Have you ever given a referral for great service?

My morning started with a trip to a new (for me) auto service company to repair a broken wheel stud. The stud was broken off last Tuesday at the tire shop where I had purchased 4 new tires. The mechanic handed me my broken stud, a business card for the auto service company I visited today and a vehement denial of fault in how the stud got broken.

When I called the auto service company that day, I was told he'd need to order the item from the dealership, quoted me a price of $25 including labor and made the appointment for today.

When I arrived 10 minutes before they opened this morning, he opened the door and said "Come on in Susan. I just made a pot of coffee." Then he said the repair was no charge. I offered to pay at least for the parts and he said no, it was his good deed for the day.

I was prepared to pay the $25 and this was quite a pleasant surprise. As I sat there waiting for the repair (which only took 20 minutes), several other auto owners came in to drop off their cars. Each received a friendly, professional greeting and confident advice. He told each of them there would be NO CHARGE to diagnose their vehicle, they only pay for repairs.

On my way out I picked up his business card. On Monday a copy of that card is going out to all my friends and relatives and a thank you card is going to him along with a Tim Horton's gift card.

This guy just earned himself a new loyal customer. We'll be back in two weeks for a repair estimate on my husband's car.

KUDOS to Tommy Watts of Tom's Family Auto Care in Woodhaven...definitely a customer service hero!