Well, I was going through and the darn thing just died [}
]. Typical for this type of operation the attendant was just a student trying to get some cash, you know, no experience, no training, no hope, just trying to make a little money [:I]. Well, after sitting in the middle of this darn thing for about 10 minutes the poor guy comes to the door of the car and asks me to be a little patient. He has to phone his "buddy", (note, not the manager of the place) to get some advice.
I just finished putting in the last of at least 20 hours on my Labour Management project for University (yes, I'm a mature student trying to get out of the rut of general labour)and I was in no real hurry to get anywhere so I agreed. The poor guy was in such a bad state because of his own confusion why should I make it any worse? [:I] The music on the radio was just what the doctor ordered so I decided to just sit back and enjoy the rest before my days chores continued.
Anyway, about 10 minutes later, he comes back, very upset and obviously scared that I may just go postal on him, and tells me the darn thing is toast for today. He can offer me a replacement wash when the machine is on the go again, but for now I just have to drive out. He tells me that I have to go forward because the crazy person behind me (I was really pissed off at the person behind me when the attendant told me what they had said about him and his skils, as if he designed the car wash in the first place. What's wrong with people anyway, it's not this kids fault the darn thing broke?[:I])won't back up. It's my guess the dumb #%$@#$%&^%& behind me didn't know what the "R" stands for on his steering column.
Well, I just ever so slowly move the car forward until I touch the next drive roller. I ease the car over the roller as painfully slowly as I possibly can and when the car comes down, the nose drops as you can well imagine, and the front muffler clamp catches the undercar sprayer. Crunch
, Lurch, Bang
, Lurch, Crunch[:0] and lots of Exhaust noise. I knew something was wrong but there is no point in stopping now. [xx(] Over the rest of the rollers I go and the rest of the underwashers and no problem but lots of noise.
After exiting the machine, I look under the car and the passenger side rocker cover is on the ground
, the exit hole on the drivers side cover is badly damaged [B)]and the exhaust system is missing [:0]! I go back through the machine, find my muffler and pipes and go back to the entrance to find the attendant to see what's going to happen next. Besides, my car is still covered in soap and whatever.
The poor kid is just beside himself. He just doesn't have any idea what to do. So I first told him to calm down. It's only a car and it can be fixed. I got him started hosing the soap and stuff off the car so he could calm down and see I wasn't mad at him. After all, he didn't do anything regardless of what that other jerk thought. When he was finished and could converse with me in a manner that resembled two adults talking, I told him I worked a car wash when I was his age and it was no big deal really
. All he had to do was fill out an insurance claim form stating very clearly that the damage was the fault of the car wash itself, that neither he or I were responsible in the least
and let the insurance company take care of it. Well, he was so relieved that I wasn't yelling and screaming tha he was only too happy to do as I suggested.
The next step was to find a muffler place open late on a Saturday afternoon. I thought I'd never make it any shop with the sound my injured PT was making. I'd almost forgot just how loud a car is when there is no muffler or pipes at all. Anyway, Midas was closed, two other local repair shops were closed and I eneded up at Speedy. The guy at Speedy wasn't to sure if he could fix it because of the damage to the pipes themselves, but he said he would try but I had to be understanding. Sure, I agree, what else am I going to do [:I]? He's the only guy open. Anyway, I go for some late lunch and when I re