Derogatory remarks

I wanted it to be a quick trip into town. Go to 2 stores, and get some new brake pads installed. That quick trip turned into an all day affair.

Ginger and I made it through the stores without any problems, and even met up with our friend Renee at target for a few minutes. Then we were off to Just Brakes.

Having never gotten brakes pads replaced, I thought it would be like an oil change 30 minutes,... maybe an hour. So when they told me it would be anywhere between 2 and 4 hours, I almost got up and left right then. I should have!

I didn't leave, but instead decided to walk next door to the movie theater, and get through the waiting that way. They told me they would call me if they needed approval for any extra work. Having Ginger with me, I wanted to pick a movie that would be fun for her, but unfortunately the only kids movie was Hannah Montana. I just couldn't make myself pay for that movie. We ended up watching Night at the Museum. It was funny, and Ginger actually watched parts, but by the end she was definitely ready to leave.

As we got closer to the shop, my heart sank when I saw that the car was still up in the air, with all 4 tires removed. They quickly told me they had been trying to call me, but that the number was bad. Somehow, despite my freakish number remembering mind, I had given them the wrong number! I mean, how often do you call your own cell phone anyways?

The mechanics showed me that several additional parts were broken, and should be fixed. This is why they hadn't done any work on the car. Of course, the first thing I did was call my all-knowing husband for some advice. While the tech was talking to Joe, I heard him quote some prices. $325 her, $199 there, another $82 here, and some more $95 there. None of this was sounding like anything I wanted to hear!

Joe called a scam, and up-pricing, so told me to get the same service (brake pads) that I had come in for, and he would take a look at it when I got home. The only thing: they hadn't done a lick of work, so they quoted me another 1.5 hour wait. Here I am, with a 3 year old that didn't have lunch or a nap, and I am supposed to sit in this nasty room for another who knows how long? Unfortunately I didn't have any other options.

I don't know if the guy wanted me to think he was really a nice person, or what, but the ice cream truck came by, and he offered to buy us some. Since we hadn't had any lunch, I figured why not. After we got back into the waiting area, the guy gave me this spiel that still just has my jaw drop to the floor when I think about it.

He started by telling me that whenever he saw me driving into the parking lot, he was like "oh no, a suburban like that will probably have other things broken besides just the brakes". That part wasn't too offensive. Then he went on to say that "then, no offense, when I saw it was a woman, I was like, oh, the wall will come up". Besides being totally derogatory, it made no sense. Of course I wasn't witty or smart enough to say anything back to him, and all I could do was smile and curse at him in my mind.

I did finally manage to make it out of there after 4.5 hours!!! So much for getting the house ready, and get rested for the weekend!