Pay it Forward

Last week one of my and my wife's friends had gone out with some co-workers to celebrate one of their birthdays.  They ate and had a few drinks while they were out, and being responsible our friend decided to take a cab home instead of driving.  The next day my wife drove her to pick her car up in the morning on her way to work.  When they arrived at the place her car was they noticed she had a flat tire.  Walking around her car they realized that all her tires were flat.  It was obvious that someone had decided to let the air out of all her tires.

As they were standing there deciding what to do a young man, they said in his thirties, walked out of one of the businesses that was nearby and walked over to see if he could help.  After they told him the problem, which he could easily see, he said that he had been wanting to get an air compressor and that this was a perfect reason to go ahead and do it.  He told them that he would go pick one up real quick and be back to air her tires up.  They walk inside a nearby restaurant and grab something for breakfast while they wait and he shows back up shortly to air her tires up.

As he starts to air up the first one he notices that they didn't just let the air out of her tires but cut the valve stems to do it.  Once again he tells them that he will pick up some new stems and be right back.  He returns in another short period of time and gets to work replacing the valve stems and airing the tires back up.  When he gets back the second time my wife leaves to go to work, at this point it was evident that our friend would be taken care and didn't need anything else from my wife.

Our friend offers to pay for any expense the guy had, which he declined, so she offered to buy him lunch when he was done.  As he started finishing up she said that she was going to run inside the restaurant and use the restroom but that she would be right back and they could grab some lunch.  However when she returned he had already put all his things up and left after he had finished repairing and filling her tires.

The point I really want to make is what a wonderful community we would have if everyone just did that one thing no matter how big or small everyday to have that positive effect on someone else.  It doesn't have to be going out of your way like this guy did, but just something to make a difference in someones day.  It could be as small as making sure someone knows you appreciate their service where your eating at or holding the door for someone walking in or out of a building.  You never know when someone may just need to be reminded that people care about each other whether they know each other or not.  We should all just try to pass a smile along everyday.

Anyone taking the time to read this please like it and share it.  I don't know who the guy was that helped my friend out, but maybe he sees this and knows that what he did is appreciated, and that I thank him for taking his time to help someone out who needed it.

My first 30 days

I've been here at Rick Jones Buick GMC in El Reno, OK for 30 days now.  It took some getting use to since I have worked for larger dealers in the past, but I feel right at home here now.

It's easy to see from the quality of people I work with why this place has such a huge amount of customer loyalty.  I've never worked anywhere with so many repeat customers and people who just stop in to say hello.  The customers bring donuts by in the morning for the guys from time to time.  They stop by whenever they are in the neighborhood just to talk.  I've had customers tell me "Welcome to the family" when someone introduces me and tells them I just started.  It truly is amazing.

Everything here flows from Rick Jones, the man.  Rick has owned the dealership for over 25 years.  He is here at work everyday and I'm sure it's been that way from day 1.  Most of the people stopping here want to speak with Rick, probably because they know him personally.  Rick probably sold them the vehicle they're driving, or one to their parents, or most likely everyone in their family.  They might know Rick from his involvement in his community here in El Reno.  He stays busy with local meetings and committees when he's not here working.  You would think Rick would put his office in the back of the dealership somewhere so he could get some work done, but it's right in the front and everyone coming to see him knows exactly where his door is, and that door is just like you would expect it to be, always open.  Rick is the kind of boss you want to work for.

Most of the people here like working for him so much they've been working here for over 10 years, some 15 years, and even for as long as Ricks owned the dealership.  Little to no turnover at an auto dealership tells you plenty about the kind of environment it is and tons about the people that work here.

I would recommend to anyone looking for a vehicle or just needing to have some service done to stop in to Rick Jones Buick GMC in El Reno, OK and see what customer service is really like.  If you're lucky you may even get to meet Rick himself.  It will only take one trip out to make you another loyal customer and friend.