Welcome back to Tire Mom! If you’ve been following the journey, you know that I was into Loop 4 when I headed for Pittsburgh, PA. I felt like I had this, you know? People were appreciative. Tire folks were helpful. I was healing from my grief. Things were bordering on being all good.
I had one of those visits with college roommate Margo and her husband John in Pittsburgh where you pick up right where you left off, even years ago. Times with friends like that who also knew Clayton continued to make me feel closer to him.
Margo then introduced me to Shayla, Tire Mom #15. Fifteen! This was like second nature to me now.
Until Shayla and I began our transactions with the salesman at the tire store she picked out. Can you say “rude”? He was snappy and short-tempered, something I had not encountered before on my journey. To this day I have no idea what his problem was. Seriously, who knows what kind of issues a person like that is dealing with?
But when no amount of patience and kindness on my part or that of the delightful Shayla was having any effect on Mr. Snappy’s mood, I was ready to take my business elsewhere. If this couldn’t be a joyful experience for everyone concerned, it wasn’t going to be an experience at all.
Just as I was reaching that decision, the guy revealed that the tires he had for sale were from 2017. While not outside the safety zone, they weren’t brand new, and that was what I was gifting to my Tire Moms. He was nice enough to call another store to find the set of tires we wanted. It was time to go elsewhere.
We made tracks for another store, where the salesman was cordial and the buying of tires a fun situation. As I knew so well, life is far too short to waste a moment on cranky people you can’t help.
If you’d like to comment today, and I hope you do, it’s tempting for me to invite you to vent about some salesperson who treated you like the bottom of his or her shoe. That, however, will get us nowhere. Instead, will you tell us about an experience in which those who waited on you went the extra mile? We need as much positivity in our lives as we can find,
Stay safe,
Diana Hubner
