Never in my life have I had such unwarranted, terrible treatment. I pulled into this service station yesterday during the blizzard and the man that spoke to me was not kind.
Any good business owner should know that just a small amount of kindness can go a long way. Any auto repair shop owner/employee should know that a crying woman struggling with a car issue could probably use your help. It's a shame that this repair shop seems to disagree with me.
I pulled into the station yesterday because I had zero visibility out my windshield. While stopping at the light in front of this shop the snow on top of my car slid in front of my windshield completely obstructing my view. Thankfully a nice truck driver stopped two lanes of traffic so I could pull into the service station. Somehow the snow managed to scratch part of my windshield as well. Frustrated, I started crying.
I stopped my car in front of one of the four pumps at the station and got out to scoop off the snow. Before I could clear off 1/4 of my windshield, a man stepped out of the shop. I thought he was going to see if I wanted gas, or maybe a little help, since I was struggling, but no.
The man yelled over to me that he had been working hard to keep his lot shoveled all day. I glanced at the ground where I had been putting the snow from my windshield. I was confused by the statement so I laughed nervously and explained what had happened. In the moment, didn't understand why he was upset...it was still snowing really hard! He responded by saying I should have cleaned the roof of my car better. I agreed and apologized for brushing snow off my car onto his lot. I told the man how sorry I was and that I wouldn't have been doing it if it werent an emergency. He replied by saying how much he had to shovel today and wanted to know 'whats wrong with me'? I know how hard small business owners work on any day of the week...if this guy was also shoveling his whole lot by hand, he had every right to be upset. It was a big lot and it was pretty well shoveled considering the weather!
I immediately felt worse in the realization of what I was doing and asked if I could finish clearing off my windshield and borrow a shovel to clean up the mess. I didn't get a chance to say so, but I also needed gas, wiper fluid, and someone to tell me if my windshield was cracked or just scratched. The man informed me that he did not have (or was not willing to give me) a shovel and that I needed to take what I was doing to a side street or my own driveway...I wanted to tell him my wipers weren't functional and that I couldn't see well enough to drive into a busy street in what were already bad conditions, but this man was upset and I didn't want to make matters worse. He was staring me down waiting for me to return to my vehicle anyway and I was very uncomfortable.
Maybe this guy was having a rough day, or maybe I don't fully understand how I wronged this guy. I do know that I would have gladly re-shoveled for him and supported his business had he not been so rude. Go somewhere else. I'm sure there are plenty of other shops that'd gladly help a girl in distress! read more