Helped Someone Change a Tire

"Agrajag" (Agrajag) 01/14/2014 at 21:37 • Filed to: cotomer sevis

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A girl with two distraught looking men come into my store today. Story unfolds inside.

Dude 1: We need a socket for the center nut on a wheel. (shows me a picture on their phone)

Me: Are you trying to change the wheel bearing or something?

Dude 1: No, we got a flat and we're trying to take the tire off.

Me:(see above photo)

Dude 1: We got the 5 bolts off(vehicle used lug nuts not bolts), but that center one is still holding it on.

Me: That center one is the axle nut. You don't need to take that off. It's probably just stuck. Try holding the tire at 12 and 6, or 3 and 9 position and kind of rock it.

Dude 1: Okay we'll try that.

3 hours later:

They return. The two men filthy at this point.

Dude 1: Nah, man we definitely need to get that big nut off. It's an old car so it's different than newer ones.

Other guy chimes in

Dude 2: I looked at it, that nut is holding it on.

Inner Me: Okay, professor.

Me:I have never seen a car that requires you to remove the axle nut to take a tire off. How old are we talking?

Girl: 2001 Cavalier

Me: (See above photo) Haha, that is not old. Hold on a second. (I grab a rubber mallet) Take this and smack the wheel. This method has never failed me.

Girl: Can you just come and do this please?

Me: Sorry, I can't leave the store.

An hour later:

Girl(almost in tears now): It's not working, it has to be that nut.

Me: Where are you guys?

Girl: Just across the street.

I go over, tap it with the mallet and it comes off immediately.

Me: Have a good night.

I_AmDeath > Agrajag 01/14/2014 at 21:39

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You gotta love people who don't listen to you the first time. I generally need a sledge hammer here though to do that.

 > Agrajag 01/14/2014 at 21:41

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Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Agrajag 01/14/2014 at 21:41

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What you looked like to the girl, and felt like:

Agrajag > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/14/2014 at 21:43

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Mjolnir did its job well today.

PowderHound > Agrajag 01/14/2014 at 21:49

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Did she give you an old fashioned for being infinitely more of use than the other blithering idiots?

Anima > I_AmDeath 01/14/2014 at 21:50

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Welcome to retail, where people who have no idea what they are talking about come in with a question, yet are completely confident in what they know is right and will completely ignore the person with experience/knowledge about the subject and who is genuinely trying to help them if the answer isn´t the (tremendously ignorant and stupid) thing they have come up with themselves.

Yeah.. fun times.

McMike > Agrajag 01/14/2014 at 21:54

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I thought it was going to take three blows with the hammer. One for each guy, and the third one for the wheel.

Great story.

Agrajag > PowderHound 01/14/2014 at 21:57

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Unless you mean the drink, I don't know what an old fashioned is. But I received nothing. :(

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Agrajag 01/14/2014 at 22:01

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A handy, HJ, happy ending

I_AmDeath > Anima 01/14/2014 at 22:05

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What do you do?

Agrajag > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/14/2014 at 22:05

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Ah. I was like, "who the fuck has mixed drinks on hand to give people?" Figured it wasn't that.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Agrajag 01/14/2014 at 22:07

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"Who the fuck has mixed drinks on hand to give people?" A Godamn gentleman, that's who.

Agrajag > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/14/2014 at 22:09

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I'm going to have to start carrying one of these then. http://dents.co.uk/products/679/B…

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Agrajag 01/14/2014 at 22:11

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Only available in Black & Tan? I see what they did there!

PowderHound > Agrajag 01/14/2014 at 22:12

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Well I never thought of it before but now I want to start.

vdub_nut: scooter snob > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/14/2014 at 22:13

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You. Me. Later.

boom. Get it in.

Agrajag > PowderHound 01/14/2014 at 22:14

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See the link in my reply to Arch Duke.

Agrajag > McMike 01/14/2014 at 22:15

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Thanks.

Montalvo > Agrajag 01/14/2014 at 22:21

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This reminds me of the time when I was in Aruba with my family. We got a beat up early 1980 something Jeep for a rental and decided to explore the coastline a bit. Well after a while of driving and some rough terrain the front left tire called it quits and went flat. No problem as there was a spare in the back, after taking that out we got the jack as well. Only problem was the jack wasn't the right one for it, it was way to low for any of the jack points on the jeep. My father without missing a beat switches in to engineer mode for it is time to problem solve. He starts looking around and finds a bunch of rocks that he uses to build a stable foundation and we are finally able to jack up the jeep. The lug nuts on the car are held on by rust and grime that hasn't been cleaned for at least 10~15 years and it is a pain just to get all of them off. Like this situation the tire still wouldn't come off, at this time another family rolls by in their jeep and the father offers a bit of help. It took this man and my father who has a decent amount of muscle on him about 5 minutes of just hammering at the wheel with some nearby rocks trying to break it free. Luckily it eventually popped off and we were able to put on the replacement and carry on.

Bad Idea Hat > Agrajag 01/14/2014 at 22:26

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I did this a month or so ago, except instead of a quick tap, I hit it. Repeatedly. With all hammers.

RacecaR > Agrajag 01/14/2014 at 22:36

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Well that is just fancy as fuck!

KB Garage > Agrajag 01/14/2014 at 22:37

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Them: "Hi, I have zero knowledge of cars, but we are both trying to get laid."

You: "Try using a little upper body strength and a sliver of common sense."

Them: "We totally left all that in our dad's ballsack."

You: "No problem, my dad was a giver. And I will give you an opportunity for this lady to remember how pathetic you are."

Stephen the Canuck > KB Garage 01/14/2014 at 22:48

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Brilliant.

KB Garage > Stephen the Canuck 01/14/2014 at 22:54

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Thanks. I have to give credit to lack of sleep and whiskey.

Stephen the Canuck > KB Garage 01/14/2014 at 22:59

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Where all wisdom comes from then

XJDano > Agrajag 01/15/2014 at 00:03

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I have to beat the shit out of the Metro front wheels to get them to come off. Last time I got them off I anti seized the crap out of the disks.

I also had to help my neighbor ladies get a wheel off their car, all I had to do was break the nuts loose. They weren't even on that tight.

Anima > I_AmDeath 01/15/2014 at 06:09

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I work in a store that sells parts for appliances and (where this usually happens) cables/parts for computers/electronics. The amount of people coming in to ask if they can buy a usb to scart cable so they can connect their laptop to the tv is shockingly high.