Frank Sinatra once said, “Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the Bible says, ‘Love your enemy’.” I can get behind that. Prior to my questionable decision to serve the general public as a bastion of knowledge when it comes to automotive repair parts, I had dreams of being an upscale bartender. Stop laughing, it was a legitimate thing. While I’ve mellowed out over the years and only prefer a gin and tonic with lime or a good whiskey sour every now and then anymore, back in the day I was mixing up jungle juice recipes that would knock an entire Army battalion of soldiers flat on their ass. As Homer Simpson once toasted, “To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to all of life’s problems.”
Kevin, a service manager at a small-town auto repair shop, got to see a clear display of the “cause of” side of that phrase well. Here’s his story:
“One morning, I get a call from a longtime customer who we like to call Crazy Kate (note: name has been changed for privacy’s sake), and she tells me that she has a flat tire. I told her that once she gets the spare on it, she could swing by and drop it off for us to check out. Not five minutes later, she calls back: ‘I have to admit something: I drove home drunk last night with the parking brake on.'”
If you’re like me, readers, you may have seen YouTube videos of compilations of scenes that meet the “WTF?” criteria from shops the world over. If not, just type “Just Rolled In” into your search bar on YouTube, you’ll see what I mean. We’re talking everything from oil that hasn’t been changed since Clinton was in office, to cars that honk the horn, squirt the windshield washers and turn on the dome light every time you signal a left turn. Chalk this one up as another lesson. As Kevin said, “Needless to say, one area of the tire was burnt right off.” Not doubting that for a second. I’m sure that there was a who-dun-it drag mark trail from the party to wherever Kate’s hooptie wound up parked that night.
Don’t drink and drive, folks. It’s a stupid idea no matter what. Hopefully Kate’s flat-spotted tire was the clue she needed to get her things in order.
BangShift’s Unknown Parts Counter Guy is at the counter and is ready to hear your story. If you’ve got messed-up takes from your time behind the parts counter, working in an automotive repair shop, or any other field that’s related to automotive service, share your stories! CLICK HERE to submit your messed-up moments. And don’t worry, we’ll leave your name out of it if you want.
