Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Time to fire the mechanic

A woman took her car into the shop to have it repaired.  It was making a bit of a clinking sound and she wanted to have it taken care of.
She could have gotten a new car but she'd had this car for a very long time and even though it was old and having a few problems she was very fond of it and did not want to part with it.
Every four years or so it seemed to have a little something else going on so she would take it to the mechanic and try and have it fixed. 
Sometimes the mechanic could fix it.  Sometimes he would adjust things around the problem, it would generally fix that problem but eventually another one would pop up due to the fix.
She'd worked long and hard to afford this car and she wanted to keep it forever. 
Everyone that saw her car was green with envy.  You see it was one of a kind.  There really wasn't another like it.  There were some that were similar but none exactly like it.
The manufacturer had made this one especially and exactly the way she had specified and she loved it dearly.
Well, like I said, she took it to the mechanic because it was giving her a bit of a problem and she wanted it to be repaired.
The mechanic she took it too was fairly new at his job but he promised her that all her hopes for her car would be exceeded and that the change in it's behavior would leave her extatic. 
Oh how she hoped he could change her car and make it back to the way it was.  Maybe not back to its original self but at least close.
And besides, he was the only mechanic around, she didn't have much of a choice.
After about 3 days she called to check on her car.
"Well," the mechanic told her, "it's like this.  You see, when I got in there I realized I wasn't really familiar with your make of car.  The machanic that worked on it 4 years ago really messed it up and now you want me to fix it.  You know he is the one that really messed this car up for you.  And besides that, it is a prototype that I had only heard of.  I never really liked that prototype so I started taking it apart.  I have it all apart right now and I still haven't found what was making the noise.  But, you give me a few more days and I will get parts that I like and I will rebuild your car to my specifications.  It will not be the same car you drove in with but that really shouldn't matter to you as you didn't build it yourself anyways now did ya?  Oh yeah, and I forgot to tell you.  I am going to donate the parts off of your car to other people for their cars because, well, you won't need them and it wouldn't be fair for them not to have them when they could use them.  Oh and one more thing, since they are specially made parts I am going to have to charge you for putting them in their cars.  Oh yes, and I forgot to tell you that I am also going to have to charge you double what I thought it was going to cost to fix your car originally because, well I can since there is really no one else that can fix it."
The woman was aghast.  How could this be happening?  He had promised her it would be good as new.  He had not said that he didn't know what he was doing when he started.  That is why the town chose him over the objections of many to be the town mechanic. 
"No thank you," she told him.  "Please put it back together just the way it was.  The town is deciding on a new mechanic next week and I will let him fix my car."
The mechanic was not happy about this.  He had already promised these expensive one of a kind parts to many people.  He started telling the people that this woman did not want to share her car parts with them.  That she was selfish.  It did not matter that she had worked hard all her life to afford these things.  It did not matter that she had always been available to lend them a hand when they needed.  No.  This mechanic started telling them that she didn't like them and that she didn't like him and that she was trying to get another mechanic in that would not give them the parts off of her car that she clearly did not need.
The people, whose cars were in need of repairs, but they had no money to take care of them, rose in one voice, "Stingy!"  That is what they started saying about her and anyone else that thought she was right for not wanting her beautiful car destroyed by this inept mechanic.
"Stingy," they cried.
The other mechanic, the one who had went to school to learn how to take care of such matters,and had a reputation for doing so, spoke with a loud voice.  "I can make her car back to the way it was.  It may not be perfect but it will be really good and running great the way it should."  The people demanded to know if they would be geting the spare parts from her car from him and if she would be paying for it?"
"Why should she pay to have your cars repaired," the new mechanic wanted to know?
"So that it would be fair.  We know she worked hard and paid for the car all by herself but she should have to share her good fortune with all of us."
Well, that did not make any sense to the woman so she fired her mechanic and hired the new guy.
November 6th is coming.  Dont' you think it is time to fire the mechanic???

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