Ohio is losing jobs in big hacking amputations.  It seems like every other day there is a story in the paper about another manufacturer or business going out of business.  I don't think it is too far a leap to extrapolate people who are still working in this state, want to keep their jobs.  No one really wants to be looking for a new position in this economic environment.

Or not.

Yesterday while out running errands, I noticed my left rear tire was low and getting lower by the stop.  Since it was cold, snowy, and my van is pretty dirty right now, I didn't want to stop on the side of the road to change it.  I picked up a nail somewhere so while it needed attention, it wasn't dire.  My last stop was Wal-Mart so I pulled around to the tire center.  I needed to get some dishwashing liquid and a few other items and figured this would be the best use of my time.  Something I can't seem to get enough of lately.

I asked the technician to put a plug in the tire.  He nodded, told me I was second in line, and handed me a pick up ticket.

I did my shopping, dish soap, an extra pair of mittens, a new scarf and some slippers.  I was in the book section reading excerpts an hour later when I heard my name being paged.  I knew there was a problem when the man on the speaker system said I needed to return to the service department for a question.

I pushed my cart to the rear of the store, where three men with bed head, greasy fingernails, and pot bellies were having a great time laughing and talking smack to each other.

I cleared my throat.  The youngest asked for my name.  I told him.  He said, "Oh yeah.  We can't plug your tire."

"Why not?"  Seemed a logical next question.

The guy says, "Two of your tires are slick.  We can't plug a tire that's slick."

I thought that was an odd thing since we just had the tires rotated at the dealer a couple weeks ago.  They never mentioned it.  I was also pretty sure my tires weren't "slick" because my husband is anal about that kind of thing.  As far as he's concerned this is the place where his wife and children spend a lot of time.  It's his duty to do all he can to make sure it is safe and comfortable.  Not to mention I am no slacker.  I check my vehicle out, tires, lights, oil, air pressure, etc on a somewhat regular basis.

Were they going to try and sell me new tires?  I was almost sure this is where they were headed.  It made the most sense after all.  The economy is bad so Wal-Mart is having their service department push products.  Right?  Kind of like those quick lube and oil places.  When we travel cross country we use those because they are fast.  But we have NEVER been to one who does the oil change and sends us on our way.  They are always trying to tell us we need something we don't.

As this was running through my head another one of the men told two women and a man why they couldn't perform the requested service on their vehicle.  My eyes narrowed in suspicion.  Couldn't help it.  It seemed like they were looking for ways NOT to do any work.

I ran into this type attitude in the Air Force occasionally.  Some NCO who hated his/her job or didn't feel like being bothered that day, sat behind a desk and told me a hundred reasons why they just couldn't help.  How it just "can't be done."

It's the same type attitude I run into occasionally with government employees (like the DMV).  They take an almost sadist glee in saying they can't help and just try to make them!

I've dealt with it enough to know that once someone decides they aren't going to work that day, its useless to force the issue.  If they are somehow forced to do their job, it won't be right, and may take twice as long to fix as it did to accomplish.

So I said, "Ok, fine.  Can you put some air in it?  It was looking low when I pulled in."

His answer didn't match the nod he gave me.  "It is low.  But we can't put air in it either."

Of course not.

I sighed.  "How much air is in it?"

He shrugged.

"Is it safe to drive?"

He shrugged again.

"Do you know if there is a gas station close by with an air pump?"

"I don't know."

He handed me my keys.  I took them and said, "I can pay for these things here right?"

He nodded.

He rang me up, bagged my things with his greasy hands, and watched me walk out into the snow.  I put the bag in my van, pulled my tire pressure gauge out of the glove box and a penny from my purse.

Was honest Abe going to make a liar of the unhelpful man?  I shoved the penny head first into the groove and guess what?  It sunk to his nose.  Now if the tire was "slick" then I'd have seen the top of Abe's head and/or the words "In God We Trust" and well, the guy inside, the one who refused to do his job, woulda been right.

But nope.

So I checked the tire pressure and determined it was probably ok to drive straight home.

I called my husband to verify my determination.  He told me to go on home but he was angry.

I fumed but made it home without mishap.  When I unwrapped and started putting things away, I realized the guy who refused to do his job, also refused to do ANYTHING well.  He charged me for the dish soap but couldn't be bothered to put it in the bag!  I hate when that happens.

Not only did I get no help, but was ripped off in the process.

How bad can the economy be when people like this are still paid to ignore and cheat customers?

Shesh.