Can you really trust a mechanic? (Part 1)

A short time ago a girl visited my auto repair shop because she heard a squeaking coming from her engine compartment. I thanked her for coming in and told here it was probably something simple that we could take care of right away.

“Your hamster wheel probably just needs to be lubricated,” I said non-plussed.

There was a slight quizzical look on her face, but she handed me the keys and said “okay.” Once I filled her in on the joke we shared a pretty good laugh.

But I wonder to myself: Why did she trust me? Most people, I have found, know little more about their cars than where to put gas in it. Vehicles are complicated machines that we rely on to get us to work, run our errands, and take the kids to practice. We know that our vehicle needs maintenance, but most of us are too lazy or don’t have the knowledge necessary to do so. Therefore, we place our trust in someone else to do these things for us.

So, who do we trust, and why? What makes you trust someone? Everyone is different. Some people trust easily and some trust no one. The fact is that there are many things throughout our lives that will require our trust, even if reluctantly. For many people, auto repair is one of those things where we will hand over the keys and say “fix my car.” Where do we take our vehicle to? Who do we trust to honestly evaluate the problem and not take advantage of our ignorance?

So, back to the hamster wheel. Why did this girl trust me? I hope it was because she saw that by cracking a joke, we became more human. That we were more interested in her as a person rather than making a buck. At my shop, its more about the people than the money. If I take care of the people the money will naturally follow suit.