Take a deep breath, and now take another one. Everything will be okay. No, I am not asking you to meditate…although, I am learning there is definitely something to it. I myself, am learning that taking a mental pause can help. If you are anything like me, high strung and wanting things to get fixed or done quickly, taking a “pause” when you have a challenge does help.
I find life can be a constant struggle…sometimes good, sometimes not so good. I think everyone is going through some kind of obstacle. Most struggles are not permanent and it really is about how you deal with the challenge that you are facing. You can’t be happy at all times! This is just plain unrealistic. After all we can’t block out emotions we feel. The tough part is choosing how to react to them. I believe I have a different attitude since my cancer diagnosis… Sure, I still get peeved but I am reacting differently to things. For example, I find I am not as hot headed as I use to be. It is important to remain clear headed, focus on the facts and not make impulse decisions based on emotions. Sounds simple but it can be a difficult thing to do.
This said, I thought I would give you a quick update about my son’s Subaru saga. I first mentioned this in my December 29th blog, so feel free to go back and read it, if required. We ended up taking the car back to the place where he bought the car after several email exchanges and being assured that they would take full responsibility for all repairs as a result of their mistake. We only agreed as we were going to have our mechanic inspect it. We didn’t want to have another incident or have a tire fall off again. Safety first!
This took at least a month of back and forth emails/conversations. Normally, I want things taken care of immediately and would have lost it. That said, I think being slow and steady, plus persistent helped us win this battle.
After the inspection of the car by our mechanic, all appeared good! Our mechanic did find a frozen rag in the wheel that was inadvertently left there. We chuckled but in the back of my mind, it made me wonder what kind of professionals we were working with.
We drove the car home without incident but I should add we are a short distance away from where we picked it up. About 30 minutes later we decided to take it for a little jaunt to a local store to do an errand. Good call!! The car smelled like it was burning and there was “check engine”, and a red exclamation point and another light lit up on the dashboard. See picture above.
We were not happy… After a brief conversation, my husband decided to head back and show the mechanics the issue. I also simultaneously sent an email to them with the picture of the dashboard above to have documented proof ….just in case. The mechanics ordered a part and arranged to fix it the very next day. Why didn’t they do this before we picked up the vehicle?! Made me think they just wanted to cut corners. I thought to verbalize this but figured there was nothing to gain by saying the obvious. They had the car for about 1 week from start to finish to do the repairs. My son has now driven it for about a week back and forth to his college and all seems good.
Lesson Learned:
- Take a deep breath and roll your sleeves up(prepare to battle but politely)!
- Patience is a virtue.
- Don’t give up! Be persistent as most problems require a few attempts to reach a successful solution.
- Negotiate & compromise.
- Another trick is to lower your expectations…I didn’t expect perfection from these people.
This took a lot of patience, negotiation, some coordination with our mechanic, and arranging for my son to drive my car for a week! We finally got what we wanted or should I say “expected”. We have a repaired vehicle that is safe to drive. At the end of the day, the used car dealership ended up taking responsibility. I wonder if it was due to my reminding them politely that I could report them to the ministry and the College of Trades. Lol
Did we trust them? Nope…. Would I buy another car there? Probably not….. We didn’t burn any bridges, and they know us now so I don’t think they would want to screw with us…. So if we had absolutely no choice, hmmmm..nah. That said, I actually think they tried their best to regain our trust.
Glad that this struggle is now over and worked out. On to the next!
If you are struggling, remember it is not permanent!! It will be ok!
Wow shows to have patience and persistence in getting things done
So true! Thanks