A Happy Customer

She dropped into Wild West Wheels with a very fancy, upscale baby carriage.

"Can you fix this?" she asked Bob.

"I don't care what it costs, just fix it. I have a new job and won't be able to pick it up for a couple of weeks."

"No problem", Bob replied. " I can see that I will have to order parts and that takes a while."

The parts and tubes arrived from Denver from the shop where the woman had purchased the stroller. They were costly but the women had said she was willing to pay Bob. It certainly was less expensive than buying a new baby carriage of this quality.

Bob fixed the carriage and called the women to let her know that her carriage was ready for pick up.

The phone had been disconnected. Time passed and the woman did not show up. The carriage remained in Bob's shop.

Then one day the customer finally arrived to get her baby carriage.

Yesterday Bob stopped at the stop light when the woman walked by pushing the baby carriage. She gave Bob a thumbs up and said, "Everything is working fine."

Another satisfied customer who did not have to drive a distance to have the carriage fixed or did not have to pay a steep price for a new replacement. Bob is delighted to have recycled and saved something from being thrown away to pollute the environment.

This has become such a throw-away society, Re-using and recycling is the number one reason Bob opened his Fix-it-Shop in Hot Springs. It is an added bonus to receive appreciation from a pleased customer.

Completion!

A photo of the final mural completed last night, August 20, 2017. The orignal concept was by Bob Lee and it was designed and painted by Maria March. It is on the side of Bob's shop, Wild West Wheels and Fix it Shop.

Its purpose was to beautify and amuse locals and tourists alike, and of course to create a conversation piece. The mural, conceived by Bob, is dedicated to those who bicycle and motorcycle and to the town of Hot Springs, SD, a mecca for both.

That Time of Year

It was not a total surprise to Bob when calls for lawn mower and chain saw repair began to flood in. After all, it is that time of year when folks want to mow their lawns and, whoops, the darn thing won't start!

Some are riding lawn mowers so Bob patiently hitches up his trailer and picks them up and returns them when finished. In the midst of the calls for Mr. Fixit, our car needed repair and he spent several days on that. So far he has managed to keep up with most work, unless he has to order parts from parts far flung. Those bikes and mowers are waiting for parts to arrive.

Now the best part of this whole past few weeks of desperate calls for service, our lawn sits un-mowed and getting longer by the day. That's just like Bob to tend to customers first. I remember when we were house hunting and the realtor would tell us that a house for sale had been owned by an electrician or a plumber, etc. In no time we discovered that the houses needing the most electrical work were for sale by an electrician and the ones with the worst plumbing were for sale by plumbers.

I remember the old story about the shoemaker. His children went barefoot while he mended shoes for clients. So much for getting our lawn mowed any time soon.

Help for Everyone

"Hello, is this the Wheels place?"

"Yes it is. Can I help you?"

"Well, my bike has flat tires."

"Can you bring it down to the shop? He is there now."

Her voice had a tinge of panic to it, but she said she could come down.

Bob told me the story later. The woman came into the shop with a three wheel baby stroller. It had three flat tires. He jacked it up and filled the tires with the wide-eyed baby still sitting inside. He wondered how she had made it down to the shop.

"No charge", Bob told her. It only took up some of his time.

The woman said with some surprise, "Could I have done this myself at the gas station?"

Of course she could, but I imagine it was some comfort to her to know she could count on Mr. Fixit to help out. After all, that is why he opened his Wild West Wheels shop in the heart of Hot Springs. He offers more than repair service.