This mostly really happened.
A handsome couple came into the bike shop wanting to buy a gift certificate for one of their mothers for her birthday. The idea was to get moms bicycle tuned up. They figured a gift certificate was a safer bet than stealing moms bike from her garage. and hoping she didn’t notice it was gone before we were done. So in order for the couple to decide on the value of the gift certificate, I felt obliged to explain in agonizing detail all the different bicycle tunes we offered. They picked the full day spa treatment for Mom’s bike and the proper gift certificate was purchased. The couple then told me that they needed go to a nearby liquor store to taste a lot of Scotch Whiskeys. I wondered for a moment if I had been a bit long-winded.
At that point they seemed to rush for the door.
Shortly after their departure, another handsome young couple came in to have us look at their bicycles. The young man had a mountainous, mountain bike due to his stature. It was fine except that its tires were starved for air and it was a bit dusty. I put 65 psi into his tires and suggested he dust off his bike. The young lady’s steed was more diminutive, but had a broken spoke on the drive side of the rear wheel. Not a quick repair, but not a day long affair either. The store was still quite busy and I suggested that she leave the bike so we could get it done and she and her dream date would not have to wait around. They said that would be fine, and they could walk home after they tasted some Scotch Whiskeys at a nearby liquor store. After we filled out the repair ticket they bolted out the door too.
Moments later the bike shop closed for the day and my boss suggested that I should repair the spoke on the young lady’s bike immediately. It took me about fifteen minutes to affect the repair. I replace the spoke, trued the wheel and put it all back together. Rather than call, I remembered that before they left, the couple said that they too were heading to a nearby liquor store to taste a lot of Scotch Whiskeys.
Now if I were at a Scotch Whiskey tasting at a nearby liquor store, I know it would take me more than fifteen minutes to lose interest and go home, so I rushed out the door of our shop and headed over to the nearby liquor store hoping that handsome couple number two would still be there.
Having been to the nearby liquor store before made it easy for me to find the handsome couple in front of the Scotch Whisky area with the proprietor. I was so happy that I caught them before they left to walk home. Gleefully I announced to the young woman that her bike was all done, repaired, fixed. She stared at me like I was some crazed serial killer about to attack her. The liquor store proprietor told her to ignore me that I did this sort of thing all the time to get free booze samples. The young man explained that they had not brought in a bike for service yet. They had only bought a gift certificate for Mom. He then carefully removed the mace from his partner’s hand as the proprietor handed me a glass of Rum finish Scotch Whiskey to try. I was so excited that I got the young lady’s spoke repaired, I neglected to notice that this was handsome couple number one! I apologized, and slugged down the Scotch.
Sheepishly, I headed back to the asylum to call the young lady from handsome couple number two to inform her that her bike was now ready and to ask her if she disliked Scotch Whiskey. I then applauded her for her speed walking ability. She informed me that she would be in on Monday to recover her ride. She could not stop laughing when I regaled the incident to her, about my blunder in the nearby liquor store.
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