Thanks #4: Meineke

So yesterday my 14-year-old car makes an all-too-familiar "ka-chunk" sound. This means that a tail pipe has become disconnected. As a result, nothing muffles my engine at all, so a cozy drive home from the library becomes a series of ear-shaking roars that would terrify an airplane every time I accelerate. I drove straight to Meineke. Tom at Meineke is a young, peppy guy who doesn't know my name or my face, but always acts like I'm his long-lost brother when I come in. The last 3 times I have, he's done work for FREE - granted they're small repairs, but fix-it-while-you-wait is generally not something I expect from a mechanic. He makes car repair as easy as picking up a few groceries. And he's less than 2 blocks from my house! He doesn't know it, but his enthusiasm and helpfulness inspires my day every time I'm in.