I had an amusing interaction yesterday with the guy in the shop of Agri Supply in Garner. Agri Supply is an amazing warehouse-style store, stacked from floor to ceiling with mechanical parts of all types. The guys from Mythbusters would have a field day in this store. I knew it was the place to go when I realized my hand truck tire needed replacing.
After quickly finding the proper replacement tire, I asked the man at the counter if there was any way I could get the store to install it. “Is there any trick to it?” I asked.
Another customer leaned over. “Oh, yeah!” he answered. “It’s a lot more trouble than it seems. You’d be much better off getting the store to install it.”
With that advice, I paid my $6 for the shop installation and brought my hand truck over to the shop.
The shop mechanic was just helping another customer load some equipment into his truck. He was a tall guy in camoflague hunting gear, a scraggly ZZ Top beard, and thick, amber glasses. I recognized him as the guy who helped me with the trailer tire over two years ago.
As he loaded up the other customer, he looked over his shoulder at my hand truck and hollered “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to remove the wheel from that cart before I can work on it. We’re not allowed to take the wheels off anymore.”
“Well, I was hoping I could get this fixed,” I offered. “It’s really important.”
“Well … ok, bring it into the shop,” the mechanic said as he dispatched the other customer. I wheeled the cart up to his workbench, where he repeated his rule.
“Do you have a set of pliers I could use to get this cotter pin off?” I asked him.
“That’s ok,” he answered and took the wheel off himself. He eyed the wheel and looked up again at me.
“This is gonna scratch you hub up,” he said. “You don’t want your hub scratched up, do ya?”
“Well, it’s just a hand truck. It’s not a thing of beauty.”
“You sure? Some people are mighty particular about their hubs getting scratched up.”
“I’m sure,” I assured him. “It’s fine. Do whatever you’ve got to do.”
He easily pried the old, deflated tire off the wheel and tossed it into his pile. Next he sprayed the new tire (and me, accidentally) with WD40. “See, I’ll grease it up to make it easier to put on,” he said matter-of-factly.
Then the real wrestling began. The slick tire would not stay on the hub. He’d get one side squeezed on and the opposite side would slide off again. After much grunting and struggling, he looked back up at me.
“This is the wrong size tire.”
“Well, here’s the info from the old tire,” I said. “The guy at the counter said they match.”
He squinted at the sides of the new and old tires. “Yep, you’re right. They’re both four inches.”
More struggling. Still no luck. Then he grabbed his shop rag and wiped off the WD40. This time the tire held as he stretched it around the hub. “See, you can’t put grease on the tire or it won’t go on,” he said, matter-of-factly.
I laughed on the way home, thinking of all the opportunities he gave me to decide not to get my tire changed. He knew all along what kind of struggle he was in for. In the end, though, he got ‘er done and made me a happy customer. It was one of the most entertaining and worthwhile $6 I’ve spent in a while!