Good Old Fashioned Service

I love good service. I love the kindness and connection that comes from people who love what they do and genuinely share their gifts and talents.

Today I had a nail stuck in my tire. I hate it when that happens. I wasn’t quite sure how to handle it. I googled how to remove a nail or screw and watched a youtube video, showing me how to repair my tire from home. I was almost tempted to do it myself. I thought it might be cool to learn something new. But then thought, if I didn’t do it right, I would have been stuck. So instead I went on yelp and looked for tire repairs near my house. I read a great review about an honest company and chose them just because other people trusted them and liked the people that worked there.

This company was great. I drove up without an appointment and they told me to pull my car up to the service bay. A guy came out and started jacking up the front of my car right away. He removed the lug nuts and took off the wheel in 2 minutes. He took the screw out and sprayed water in the spot and nothing bubbled up. Yay! Good news – no puncture!

He put the wheel back on and when his assistant came over to write up the charges, he said there weren’t any because there wasn’t a leak to repair. Seriously? No charges? He didn’t even charge me for looking at it and removing the wheel. I was surprised and thankful. While I was looking for a tip to give him, he disappeared. I only had $2 or $20 in my wallet and I wanted to give him at least $10. I guess I’ll have to go back tomorrow to thank him. The name of the company is Godinez Tires in Sunnyvale if you ever need good, honest service. And they have birds and chickens outside for your entertainment!

The second great service we received was with our family dentist. Dr. Randall Murray is one of the nicest people I know. He is so kind and his leadership shines throughout his office. Everyone is friendly and loving and patient and kind. I’m not even exaggerating. When I called this morning with a broken tooth issue, the receptionist was so sweet and found a spot for us this afternoon. She had a big smile when she greeted us. As we waited in the waiting room, the hygienist came out to see how we were doing, sharing stories about the World Cup, giving the kids hugs and just hanging out with us for a few minutes. Also while we were waiting, an oral surgeon dressed in his scrubs walked in with his patient to introduce her to Dr. Murray. He wanted to be sure she would be well taken care of. These are the type of people Dr. Murray associates with. He finds colleagues who are kind and caring and professional like he is. He referred us to our orthodontist, who is also just like him. They take the time to make a human, real connection, sharing their passion and talents and communicating with us in a way as if they are our friends and partners. This is a great feeling and does create an awesome connection. I never feel like he’s in a hurry or burdened by our requests. As he was looking at Juliana’s tooth, I mentioned that I would like him to check Charlie’s tooth too, as he had mentioned a chip but wasn’t complaining with pain. Dr. Murray took the time to look at his tooth, and realized right away that it would need work. By this time it was 4:15 and we were the last patient. He could have easily asked us to come back, but instead he decided to fix his tooth too right away without an appointment. He said he had a cancellation and was happy to fix it. He went the extra mile and took care of us. We shared stories about our kids and summer vacation and graduation celebrations. We sure got lucky to find such a great dentist and friend.