5 /5 Thom Hiatt: Its not often that you "feel good" about spending $700 on an emergency car repair! But such is the feeling after having visited the crew at Midas in Jackson, CA, on a recent Saturday. My family was on a road trip from San Diego, and while visting Old Town Jackson, we found ourselves with a busted radiator and antifreeze all over the street. Midas was quite literally the only repair shop open. Ethan and Sam made a quick diagnosis and worked to get our van into a service bay ASAP. Ethan immediately looked for a new matching radiator, and Sam was confident he could get the job done in 3 hours. I proceeded to put my faith in the team, and I hung out in the lobby for a good part of the day, as my family walked around town looking to pass the time. Lynnae at the front desk did a great job, and Ethan kept me informed with work progress. As the hours passed, we all continued to share road trip stories; Ethan told me about his own road trip trials and tribulations both as an adult and father, and when he traveled with his own father back in the day. I sat patiently between 11:45 a.m. and 2 p.m. and then 3 p.m. and then 4 p.m. and then I started to get nervous as we inched closer to closing time. Ethan broke out a box of donuts and shared them with my kids, me and my wife. The shop closed at 5, but Sam kept working while Ethan and Lynnae closed garage doors, etc. Finally at 5:35 the job was finished and Lynnea actually brought me to tears when it was time to pay and she made sure I was getting the best price. It hurt to pay that much money, but I was grateful to the entire team for helping me and my family get back on the road that same day, since it could have been a horrible two-day delay (closed on Sunday). Getting us back on the road really meant a lot to us. And though I never got to see Sam at the end, I wanted to sincerely thank him for his diligence and hard work during the entire second half of his work day. And thanks to Ethan for making it a personal experience, and to Lynnae for making it all pleasant. Oddly enough, if I am ever in Jackson, CA again, I will be sure to stop by and say hello.
