False Advertising

Yesterday afternoon, we drove to Wexford (just south of Cranberry) to Midas to change the oil in both the van and truck. Sale-- $18.99 oil change!

First up-- the truck. In, out, done. Second, the van.

Before I get into that, remember the Midas slogan-- "Trust the Midas touch!" See the guys--

So clean, happy, tailored.

Back to our story. For those of you that do not know, Michelle is a... well, "sanitary" person. We often tease her about it-- all in good fun, of course. Before we can go inside a hotel room, she goes in with a can full of Lysol and, 10 minutes later, you can eat off the floor. Shopping carts are wiped down before they are used. Things like that. She could be a spokesperson for Formula 409.

Anyway, the van is in line to go into the shop. Out walks the mechanic. He does not look like any of the guys shown above. Instead, he looks like this:

Dirty from one end to the other. And, weighing close to 300 lbs.

After a vain attempt at laying down paper to keep the inside of the car clean, he climbs in and drives the van into the shop. I can literally feel Michelle's skin crawl. We piled in the truck and left, which I think was a good move-- she got visually distracted, at least.

Twenty minutes later, give or take, the van backs out. We were watching from a safe distance-- across the parking lot in front of a pizza joint (we ordered a pepperoni pizza and breadsticks while we waited), and when they were done (and Al Jolson got out of the van), we drove over to pay and leave.

Michelle got to the van first. I'll admit, though... the paper did little to keep the van interior clean. Black handprints on the door, smudges all over. It was a sanitizers worst nightmare. With disgust, she went to work wiping the inside down, and I went in to pay.

Apparently, the "Midas touch" is more of an observable consequence of doing business with them rather than a state of mind.

Complaining would have done little good. Every person in there was covered with oil and grease. Not unexpected at a mechanic's shop, I'll admit, but I think it would be like asking a farmer to dust off your boots.

But, I do have to complain about their choice in advertising. If it were me, I would be honest-- show Al Jolson and say, "We aren't afraid to get our hands dirty-- and the inside of your car, too!" People appreciate honesty. Make the smudging and dirtying of the car's interior part of the experience.

Or, at least offer some wipes with the receipt, or before you hand over the keys. Midas could learn a lot from a BBQ place.