I am not car savvy, but my little Ranger truck was making noises.
I was told I should get my rear brakes done by someone who obviously knows less about cars then I do.
I started calling all the near by shops ( I live in Wetaskiwin ), and everyone was closed. I eventually got in contact with Midas. Bev said sure, come on down, we can book you in for 1:00
Just to speed the story up a bit, I arrived early and met Mike. I told him my bit and he said no problem, took my keys and off we went.
So, here is the thing. This shop is busy. Not like, oh man....it's Saturday and I have a honeydo list, but just want to watch hockey busy. They are full tilt.
And just like me ( I know, I kinda eavesdropped a bit ) most of the other customers don't have any idea what they need/want either but they pretend they do.
Sooo, my appointment is for 1:00 and the guys in the back are full out, Mike and Bev are at 200% and the customers keep calling and walking in.
Annnnd, I cold called first thing with a vague idea of what I needed.
They pulled a rabbit out of there hat and got my truck in at about 120, which I figured was pretty damned impressive just from the amount of foot traffic alone that do walk in's at this branch. Never mind those of us who called in advance.
Then the sky dropped on me from a great height.
Because I'm an idiot, after I bought my used truck like a month ago, I never had it rechecked. It turns out, the bolts on my front drivers side caliper took a holiday and never returned. The weird grinding noise and sticky feeling from the night before was my caliper bouncing off the rotor and inside wheel rim.
Let's recap shall we,
Truck shit's the bed, I get bad advice as to what is wrong and needs to be fixed, next morning I have to hunt around just to find a shop that is even open on Saturday, I get to one of the bussiest shops I have seen in my life and my appointment is only off by like 20 minutes. The truck is discovered to be completely fubar, It's now like 200 in the afternoon on a Saturday.
Somehow, and I really mean this in a, God himself walked down the mountain and waved his hand kind of way....
Mike sourced new rotors, shoes,bearings and seals and a damn caliper for a 1995 ford ranger....on a Saturday ( and again, I kind of eavesdropped a bit, I heard him make at least one call were he asked the person on the other end if he placed an order, would they garentee it arrived in time to get the truck out that afternoon, obviously the answer was no as he just hung-up and called the next place in a " we are getting this done and I don't need excuses kind of way" )
It was kind of impressive to watch the operation in general.
Between Mike and Bev, they must have helped 40 different customers while I was there and the phone never stops ringing. These two are almost a force to watch.
And none of that includes the fact that the boys in the back were apperantly having a bad day, you could hear them. So Mike was also having to work with his mechanics to just keep his shop running.
Now here is the Climax of this stupid long review,
They gave me my truck back shortly after 4.
It still needs shocks and struts, ( and considering how things have actually turned out vs what the inspection told me, I suspect a lot more ).
But they diagnosed and repaired my truck, they delt with a double arms length of customers, they never got off the phone longer then 30 seconds and the did this all while being half a step ahead a bunch of medium frustrated mechanics.
And they were the nicest people.
So, to all the negative reviews I have seen....open your eyes....take a look around and see just what these guys are actually doing....and they do it despite the land mines you drop in front of them to dodge, while also dealing with the other 25 people who also think they are the only person in the universe.
I will happily bring my truck back here again.
10/10 read more
