MTFCA Forum

This is a story my Uncle Paul told me forty some years ago: Back in the days when Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs were taking their famous camping trips, they drove into a gas station and Henry asked the attendant to check the air in his tires. As the kid bent over to check the left front, Henry, who was driving, leaned out and told him, "I'm Henry Ford and my company made this car". The kid gave him a funny look and moved on to the right front tire, when the passenger leaned out and said, "I'm Harvey Firestone, and my company made the tires for this car".
The kid was getting a little perturbed, but moved to the right rear, when the passenger leaned out and said, "I'm Thomas Edison and my company made the light bulbs for this car". The kid was ticked off by all these crazy guys telling him this stuff, so when he got to the final tire, before the long white bearded gent could say anything, he pulled a 15" wrench out of his back pocket and waving at the guy said "Mr., If you tell me that you are Santa Claus, I'm going to hit you over the head with this wrench".

It's a great story and fun to hear.

We should remind young people there actually was a time when a gas station was a service station where people pumped gas,checked your oil,belts,wipers,and tires!! I do not miss getting gas in Indana when pump atendents had to add in the tax after the sale! I do not need to remember the restrooms when you were better off going out back!! Bud.

I remember those days! There was a station about a block from where I lived and I used to get all my services there. One day I went to get the oil changed and a lube. When I was done, I realized I had left my wallet home and didn't have the money to pay for it. (Now this man had filled my tank and did all the service for several years). He said I couldn't take the car until I paid for it. So I walked home and got my wallet and paid him. We lived there for several more years and from then on, I got the air, water and oil check but never bought anything including gas from him again! He bought the station across the street so I did the same thing there!
Norm

Boy oh boy, you sure showed him!!

Happy Christmas everyone, jb

One of my early jobs was in a *real* service station with a real shop in it (none of this MiniMart stuff)... we had "Full Service" where, yep, for a huge 10 cents a gallon more (big money back then) you got your tires, oil, battery, belts, water and coolant checked and your windows washed while the gas was pumping. BTW, the boss kept track of how many quarts of oil and wiper baldes you sold, and you had to sell so many a week... and if you sold a battery, you got a bonus. (Did I mention you also got the privilege of cleaning the restrooms,keeping the fuel islands and pumps clean and keeping the POS (in both ways) displays stocked?

Once you'd been there a while, you got to start learning the "secrets of the inner sanctum" of the actual shop that was part of a service station, where the wise men held court. Tire changes and lube work. And the chance to learn at the foot of the masters (all while also selling your oil and blades). And of course, while the boss was counting the days proceeds, and the mechanics were drinking beer, you got to sweep, hose, and squeegie the shop floor, count the tires and batteries, and do general cleanup. (And the "new guy" got all your old jobs... )

Oh man... I miss those days!

Norman -
As often happens, the "bad guy" doesn't always get punished in life. Too bad. Did he ever acknowledge your lack of patronage and ask why? He must have similarly ticked off other customers, if he treated a long-standing good customer like you in such a shabby manner. What he did to you just wasn't fair.
We all know the old saw: "Life is not fair." A former old-school judge acquaintance of ours once told a young lawyer in his court in answer to the lawyer's complaint that the judge's penalty fine for his client wasn't fair: "'Fair' is something you go to in the summer where you can see livestock, corn and 4-H activities. The word "fair" does NOT apply to real life." Kinda says it all, doesn't it?

Marshall