Does your mechanic actually do the work?

Maybe I'm jaded by the dateline investigation series or the many other undercover operations but I never feel confident my mechanic is doing what he's supposed to be doing. If you believe the hype, these reports usually underscore isolated incidents...or does it shed light on a much larger problem? How do you know which mechanic to trust? At Jiffy Lube they change the oil in front of you. You can watch through the window in the lobby as the oil spits out.

But what about the horror stories you hear time and again. How does a regular Joe know if he is getting what he paid for? My suspicion is even higher when I use a coupon. You can always tell when the person taking your order is disappointed you bargain shopped for a deal or downloaded coupons from their websites. How many of these places work on commission?

As a seasoned salesperson myself, I can appreciate the guy trying to upsell a service but there is a distinct line when it comes to doing it with integrity or tricking your customers. Even at NTB, the guy presented 3 oil change options that were "add-ons" to the basic oil change - it was presented in a fashion that most people would not understand they didn't have to buy it at all.

I wish I could say that I blindly trust the services provided by chain-store mechanics. How do you guarantee you are getting what you pay for without doing it yourself?

Hooky Day

Today began with the potential to be a fantastically wonderful day (mid 70's, bright sun shining, crisp breeze...you get the picture!). I started by trying to convince my fiance that she should call in sick so we could lounge around in the sun, read books, go for a bike ride and maybe start to tackle some of our spring projects since the next five weekends will be out of town or preoccupied. She was unmoved by my earlier persuasions but something struck a cord; half-way to work my fiance called her boss to let her know that she "had too much going on" and needed a personal day.

Why on earth she couldn't simply call in sick when we started this charade is beyond me. We spent 30 minutes cultivating an approach and/or an excuse to taking a hooky day and finally decides to play along after the day is already half over. Not to mention she has already showered, done her hair and makeup, changed twice and driven half-way to work!

Anyway, we got the oil changed on both of our vehicles, had a decent lunch and then split up. She went shopping (like, no duh!) and I went to the office to take care of some outstanding issues (real surprise there). I took off to get a jump start installing our new storm door from Menards.

This, my friends, turned out to be the hardest simple project I've ever tried to do. Nothing seemed to fit where it was supposed to, the door was freaking heavy and awkward and the directions seemed written for a different door. Nothing made any sense! Arrg!

What is your go-to excuse for taking a personal day?