I don’t consider myself good at waiting, but it seems that these days, patience is a virtue we all need. Waiting at the Service Department of the Jeep dealership the other day, I found so many things to observe. In this day of Covid and slow business, the things I observed were interesting. It made me think that professional waiting should be a career choice, because so many things can be discovered when one sits and waits.
The dealership was asleep when I arrived, while the Service Department woke up first. At first glance, the gleaming floors and windows were quite astonishing, considering they deal with cars. All the counters were cleared of clutter and sparkling for Customer #1, me. After taking my information, I was led into the main car showroom to wait.
There was one major thing missing in the showroom. Cars. I used to love looking at the spiffed up cars that were lucky enough to be on the showroom floor. Always the most expensive and heavily loaded with the extra bells and whistles. I’m sure their absence had to do with Covid. Doesn’t everything???????? For whatever reason, this left me, alone in the dealership showroom, to look over everything else.
The first thing I noticed was that the ceiling airconditioner vents were hairy with dirt. I found this hilarious, as everything else was so clean. However, the source of cool, fresh air had grown lint and dust to the point that they looked fuzzy. Visualizing the Covid virus with their stickiness hanging up there made me adjust my mask a little tighter.
As my eyes moved downward, I noticed the office, shared by two men. Now, I have a question for you. Does your man hide cords, or leave them looped here and there, like a mess of spaghetti. VST and I had long discussions about the maze of cords in his office. The was no limit to the number of cords that snaked behind this and that. I really think some of them weren’t hooked to anything, but there just to add to the sheer volume of cords.
In this shared office, the cords were everywhere. It struck me odd that for a dealership in which one vehicle might cost more than a person’s yearly salary, attention to detail was absent. Even with the shiny windows looking into this office, the cords were random and numorous, snaking this way and that in a heap on the floor. Sticky notes covered the wall, and a general feeling of disarray and disorganization filled this little glass office for two. The office furniture spoke to a sleek design made for minimal clutter. Add two men, and the situation is nit quite showroom perfect.
The more I watched the operations, as the dealership came to life, the more I realized there is so much to observe in life. By noting the little details in life, we can better choose businesses and eateries that we might want to try. Just by having a cup of coffee and waiting, there is much to be learned.
I did learn that the dealership is run by people who are friends. Little local businesses are like that. I learned that I would like to do more business with these people, even if their building could use a little closer attention to detail when it comes to house keeping. I learned that even in a car dealership showroom, things that used to be are no more. Customers going in to buy their first cars won’t have the delightful experience to look at the one they can’t afford THIS time, but would dream about in the future. The one with all the bells and whistles in the center of the showroom floor, washed and waxed to a blinding shine.
Waiting can create a quiet space in which to think and evaluate the surroundings. It can quiet your pulse if you just let it surround you and find something interesting to watch. It IS an art. Try it.