Nothing is worse than issues with a car. And nothing can be better than to have the issue resolved professionally, on time, and delivered better than you expect. I have a story for you.
If you’re familiar with the daily updates on Press Pros you’ve probably guessed that we’re on the road a lot. And I mean…a lot!
Yes, there are flights, like the one to Oregon this week for Ohio State…but typically 90% of it is all highway driving. So much of it, in fact, that I drove 68,000 miles last year – five times what the average person drives.
And when you drive that much you go through a lot of cars, and you depend on those cars. You cannot be stranded, or waylaid on the road between Covington and Canton…or coming home from East Lansing and Ann Arbor. So, I change cars a lot. And ten days ago I updated from the car that I had purchased just a year ago this past July.
As luck would have it, the day after I bought it I was in Sidney and someone caved in a passenger door and just kept going – a hit and run. Sideswiped. Culture as we know it.
The car was perfectly driveable, but I needed body work done on a car just twenty four hours old. So I called Dick Lumpkin’s on Bob Davis Drive in Piqua, told them my story, and they said, “Bring it in.”
Where’s the lump? You can’t find it because I called ‘Lump’. They were great!
A dinged up door is something they see everyday, that they’ve fixed thousands of time. Not enough for an insurance claim, it was cut and dry…and out of pocket. Except, how long would I be without a car?
Owner Mike Lumpkin told me, “You want this to be right when you get it back, and there’s some delicate paint work that has to be done. It’s a five day repair.”
My next stop was to pick up a rental car for a trip to East Lansing last weekend, which was no problem. But I’m a creature of habit, and there’s never been a rental car yet that smells good, and feels like driving your own car. It’s like missing an old friend. The knobs, the radio, the heater, the seats, the amenities that you have on our own car (Sirius XM radio)…a rental will get you by, but it’s a long five days.
Long story short, right when he said, and even a few hours early, Lumpkin’s called me last Friday and said, “You can pick up your car.”
The work was immaculate. The price was reasonable, given the priority. But the fact that someone realized that not having your own car when you drive for a living is a pain in the butt…well, there’s no price you can put on something like that.
“We see it all the time,” said office manager Mindy Corpac, who by the way, auditioned for ‘The Voice’ about five years, but never made it on the air.
“People get accustomed to their own car, especially older people, and it’s really hard for them to be comfortable with a rental car. We do good work, yes. But it’s also important that people leave here with a good experience.”
And that’s my story. Of course, we patronize sponsors of the website whenever we can, but Dick Lumpkin is not a sponsor…and rarely have I been treated to better work, better service, and more understanding people.
And being that we’re in the season for endorsements, I highly and publicly appreciate Dick Lumpkin’s Auto Body (Got A Bump, Call Lump) and cannot recommend them more highly.
I had a rather easy, and predictable weekend, actually – just a few hundred miles.
Peace of mind…familiarity.
Like driving with an old friend.
The Dave Arbogast family of dealerships is the official transportation resource for Press Pros Magazine.com.