a husband who would do it for me! But these guys are definitely a close second!