| rev:text
| - A few months ago, what could have been A Horrible Thing happened.
I was on Sahara, sitting at the light in front of Palace Station, about to get on the ramp for southbound I-15, when someone knocked on my driver-side window. Whoa. I don't usually carry cash, so giving to charity in traffic isn't going to happen, and a Friday afternoon after a very long day of herding freshmen is really not the best time for a carjacking, thanks.
But it turned out that the VERY kind driver behind me had hopped out of his car at the red light to tell me my tire was going flat. Uh oh. And me facing a cattle chute to the freeway.
This was the start of a lucky afternoon. The kindness of strangers continued as I was able to do some lane-changing that would curry admiration from any Strip taxi driver. Sure enough, I had a flat coming on, but the Yelp app showed me that I was a short slow-and-careful drive away from a Goodyear garage. Yes! As I puttered into the Bruce Scher parking lot, I was so grateful that I couldn't complain about the unexpected repair bill and time lost that had replaced more pleasant evening plans.
This part of Las Vegas is not always the prettiest, and even though I work in the area and did the whole "poor but honest hipster living in the blighted urban landscape"-thing in my 20s, deep down I'm still an uptight child of suburbia when it comes to things like tagging. Bruce Scher has several examples of this kind of vandalism around it, but the property itself is clean and professional both inside and out. After explaining the problem, I settled in to a very comfortable chair in the showroom waiting area. The chairs were set up around a large television, a soda machine, and complimentary coffee.
Already seated was an older gentleman who'd been coming here for years. He carried on a conversation with everyone - the staff, me, other customers who came in - like it was the porch of the general store in another decade. The staff cheerfully chatted with him as they went about their tasks, calling him by name and clearly genuinely pleased to have him there.
As other customers arrived, I noticed the same treatment - something beyond courtesy. These are the kind of people who look you in the eye, listen, and treat you like a person they hope to see again. In the 40 or so minutes I spent at Bruce Scher, I came to realize that Las Vegas really does have actual neighbourhoods where people get to know each another, and this seemed to be THE place for people around here to get their car serviced. Even the customers were happy.
Well, I can see why. After an apology for the wait (40 minutes on a busy Friday afternoon when I'd arrived to a bunch of full bays? Pshaw!), one of the staff told me that I'd had a small nail in the tire, they'd patched it up, and I was ready to go. Excellent! As I approached the cash register to pay, the man handed me my keys and wished me a great day.
Whuh?
Yes, that was it. Not even a token charge for time spent.
I'm not giving Bruce Scher five stars because they gave me a freebie. My mind was made up before my car was even done. This company knows what it's doing, and it's doing it well. As I listened to the staff interact with their customers, every discussion came across as knowledgeable, respectful, and honest. The waiting area is actually comfortable and pleasant, and clearly the mechanics can work quickly. There must be at least fifty tire stores between where I live and Bruce Scher, but this is where I'll be buying my next set of tires. This is the kind of business that's a pleasure to support.
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