Shop Talk
We paved the lot! (Well, a little)
Comment of the Month
This month we address one of the most common, most frustrating Comments we get…
“I really wish you’d pave the lot or wash my car”
-Many, many, many clients over the years
We hear you, Many Clients. That dust gets really nasty, and blows across everything. Why don’t we pave the lot? Here’s an explanation from one of our past newsletters…
“Our parking lot is actually the end of SE Tenino Street, and the City has no intention of doing anything to improve the street at their cost. We looked at doing the improvements ourselves, and spent about $5000 getting engineering estimates to improve it to City code. The cost would have been well over $60,000.00 in drains, sumps, curbs, etc., which is well beyond our capability. Another complication is the matter of the Sellwood Bridge Project, which could mean changes that would destroy any improvements we made. Finally, although I definitely see the advantages of a paved lot, I have a contempt for pavement in general. There is too much pavement in the world as it is. It keeps water from absorbing into the ground, reflects heat back to our already heat-soaked atmosphere, keeps vegetation from acting as a carbon sink, and adds no beauty.
The obstacles to washing cars are a little different. Because we’re so close to the river, we (and the city) closely monitor our discharges. If we washed more than 7 cars a week we’d have to install capture systems for every drop or risk damaging the environment. During the summer months when our parking lot is dustiest we offer free coupons for WashMan, because they’ve already made the investment to do the cleaning right without environmental damage. Even just vacuuming cars presents problems. Although we used to vacuum, we stopped out of respect for our client’s privacy. You wouldn’t believe the things people leave in their cars, from fragile breakables to money to weapons. There are also liability and damage issues that outweigh the benefits of a clean carpet.”
But that was then. Here’s the article we’re very excited about this month…
We paved the lot! (Well, a little)
We’re still living on the end of Tenino, paving the whole thing hasn’t gotten any cheaper, and the environmental restrictions are still in place, but we had a chance to pave a little bit of the lot recently. A paving friend of one of our Service Advisors had some extra time and asphalt, and was able to squeeze a micro-paving job in on an afternoon. We were able to pave the areas right in front of the big rollup doors. This won’t help much with the ambient dust but it will reduce the “Lake Dwyer” that forms in front of each door in the rainy season and cut the splashes that may appear from that. There may be even more asphalt on the way… we’ll keep you posted!
We also have a couple ongoing offers you might find valuable…
Carbon Neutral Program–
Our company’s commitment to the environment led us to partner with Bonneville Environmental Foundation to create our Carbon Neutral Program in 2007. Client members offset the carbon production of their vehicles for one year AND save 10% on Labor Charges here at the shop! It’s a win for you AND our environment and it’s been very successful… since we instituted the program our members have prevented over 1.9 MILLION POUNDS of carbon from being dumped into our air!
Referral Reward Program–
Year after year, referrals from our existing clients are our greatest source of new clients, so we’ve tried hard to think of some way to appropriately reward people for their referrals. Our solution is our Referral Reward Program, where we make donations to the non-profit group of your choice to say ‘thanks’ for your generous referrals. Here’s how it works…
Your reviews and referrals matter
We are constantly grateful for the supportive and loyal clients we have developed over the years. Your comments and appreciation keep us on the right road to providing the superior automotive service you deserve. Your reviews and referrals are not only the highest compliments we can receive, but they’re the lifeblood of our new business. If you like what you’ve found at Tom Dwyer Automotive Services, please tell a friend or take a minute to write a review on Yelp, Angieslist, Google, or the review site of your choice. Thank you!
Latest Automotive Recalls
Automobiles are just like any other product; occasional flaws in manufacture or design can cause problems once they leave the factory. When an issue is identified the manufacturers and government work hard to bring the vehicles back in for refit or repair, but not all recalls make the front pages. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration maintains a constantly updated list of recalls from every manufacturer. The last month’s recalls are below, but clicking the button at right will take you to the full list at the NHTSA website.
