Can I trust You Also?

I woke up this morning, the 16th of July, 2013, prepared, as many would say, “to conquer the world.” Yeah right! I guess it all depends on what world you’re referring to. It was a beautiful morning, the weather was somewhat crisp, and cloudy, with a few dark clouds, hovering over our majestic New Mexico skies.

My wife and I have a daily ritual which consists of the following. We print out a daily crossword puzzle, prepare some Chai Tea, read the Bible before delving into our routine, and once we are settled in, we work on our puzzle. This particular morning, we drank our tea, and guess what! No puzzle. What! How can this be! Then I remembered why. This was the day I would take my car to the, ugh, dreaded auto mechanic’s shop. As I thought about it, my heart began to beat a bit faster than normal, my hands became sweaty, my speech somehow hurried, and my anxiety level, also elevated. I reminded myself that I was not going to the hospital for any major surgery, I wasn’t going to appear before the judge, or worse yet, work on the yard. I was going to the auto mechanic’s shop, that’s all!

Now, you might wonder__ what is so bad about visiting your local, friendly shop? What harm can come out of this? Aha! Glad you asked.
Whenever that little light comes on in your car, the first thing that comes to mind is_ how much is this going to COST ME! You have no idea as to why that little light is on, but you certainly know why that light goes on, in your wallet. So, you resign yourself to the inevitable, drive to your prescheduled appointment, and truly hope that the cost will be minimal. That’s what I did, but along the way, my defensive mechanism shifted into high gear, and I was ready for my confrontation with the cigar chomping manager. I was as ready as can be. I felt bigger than life, stronger, wiser, and prepared to counter-punch.

I arrived at the shop, “Just Brakes”, located on the corner of Montano, and Coors Blvd. in Albuquerque, NM. The parking area was filled with quite a few cars. I walked into the shop, my adrenalin was on speed dial, and as I stepped into the waiting area, I was greeted by a young and friendly, “Hercules.” This guy was built like a body builder. His smile was not what we would call as, grinning from ear to ear. It was more like, from wall to wall. The immediate thought that came to mind was, that I had walked into the middle of a photo shoot. Surely, this cannot be one of the workers. They must be shooting an ad. I stepped out briefly, looked at the sign again, and sure enough, it read, Just Brakes. I finally realized that I was indeed, in the right place, but who in the world is this body builder? I walked in once again, greeted the customers in the area, and was again greeted by Mr. Hercules. By the way, his name is Chris Castillo, and he is the Albuquerque Group Manager for this company. And yes, I kept waiting for him to pull out a cigar butt, and chomp on it. To my relief, none of this took place.

I gave him my name, and right away he addressed me by my first name. So far so good. We chatted for a few minutes, I provided the required information, and once we were finished, another worker came in, introduced himself as Chad, and asked for my car keys. We walked out together, as I was not letting MY CAR out of sight. As we approached the car, another worker greeted me. He introduced himself as Aurelio, and told me that he would be test driving it. Sounded good to me. Chad and I went back to the waiting room, and another worker, by the name the of Jesus informed me that he would perform the preliminaries, once Aurelio had test-driven the car. I figured that I couldn’t go wrong, if someone named Jesus worked on my car.

Seeing so many seemingly satisfied customers, I decided to get their opinions regarding Just Brakes. They all voiced similar sentiments. I was assured that these were honest technicians, and they would only conduct repairs, as needed, no more, and no less. Quite a satisfied group.

These technicians worked on my car, went beyond what I expected, the results were amazing, and to top it all, I was not charged one dime. The reason being, that I had taken my car to Just Brakes the previous year, and they honored the warranty. I had no idea that all the work that was performed, would be free of charge. I inquired as to this, and Chris, the manager, indicated that they do honor their warranties, no questions asked.I must say also, that a thorough check was done on the car, and no additional, “repairs” were deemed necessary. Was I pleased with the whole process? You had better believe it!

I do recommend these Techs, at Just Brakes. They are honest, knowledgeable, friendly, meticulous, and you won’t find any of them chomping down on cigar butts.
From Chris, the Mgr. to Chad, Jesus, and Aurelio, these are the ones I will visit, the next time I encounter any problems with my car. Allow me to give you their information. Just Brakes, 4311 Montano Rd. NW.. Albuquerque, NM 87120 Store #011.
This is my take on another honest company. Comments are most welcomed.