The Black Dimond Tire Shop (the word Diamond is misspelled, I suppose deliberately, to distinguish it from a Black Diamond Tire shop in Philadelphia, PA), is also known as Empire Tire Shop. It is owned and operated by a young man named Ismael. Although I am nearly four times his age, in our interactions he turned out to be the more mature person.
I will begin this story with my observation that Ismael is a very capable and conscientious auto mechanic. Upon inspecting a flat tire he quickly determined the cause: a defective valve stem. He replaced the valve stem and air-filled the tire and now the tire is fully operational. He refused to take any money for this work and for you to understand why I have to tell you the rest of this story. I would tell you this story anyway, because it reveals what a fine person Ismael is.
You see, this flat tire was one of two identical tires that Ismael had installed in my car. I discovered that one of these tires was flat shortly after he installed it. I called him and reported the problem and he invited me to air-fill the flat tire and then drive my car to his shop. But whenever I tried to fill this tire the air inside would quickly dissipate, so I concluded that driving my car to his shop was not feasible. Adding to my frustration was an assumption I was making which turned out to be incorrect, namely that Ismael was responsible for my having a flat tire, either because the tire was defective to begin with or else because he had installed it improperly.
At my first opportunity I called Ismael a few days later, after he had already closed his shop, and angrily insisted that he arrange to pick up my car from the place I had parked it and tow it to his shop. Ismael calmly listened to my tirade and then offered to meet me immediately at my car and inspect the tire. He did not get angry with me and expressed only his disappointment that I was talking to him so impatiently and, indeed, disrespectfully. As soon as he arrived he saw that the problem was the tire's valve stem. He put the flat tire into his car and then drove me to his shop and fixed the problem, then drove us back to where my car was parked and reinstalled the tire. He did not want to be paid for all his time and effort, regarding the incident as due to an unfortunate misunderstanding. This was a very benevolent way to look at the situation, given my intemperance and unjustified faultfinding.
I will be returning to Ismael's shop at my earliest opportunity so that he can install, as a precaution, new valve stems on the rest of my tires. Of course I will compensate him for this additional work ... It's the least I can do to repay him for his kindness. read more