Honolulu, HI
First, let me set the stage: Day before Thanksgiving and I got out of work early. 4:50 pm. Kind of early, anyway. So I rushed down to Lex Brodie's near Ward (and by rushed I mean sat in traffic for half an hour). It is 5:30 pm and on a normal day, they close at 6pm. Close at 6pm, not start working on a last-minute car at 6pm. And did I mention it is Thanksgiving Eve? So when I get there, there isn't a single car in the lot (just a delivery-esque industrial truck which is clearly there for business and not repairs). I have the eerie sense that they're closed. Nevertheless, I pull up, park, and walk towards the entrance. A smilely local guy in a Lex-Brodie-Red polo approaches and I blurt out, "Something'swrongwithmytirecanyoufixit???" First, he checks with his manager(?) that they can take me this late [manager's response, "Might as well," whoohoo!]. After quickly ascertaining that I had no idea what was wrong with my tire except that it seemed to be leaking and/or collaspsing, he immediately quotes me the price--AND THE TAX--and asks if that's acceptable. Without an appt, $20+change to solve my car problems at the last minute before the big holiday? No problem, that seems like a steal to me! Plus, if you're like me and didn't know, they now offer free wi-fi in their pretty nice (but freezing) lounge area--and I needed to shoot off another email from work anyway which was, again, perfect. Passing by one of their displays (and truthfully several of their package services sound like fantastic deals if it was actually my car an not a borrowed vehicle I was using . . . ), I see a booklet about female-friendly autocare guide. Feminist that I am, I picked it up and perused--only to notice that the back page has a coupon for $20 your first visit. If you're saying to yourself, as I was, "Does $20 off of $20+change mean that I'm getting this tire fix for the '+change' part?" then the answer is yes. YES! Fantastic. While I got amazing service, fast-and-friendly answers, and still left before 6pm for under $5, I will definitely be heading back there (though hopefully not immediately). I may even look further into their Green and Roadside packages--those sound like convenient _and economical_ deals.