A Tale of Two Tyres

The rear tyres were looking a tad lower over the weekend, so we drove over to the nearby Petronas to pump in some fresh air. Lo and behold, quite by chance, we discovered that there was a screw sticking out in one of the tyres. So I suspected that we could have pricked the rear tyres as we always drive along the road shared by all those construction lorries plying the route to and fro the new palace at Hartamas.  

Anyway, a trip to the tyre shop was in the plan for the week and as I was driving my own car until today, the Forte could only roll into the tyre shop for the small job today.

A worker greeted me with a smile as I alighted from the Forte. After I explained my predicament and showed him the screw, he put on a make-believe (ala Sony) frown and told me that we needed to replace the rear tyres. But being the generous mood that he was in today, he would make me a deal and allow a trade-in of both the rear tyres at a good price.

I smiled a little, knowing full well that he was taking me for a ride. Perhaps it was due to the current Barang Naik economy- the chap must be thinking that if the politicians can take us all for a ride, he might as well just learn a trick or two from these leaders.

I then asked if I can't just swap one of the tyres with the brand new spare in the boot. And I explained that I would rather repair the puncture as the tyres still have 80% thread left.

The chap then put on a professional face and explained to me on the dynamics of a brand new tyre as opposed to a punctured-before tyre. Midway thru the explanation, I asked if AL was around. He looked perplexed and asked if I knew the boss. I replied in the affirmative and told him that I had been servicing my cars, except for the Forte, at their workshop for a while now. I further gathered that he must be new as I have not seen him before.

The chap's face turned crimson red as he explained that he was just giving me a standard sales talk and meant no harm. He then just quickly asked if I like to get the puncture fixed and proceeded along.

I asked if the tyres would still be usable given that he had alarmed me so earlier; and he replied that he thought I was a one-off customer so might as well he gave me the sales pitch.

Thank goodness it was me whom went there and not my more innocent Sharlotte. At the end of the day, the cost was a mere RM5; compared to what would have easily been hundreds. Man...