Features July-Dec 2002 |
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It was 7:15a.m. and there were 12 people in the waiting room. On the 30-inch TV screen, Katy Couric and Matt Lauer were the entertainment of the morning.
Coffee cups sat on small tables. Some people stared at the TV as others spent their time reading the complementary newspapers. Additional people, like myself, had brought a book to read. The room held 20 padded chairs with arm rests and three tables each surrounded by four wooden chairs. Parts and Service awards of excellence adorned the walls. These plaques made the waiting people feel safe knowing that people of excellence were servicing their cars. There were prints of Paris cafe's and cobbled stone streets along the other walls, as the room extended into an L shape. Along one of the other walls was a counter with coffee and cream containers, and a cooler with water. Hidden around the corner were the rest rooms. The parts center was conveniently located near by for those wanting to shop. You could get steering wheel covers for $7.99 and litter bags for $14.99. There were gaskets and hubcaps. If you wanted a new computerized key made it was only $99.00. The news continued on the TV. As the clock ticked down to 8 a.m. more people started to arrive. One woman, on her cell phone, was letting someone know that she would be later than expected. From my vantage point I could see cars moving into the service area. Service personnel filled out the necessary papers and then the cars were driven into the service work area out of sight. Each time the door opened everyone in the room looked up. The cars that had been completed were not posted on the board with bright lights, but a serviceman came in to call the name of the owner. We read, we watched TV and we waited. At 9:15 my name was called and I gingerly left the room to pay my bill. All in all it was not an unpleasant experience. My car is happy and so am I knowing that I can drive 5000 more miles before I have to come back to this waiting room. September 5, 2003
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