Every so often, if you're lucky, you can have an exceptionally good customer service experience that deserves a shout out.
On the way to
Melrose for our national gathering of
Kimberley Karavans and Kruisers, about 100km short of our destination our Karavan blew a tyre, totally destroying it. We drove on with the spare and arrived at
Melrose without further incident.
Googling "tyre shops in Melrose" I found there weren't any in the small town itself, but a hit came up on Avondale Proprietors, about 5km out of town. Avondale Proprietors is a sheep station run by the dad with a full workshop and tyre business run by the son, Shaun. The tyre size, LT 265/70 16 in my preferred brand, BFG All Terrain, were not in stock and one was freighted in from
Melbourne. He could have sold me a cheap equivalent but when I told him the brand I was using he said "No Frank, you've chosen the BFGs for a very good reason, I'm not going to sell you a rubbish replacement".
The tyre cost me less than some people have said they've paid in the city, plus $40 freight. When it came to payment he preferred cash, which I didn't have. "Don't worry, Frank", he said, "I'll be out helping Dad with the sheep for the next few days, but you come back when you're ready and leave the money under this paperweight (a short length of railway track)". He'd never seen me before, nor had I ever seen him, but that's the way he does business - based on trust. The next day I left the money, along with ten bucks for a lottery ticket as a thank-you.
A couple of days later I had flat on the ute. Back to Shaun who squeezed me in to his schedule at no notice. When it came time to pay he said "I normally charge $45 for a tyre repair and balance (which is what I pay at
home), but seeing you overpaid me the other day it's $35 for you, Frank".
He doesn't advertise, relying on word of mouth. How could you not like this bloke and how could you not recommend him to others. A real bush gem, worthy of your custom if you're ever in the
Melrose area and need tyre
services.
Melrose is on the eastern side of Mt Remarkable about 65km south of
Port Augusta.
BTW I think I've figured out the reason for the blowout. The tyre was in good condition, and the pressure had been checked the day before. However it was four years old and was on the side of the van that is exposed to the western sun when it is parked at my house - which it often is when it is not in storage. I think over the years the sun had sucked some of the life out of it.
Cheers