Here we were - in Pella to stop at a bakery for snacks on our way home to Florida after visiting our daughter and her family in Ankeny, Iowa. Sounds fun, right? Well... We were having a coffee and picking our pastries while my husband took our dog, George Banks, for a walk. I got a phone call. From my husband. This can't be good - did Banksy get loose? Did he get lost? Nope. He got back to the car and it wouldn't start. Dead as a doornail. He said he's already called AAA and they said 2-4 hours because they were across the state and no one else was close. He was fuming. I said, calm as always - no worries! I'll find someplace to come over and look at it. He said he thought it sounded sluggish that morning but chalked it up to the weather...so a battery too. Hmmm... I called one place, not naming names, and they said No, we'd have to bring the car to them. Ut oh. This may be a problem in a small-ish town... I called Bob's. "Bob here! What can I do for you?" I liked him already! I explained our tragic story - much like I just regaled y'all with - and he said, "Which bakery?" I told him ( Pella is known for their German bakeries!) He said he would be right there - and he was! Like 2 minutes! He jumped the car and had us follow him to his shop. Then he replaced the battery in about 5 minutes - all his friends seemed to come out and watch while he told us to just stay cozy in the car. We could hear them chatting and it reminded us of our own small town upbringings. So kind! The real kicker here that confirms that EVERYONE should use Bob's? When he was done, he told us to drive around town for a bit and make sure it was good before we should get on the road to Florida. My husband said he would walk inside to pay and Bob said, "No, you can pay when you come back." That is just unheard of these days and it warmed our hearts to know kind people that trusted other people to do the right thing - that's missing in SO many places. Thank you, Bob. For helping us, not gouging us when you knew we were in a jam, and for trusting us. It made us miss our small town upbringing and made us realize why our daughter loves Iowa so much! We will be back - but I'm hoping we can just see you in a bakery next time! read more

Bob Vander Wilt is the best auto mechanic and one of the best human beings whom I've ever known. I've used him to solve problems that my car has had over the past eleven years. He has never failed. He doesn't charge for the time that he spends diagnosing a problem, he works fast, and his rates for fixing the problem once he's figured out what it is are reasonable. read more