What is the Funniest Customer Experience You’ve Had?

JUST FOR FUN - WHAT IS THE FUNNIEST CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE YOU’VE HAD?

Customers of all different walks of life enter body shops daily. And every now and then, a shop may happen to encounter a customer who either had a circus-like experience, a whacky sense of time or perhaps a peculiarly high fashion sense that will leave them roaring with laughter for years to come.

Edward Day (Collision Restoration; Fairfield) couldn’t stop laughing when asked about his funniest customer experience. “It was like the perfect storm!” he exclaims. “One of my customers thought he belonged on a runway in Milan.” The man walked in sporting an Elvis haircut and a large pair of Gucci sunglasses with one-inch gold Gs on either side, making Day think he looked like Elton John back in the ‘70s. “When he walked in the door, you knew something was wrong with him right away.” Things got even more interesting from there. “In walks this bald guy five minutes later. Now, he keeps telling me how good he looks as he is rubbing his hand over his bald head!” The bald man proceeded to go on and on about how he drank and smoked marijuana with Janis Joplin in 1967 and how it was the best day of his life. Then, he continued asking everyone if he looked good. At this point, Day was convinced the two were high as a kite. “When they left, I looked at my co-worker, and we both said, ‘What the f**k just happened?’

Ed Janovsky (Mike’s Auto Body; New Brunswick) recalls a customer whose timing was so far off that it left him and others scratching their heads while holding back laughter. This customer not only didn’t know what day it was, but he apparently slept through the day of his appointment. “He walks in and says he’s here for his 1pm. I asked him his name, checked the schedule and told him I was actually dealing with my 1pm appointment now. I told him it was Wednesday, and he said, ‘No, today is Tuesday.’” The customer was insistent it was Tuesday and wouldn’t believe otherwise.

“He then says, ‘I went to bed late on Monday night; I just got up in time for this appointment. Today is Tuesday.’ The guy who was here for the 1pm Wednesday appointment and I just looked at him. He checked his phone and discovered he slept through Tuesday!” Janovsky says the funniest part has to be what his other customer had to say about it. “He says to the guy, ‘What drugs are you on? I need some of that!’

Jeff McDowell (Leslie’s Auto Body; Fords) chuckles when he recalls the time a vehicle was brought into his shop due to a run-in he’d never heard of before: The car had been crushed by an elephant that sat on it! Back in the days when the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus came to town, McDowell says the elephant apparently just got loose and decided to take a seat right down on a car parked on a street. There were no massive elephant butt-prints visible, but “It looked like it got run over by a tank.” Clearly, the car was totaled. He’s also seen many other “whacky animal hits” involving a wild turkey and bear cubs, but nothing was as humorous as picturing an elephant planting itself right down on a car.

NJA

Have an interesting tale to share with New Jersey Automotive? Contact Editorial Director Joel Gausten at joel@grecopublishing.com! Elton John Photo Credit: Billboard

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hotels or on the show floor, having heart attacks, attempting a great thing that turned into a nightmare because of weather you had no control over. Shit, some of those bumps were actually more like sinkholes. But nothing – nothing – could have prepared us for COVID-19. Who would have ever thought something like this would happen? And trust me, in the scope of things, I realize a trade show is just a speck when compared to the lives we lost and the people and businesses that have suffered. But a trade show is a business. And the postponement of NORTHEAST “ You’ve probably gone back to Home Depot or Lowe’s by now. I know you’ve gone to the grocery store. So why not NORTHEAST? ”

2020 hurt not only my business but AASP/NJ and a lot of our vendors’ businesses as well. That’s why it’s time to get back to live. Look, I’m no doctor or scientist. I’m not going to tell you whether to get vaccinated or to wear a mask here. I’m not going to sit here and tell you whether I think mandates or lockdowns work. I can only go by how it affects my family, my business and me. We all have to make our own decisions. We have made the decision that the show must go on. You’ve probably gone back to Home Depot or Lowe’s by now. I know you’ve gone to the grocery store. So why not NORTHEAST? We have to get back to living again.

PS: I watched two incredibly relevant movies over the weekend: Charlie Wilson’s War (2007) and Absence of Malice (1981). One shows you how stunning (and dumb) we are to let history keep repeating itself. The other shows you why the media can do what it does without repercussions. I don’t know whether they’re fascinating or sad.

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