Chapter 15

On the way back to the far side of the park, I called the auto parts store to get the fuel pump for the Daniels car. I also ordered the other stuff to tune and service it. I asked about the shaft and housing and they said they could get it, but it would not be available until tomorrow. I told them to order it for me, along with the service materials for the car. I pleaded, "Could you bring me the fuel pump and the other goodies. Tell the gate guard that I'm at the Daniels and Kelly places. They'll direct the driver."

"The guy said, "No sweat, you order enough for delivery anyway. The driver will be right there."

Up at the two cars, I began pulling the tank loose to replace the pump. This was a tough job, but I used a piece of plywood between the tank and the little bottle jack that would hold up the tank while I pulled the fuel pump.

I should probably have had the garage that charged the lady to come get the car, but I was wasting too much time today. It was almost noon and I had not accomplished anything except get a bitch in trouble. I had the old fuel pump out and found it to be the original equipment pump. This just proved the garage did nothing. I would have to see about them. The parts driver arrived and unloaded everything into my cart, had me sign for it and split, fast, and efficient.

I had the new pump in the tank and jacked the tank up so I could bolt the straps back on. I connected the tubing I had pulled loose and turned the key on. I heard the pump fill the line and turned the ignition. The car started instantly.

I changed oil and filters, tuned it up real quick, and gave Mrs. Daniels the old fuel pump. I told her, "Take this up to the place who said they replaced your fuel pump and tell them you want your money back. They did not replace your fuel pump. That's the original equipment fuel pump. Your car runs fine again, all tuned and serviced. She thanked me and said, "Are you going to be able to fix Mrs. Kelly's car. She's been so unlucky with it since having the car stolen."

"I'll get it done tomorrow."

I did go tell Mrs. Kelly I would be back after lunch to service the car and the parts to fix the rear axle would be here in the morning.

Up at the patio, I was sort of dirty and used the outside hose with some degreaser to get clean enough to eat. Hap came in and began telling everyone about the poor excuse for a claims adjuster that been there this morning.

Steve said, "You know, they have had an attitude lately. I think I should call my original agent and see if I can rattle some bushes."

Hap said, "You have help shaking those bushes. Mark told the head claims people to go tell underwriting that you were looking into finding a friendlier company."

Steve laughed, "That's pretty perceptive of you, Mark. Ruth and Sue have already been looking. I was the one to tell them to take it slow. When Sue comes over, she'll hear this and won't want to be slow."

Sue came in right after that and when the incident slowly came out, Sue was pissed. She picked up her cell phone and called someone important. She said, "You have exactly four hours, until five o'clock, to get a real claims investigator out here to look at the damage to Mrs. Kelly's car from when it was stolen. One little tiny claim and you're going to lose multiple millions of dollars in business. Dumb, huh?"

Sue smiled at me and said, "I hope you haven't fixed it yet. I want them to see it."

I said, "I had to order the parts. They won't be here until tomorrow, so the car is still in pieces. The damage is easy to see."

Steve said, "Show me after lunch, I want to see it, too."

After lunch, Steve followed me over to Mrs. Kelly's place. I showed him the gouge and the bent housing. He said, "Ray Charles could see that. Hap said you were working on another car up here."

Pointing across the street, "Mrs. Daniels' car had a bad fuel pump. She paid to have a new pump put in a month ago and of course didn't have enough for another repair. The pump I pulled was the original equipment pump. I gave it to her and told her to go get her money back from the shop."

Steve was ticked, "Let me get her bill and the pump. I'll go talk to them myself. This is ridiculous. These old people don't have the money to be overpaying to get nothing done. Hell, I'll have the TV people do the work." Steve went up and knocked on Mrs. Daniels' door.

I serviced Mrs. Kelly's car and was finishing when a white Chevy Tahoe pulled up with the insurance company name on the side. A very nice looking lady got out of the car and smiled. She asked, "Is this the Kelly vehicle with the problem?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I will get Mrs. Kelly and we'll show you where the problem is."

She smiled as I knocked on Mrs. Kelly's door. The older lady came out, wringing her hands. She said, "I can't believe the problems after having the car stolen like that. Let Mr. Robins show you what happened."

I spread a cloth on the ground so she could look up under the car. The lady did get on her knees and I showed her where the housing was gouged and bent explaining that the shaft was bent inside the housing. She asked, "Why are the wheels off?"

"I took the wheels off to see if the rear brake drums were seized since the rear tires were skidding. When I tried to turn the shaft it wouldn't turn so that's how I came to get the car up off the ground farther to find the problem."

The lady asked, "If the car is so badly damaged, how did it get here? Most of the tow companies use flat bed trucks and roll them on and off."

Mrs. Kelly said, "A regular tow truck came with the car hooked up to it. They were pulling the car by the back. I'll bet that's why they were pulling it that way. They rolled it in front first, right up under my carport and that's where it's sat."

The lady asked, "Do you have an estimate for the job?"

