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offcntrMonday morning, 7:55 am, I arrive at the Park Blocks where my poor van lies sleeping. I'm a little concerned that it may have been ticketed; the parking meters aren't in force Sunday, but come active 7 am Monday. Fortunately, either the meter crew don't come through until later, or my pathetic "Broken Down: Will tow Monday A.M." sign worked. My mechanic opens at 8 am; I left a message on their voice mail before I left the house, but call again from downtown.
I get an unfamiliar voice, neither Ron nor Eric, my regular guys. Explain the situation, he asks if I'm gonna have it towed in (duh!), and I ask if they have a regular service they deal with. After some off-mike consultation, he comes back with [towing company A], so I hang up and call their number.
After a recorded announcement that my call is being monitored, I pass through to a perky voice who hears my story, says she'll connect me with someone to help me out, puts me on hold. A badly distorted and very loud Hall of the Mountain King ensues, coming on speaker so I don't have to sit with the phone to my ear. After several minutes, the recorded voice is back, giving me the option of leaving a message or returning to queue. I press # and more bad Grieg commences.
Then my phone rings--Firefly theme and Mountain king in battle--and I figure out how to put hold on hold and pick up. It's Ron, my regular from the garage, who's just heard my voicemail. When I tell him my situation, he says [towing company A] is a bunch of crooks, towed his niece's car and charged exorbitant sums to free it, and he always goes with [towing company B]. He's prepared to expound at length at A's lack of ethics, and I finally interrupt him to ask if we could hang up so I can disconnect the other line and call his recommendation.
[Towing company B] answers direct, says they can definitely help, but they're booked solid until noon. Can I wait? I say I really can't, ring off, and consult the internet.
There are a lot of towing services in Eugene. I finally pick one that feels vaguely familiar--they may have towed me in the past?--and give [towing company C] a call. Once again, the guy picks up immediately, hears my story, and says I'm in luck. He has a driver delivering a car to a shop just outside downtown, he needs to get it off the truck, and can be there in 15 minutes.
The parking spaces around me are beginning to fill. Apparently, the employees at the bank use the shady side of the street for their cars. I'm feeling a bit conspicuous in my car at an expired meter, so I drop in all of my pocket change and buy 25 minutes. And wait.
And whaddya know? Fifteen minutes later, a big rig pulls onto Park Street. Driver asks if I have towing coverage--thank you, State Farm!--gets my information, then moves off the curb and into the street. Put the van in neutral and steer while he pushes me out of the spot. Runs down the ramp, hooks up the chain, rolls my van up onto the truck bed, pausing to adjust the steering to keep it centered. In no time, they're off to the shop. I pull out to follow, just as my parking meter ticks over to zero.
I get an unfamiliar voice, neither Ron nor Eric, my regular guys. Explain the situation, he asks if I'm gonna have it towed in (duh!), and I ask if they have a regular service they deal with. After some off-mike consultation, he comes back with [towing company A], so I hang up and call their number.
After a recorded announcement that my call is being monitored, I pass through to a perky voice who hears my story, says she'll connect me with someone to help me out, puts me on hold. A badly distorted and very loud Hall of the Mountain King ensues, coming on speaker so I don't have to sit with the phone to my ear. After several minutes, the recorded voice is back, giving me the option of leaving a message or returning to queue. I press # and more bad Grieg commences.
Then my phone rings--Firefly theme and Mountain king in battle--and I figure out how to put hold on hold and pick up. It's Ron, my regular from the garage, who's just heard my voicemail. When I tell him my situation, he says [towing company A] is a bunch of crooks, towed his niece's car and charged exorbitant sums to free it, and he always goes with [towing company B]. He's prepared to expound at length at A's lack of ethics, and I finally interrupt him to ask if we could hang up so I can disconnect the other line and call his recommendation.
[Towing company B] answers direct, says they can definitely help, but they're booked solid until noon. Can I wait? I say I really can't, ring off, and consult the internet.
There are a lot of towing services in Eugene. I finally pick one that feels vaguely familiar--they may have towed me in the past?--and give [towing company C] a call. Once again, the guy picks up immediately, hears my story, and says I'm in luck. He has a driver delivering a car to a shop just outside downtown, he needs to get it off the truck, and can be there in 15 minutes.
The parking spaces around me are beginning to fill. Apparently, the employees at the bank use the shady side of the street for their cars. I'm feeling a bit conspicuous in my car at an expired meter, so I drop in all of my pocket change and buy 25 minutes. And wait.
And whaddya know? Fifteen minutes later, a big rig pulls onto Park Street. Driver asks if I have towing coverage--thank you, State Farm!--gets my information, then moves off the curb and into the street. Put the van in neutral and steer while he pushes me out of the spot. Runs down the ramp, hooks up the chain, rolls my van up onto the truck bed, pausing to adjust the steering to keep it centered. In no time, they're off to the shop. I pull out to follow, just as my parking meter ticks over to zero.