Mr. Lube.... You up before they throw sand in your ass

This weekend ushered in the first oil change of 2009. Hooray for Marcy Darcy (That's my car's name).

I pulled in to Meineke (home of the $20 oil change) half an hour after they opened on Saturday, only to find they were booked up for the entire day. I found this odd, as every time I've ever tried to book an oil change with them, they stated that this location's policy was to never take appointments. it's first come, first serve. Since I was at the store early on Saturday, I thought I'd challenge the clerk to see if he'd take me in right away or allow me to make an appointment for earlier in the day. Here's how the conversation ran:

Stephen - Hi, I'm here to get an oil change.
Clerk - Sorry, we're booked for the day
S - You guys just opened. How can you be booked? I was told that you can't book an appointment here
C - Yes
S - Ok, so can I get my car serviced today?
C - Sorry, we're booked up for the day. Come back later.
S - Can I make an appointment for some time?
C - No, sorry, we don't take appointments.
S - So, how can you be booked for the day, if you don't take appointments?
C - Maybe come back later
S - When should I come back? you guys don't take appointments.
C - Do you want something for the weekend or the week?
S - Are we making an appointment?
C - No, we don't make appointments
S - So, why does it matter if I tell you when I'm coming in next?
C - Maybe make an appointment for sometime in the week

I decided that talking to this guy was like the snake that ate its tail- We're just going to go in circles. I left and decided to head to Mr. Lube. Sure, it's a little more, but the quality of service would be better.

I arrived at Mr. Lube to get the business done on my car. I was quickly ushered in Just in time too, as as soon as I pulled in a line of 3 cars formed behind me and the next bay. While the Lubers were disposing of the old oil and replenishing the car, I was approached by "The Hard Sell Man. Clearly, this guys job wasn't to put oil in the car as his hands were clean. He approached me with my old cabin air filter in hand, and asked me if I'd like it replaced. Normally, I replace my own cabin air filter, as it costs $20 from the store, and takes 5 minutes to complete; recently however, I haven't been able to find my model air filter in stock at any automotive store. I Asked Mr. Hard sell how much a replacement filter would be. He responded by saying, it was really cheap, so I said it would be fine for him to replace the filter, but to let me know the price before proceeding. He then said that my transmission fluid was dirty, and needed to be flushed. I told him I wasn't interested, as I could get my mechanic to do this for me. He continued to tell me that my car is in danger of failing due to the amount of shavings in my automatic transmission, and that the fluid needs to be changed regularly. Right then, I knew this guy was just full of crap. My car is a manual transmission. I told him I wasn't interested in anymore of his services. After an additional 2 minute lecture on transmission care, he finally left, only to return with the price of my cabin air filter. Hard Sell presented me with my old cabin filter and the new filter, and stated that the replacement and installation would be $100. Now, unless the mechanics are going to take the lady in the van next to me and perform a sex act on my hood while replacing the filter, there's no way I'm paying $100 to replace a $20 part. I stopped he guy and told him I wasn't interested as I normally change this part myself. Again, after a 2 minute lecture on the dangers of pollen creeping into my car through the vent, he sadly walked away, not making a single sale to me that day.

Revenge from the Lube people was swift. The oil change price jumped form $35 to $45 plus disposal and extra oil fees. My oil change came to $52. Almost double what I normally get charged at Meineke, and only $5 less than Ford's oil change.

The Lube Gods had defeated me that day. They were upset at the exchange I had with the Meineke people and felt that a Barrage of Mr. Lube Services and charges would weaken my will. in another 5,000 Kms, I will make my return to Meineke and hope to be in the good graces of the Lube gods.

Why people hate you

Why people hate you!

I’ve amassed a collection of reasons why people the certain things in life.

Dealership Mechanics:
Because they’re a Rip-off, and they don’t know what they’re doing. I recently went to ford to get my high-level service-3 maintenance done on my car. The dealership was looking to charge me to replace my fuel filter (which had been replaced in previous service 3 months ago). Fuel filters should be replaced every two years on my type of automobile. The dealership was going to charge me to remove my wheels twice. 1) $90 to remove my tires, and inspect the brakes, 2) $75 to once again remove the tires and rotate them. Now wouldn’t it make more sense to remove the tires once instead of removing them to check the brakes, then re-attaching them, only to re-remove them and rotate the tires? All in all, my dealership tried to scam me out of $245 in parts and labour above and beyond what was actually required. Aside from that I'm happy with Ford service. Ever wonder why you have problems keeping customers?

The City of Toronto:
Parking! Getting in to Toronto from the burbs is next to impossible unless you use a car. The problem is that once you get into the city, a lot of places don’t have enough parking. I recently parked in Toronto and got a ticket at 12:01 in the dot. The exact time parking was prohibited. This leads me to believe the parking attendant sat beside my car and waited for the stroke of midnight before he wrote his ticket. Parking in Toronto is the biggest scam out there. Not only is there a severe lack of parking, but when you do find parking the prices are through the roof. I can’t justify paying more money per hour for a parking spot than the attendant makes an hour. How bad must the attendant feel that he’s getting less money per hour than the spots he’s renting?

Family Day:
What a dirty holiday. IT was used as leverage to buy an election, and holds no weight as a valid holiday. Why not make Remembrance day a holiday? There’s a worthwhile cause! Why not give the masses a day off to recognize the sacrifices made by our war veterans? Why not set the holiday in the summer? Really, do we need a holiday in February? It’s true that we don’t have any holidays in February, but we do have Snow days & sick days. Kids across canada go to bed in February, praying to god that tomorrow will be a snow day. I can assure you not one kid has ever said " Please god, I pry that you'll make Feb 12 Family day"

10 items or less line:
Where are the 11+ item police when you need them? If someone puts more than 10 items on the conveyer of the 10 items or less line, it should be up to the cashier to turn them away. Unfortunately, Cashiers never turn them away. When one such inconsiderate customer puts 11+ items in an 10 and under line, I will do one of the two following things: 1) (If they're smaller than me) I'll say "Excuse me, did you realize you're in the 10 items or less line? The penalty for going over is buying me a box of Nerds." 2) (If they're bigger than me) That evening I go home and pray they develop a parasite that eats away at their urethra.

Bathroom Attendants:
I don’t want to pay you to hand me soap/towels/or CK one designer impostor cologne. 'nuff said.