Les Schwab where everyone knows your name

Where Everyone Knows Your Name

Have you ever had that horrible experience where someone comes up to you and starts talking to you like you are old friends but you have no idea who they are? Well if not go to Les Schwab Tire Center and you will get to experience the pain of forgetting someone who should be  important to you. Why Les Schwab you may ask, well let me tell you. 

I was driving home from therapy thinking very positive thoughts when I felt my car pulling strangely to the left. The last time I had felt this pulling sensation was when I accidentally ran over a ball of cats (yes and actual ball of cats; like the balls of mating snakes except they were cats and I can't be sure they were mating...) Anyway several got caught up in the suspension and another was forced between the rim and the rotor which caused the wheel to spin less effectively causing the sensation of a drag. It was a horrible mess that caused me great mental and emotional stress that landed me in therapy.

Needless to say this dragging sensation caused deep anxiety harrowing up memories that I had paid thousands to forget. So instead of getting out of the car to see how many cats I had spun around the axle this time I decided to take atrial streets the rest of the way home and let my wife inspect the car when I got home. Thankfully it turned out that there was just a low tire which obviously wouldn't cause anyone mental or emotional stress... at least that is what I thought at the time.

The next day I took it in to the closest tire store to be repaired which just happened to be Les Schwab. I walked in and began to describe the problem to the person behind the desk. Before I had a chance to explain what a ball of cats had to do with my flat tire a complete and absolute stranger came in from the back shop and with a cheery smile full of meaning and history said "Benji! I'll take care of you don't worry."

If you have ever been at the peak of a roller coaster about to plunge several hundred feet and had the safety bar pop up unexpectedly you will know how I felt in that moment. Trying to mask my befuddlement I said "hey man, hows it goin?" in the most chummy I-know-exactly-who-you-are voice I could summon. He must have been convinced because I started asking me about my parents and the old hood, not just general questions but actual events that had taken place in my life that until our conversation had never included him. I carried on casual conversation hoping to get the transaction completed before he figured out that I had no clue who he was. After I explained that my car was chronically losing tire pressure he said he would take care of it. Not sure of the cost of such things I asked how much it would be... His response was a nail in the coffin; "For Benji it's free."

With those words the situation had move beyond awkward irrecognition to moral dilemma. Could I let this person of whom I had no trace of a memory provide a free service for me under the pretense that we were chums? Well.... I handed him my keys and said "thanks." The instant he left to take my car around I asked the guy at the desk who the guy was, "Nic VanZwaldo" he said....... Nothing. Nothing at all came to my memory. This man did not exist before the moment he came out of the back shop to antagonize me with his knowledge of my name and history.