Steve had walked up and said, "Why don't you just pay the claim on the standard dealer amount for changing the parts he's ordered. If he overruns that, he's willing to eat it."

Gee thanks, Mr. Moneybags. But then, Steve is giving me good money for doing this. At least, I think so.

The lady frowned and said, "This man isn't a dealer and is doing the work as if he were a shade tree mechanic. Are you even a licensed mechanic?"

"No, Ma'am, I am not. I will put the car back together, have it towed to the nearest dealer and have them do the work. I'm sure you would be happier that way. I have other people to help."

"Well, that's a very smart alec way to answer."

Steve said, "He only offered to resolve the problem after your insult. Oh, I think you should know that your other claims adjuster did all the rock damage to his cart today, too. I want you to estimate the repainting of it."

"You'll have to file a formal claim for it. It probably won't exceed your deductible."

Steve was smiling now, but a nasty smile. "You don't understand, your person, your employee, is responsible for the damage. It was done while in the act of maliciously trying to harm Mr. Robins. That's why your rep is in jail."

The lady became alarmed, "Our claims representative is in jail? Why did that happen?"

This time it was my turn. "She became angry because I wanted her to look at the damage. She denied the claim and said she would have me arrested for fraud if we brought it up again. That's when she spun her tires while leaving, showering my cart and me with rocks. She was detained at our front gate until the Sheriff's department could respond. The park has charged her with malicious property damage and intent to commit bodily harm."

You could see this woman wilting by the second.

Steve said, "I personally, through S&S, pay your company multiple millions of dollars annually to insure my properties, vehicles, and businesses. I would think we could get a little more respect for that kind of business."

The lady said, "The owner of S&S is Steve Sharp. I'm sure he will enjoy you having impersonated him. His wife will like that as well, as she insures all of her companies with us."

Steve pulled his wallet from his pocket and handed her his driver's license. He took it back from her while her mouth was still open and said, "Now, I want you to complete the claim on this car right this instant. Either do as I previously asked, or deny the claim. When you get back to your office in the main building, I want you to go see Howard and tell him you are responsible for potentially losing the company millions in premiums. Do it now, Ma'am, or I will have you removed from my property."

The lady broke down and was crying, trying to fill out the claim form and look up the amounts in big manual. Steve just shook his head, got in his cart and drove off. The lady asked me, "Would you mind using my camera and take pictures of the housing for me. I also need pictures of the cart that was sprayed with rocks. Are you personally going to sue us for damages?"

"Probably not, Ma'am. I'm not into that sort of thing. Fair is fair, you take care of my boss and this lady and I'm fine with it."

I took the pictures of those things she wanted and gave her the camera. She flipped through the frames making sure she had what she needed. She said, "We had a crank call that told us we should come get the representative's car before it was impounded. That wasn't a crank call then, was it?"

Shaking my head no, I said, "I made that call, Ma'am. I thought it would be better for your people to take the car rather than have it go to an impound lot where it costs around,,,,, "

"Two fifty to get it out," she said. "You also advised us the rep was going to jail. I wonder if they have given her an opportunity to call for help yet. I wonder if we even provide an attorney for that."

I suggested, "You probably should use your attorney and funds to bail her out, since the felonies were committed in the process of her carrying out your business in the manner she felt you would want it completed."

She said, "Oh shit." She covered her mouth and apologized. " I'm sorry for the language."

Mrs. Kelly said, "You'll probably hear a lot worse before this day is over, and not one curse word from Mr. Robins. I think he needs to say a few."

The claims lady smiled at that. She ripped out a check that she had written and handed it to Mrs. Kelly. She said, "That is the dealer amount to repair what was indicated to me, plus the cost of an alignment. If there are additional charges, please advise me. Here is my card."

She turned to me and said, "You tried to warn me several times and I didn't take your hints. Thank you for trying to warn me and if we are in this situation again, kick me or slap me, but get my attention. I have no idea how much the cost of repainting this side of your cart will be. Please have the work completed and use this piece of paper for reimbursement. I need to go find out if I still have a job and if my big boss still is my big boss. We need to do some big butt kissing."

I said, "You want to know how to resolve this issue?"

"How?" The lady actually looked expectant.

"Get your big boss and both of you change into some casual clothes and be here just before five. Talk to Steve and Sue about how you made mistakes and how you will resolve them. Have a drink with them. Have a beer or two. If you have to keep talking, have supper with them. As you drive out of here right now, go down his street and look at the big patio on the side of the enormous manufactured home. That is where you will make this right. It's up to you, be there and fix it, or let it simmer overnight long enough for them to make up their mind to cancel. If there are other problems, get underwriting to work on them. If I know this company, I'll bet they have very few claims."

"You're right about claims. This claim isn't even on them. This is a personal auto claim. Your claim is against the insurance company, so that isn't even against their revenue. I'll tell the boss. Hopefully he sees the value of your suggestion."

"Don't be misled by Steve and Sue living out here. This is a great place to live, full of happy people who are propped up by Steve, Sue, and all the people of S&S and this park."