Good Mechanics, Bad Mechanics!

Car repairs are almost always a nightmare experience because Garages and Mechanics have been screwing over the public so long that most of them are incapable of functioning in any other manner. Last night Sya and I were travelling to do some unwanted but needed grocery shopping when the grind kicked in, the grind that is from the brakes. Sigh, I knew grinding brakes meant 100-300 bucks before a millisecond had passed. I thought about taking it home, jacking it up, putting jack stands on and trying to replace whatever was needed in the dark and sub-zero temps and decided I worked my utterly-sucky-day-job and did not need to make myself suffer further. So we pulled into a shop called Belle Tire (Belle Tire, 2469 S Center Rd Burton, MI just off of Center and Atherton Roads on the border between Burtucky (Burton) and Flint).
I walked in, waited 10 minutes while hearing them answer phone inquires with;
I don't know when it will be readies'
I have to ask Steve/Jim/Joe Bob avoiding helping the customers
I think it is finisheds'
I also heard the most ubiquitous lie you hear in tire shops, “These are the best in terms of price and performance for your vehicle” which actually means that they will fit and they have them in stock.
I asked them if they had time to check out what the problem was tonight (it was 4:45pm and their posted closing time was 6pm) and they assured me that they would. So Sya and I grabbed a spot in their break room. I went to the counter at 5:00pm to see what was up and the car had not been touched. I went back at 5:10pm and asked if they really had time to work on it, and the guy said, “They are pulling it in right now.” The car was sitting in the same spot I had parked it in, no one had touched it, and I could see the service write up hanging untouched on the wall. I asked for my keys back, and the next stage of their demonstrated incompetence kicked in. In 25 minutes they had LOST my key. It took them 10 minutes to find it. I mentioned while they were hunting for my key that I would ensure telling everyone about their service. The guy behind the counter with shirt covered in food stains said, “What do that mean?” (sic) I told him I would let people know they lost my keys in record time between lying to me and to other customers. At this point he wisely shut up. So with very little time remaining we set forth to try to find someone quickly who could at least let us know what was wrong.
We pulled into the Tuffy Auto on the corner of Lapeer and Dort (Tuffy Auto Service Center 1802 S Dort Hwy Flint MI) at 5:35 and experienced the REVERSE of our treatment at Belle. They took our info, they got our key and 12 minutes later they pulled the car into a bay, pulled the tires off, check all 4 brakes, presented us with what needed to be fixed ( pads, rotors on front ) and I told them to fix away. They check their shop stocks before they made any promises,called their warehouse, tracked down all the parts and got them together on the car. I watched them actually CHECK the brake lines, brake fluid levels, they road tested, etc. Then they cleaned up and most importantly they treated us like valued customers. By 6:20 we were on the road, a little poorer but with a fast and well performed repair accompanied by no BS. I noticed plaques on the wall commending their manager and I must add that I fully agree with the respect Tuffy shows him. But let me stress that EVERY employee there was courteous, and straight forward with both Sya and I, but also with all the other customers I watched them interact with.
Tuffy is now my mechanic, and they deserve to be.