Hoping to Bounce Back, Amirite?

 

This is BJs in Linden, NJ, which is not the store in this story.

Today was the day! 

The Great Tire Caper would come to a close!

I got ready, filled the bad tire with air, opened the garage, and found it was snowing.

No! I wouldn't be stopped by a few flakes. Sure there was a Winter Storm Advisory that called for ice but it wasn't supposed to get bad until after I had my new tires! Bring it on!

I gently guided the car to BJs in Yorktown Heights. For you old-timers, that was once on a plot of land that had a store called White's. I always remember getting a soft pretzel there, probably after dinner at the nearby Crompond Diner. Then it sat as an empty parking lot for years and the building was boarded up.

I was at BJs in time for my 9:30 appointment. I walked in, said why I was there, handed them the key and the lock for the lug nuts.

"Give us 90 minutes, tops," came the reply.

I went into the main part of BJs. I was prepared to take my time and walk the entire store. It seemed like a good time to assess my membership and see if I really wanted it to continue!

I strolled the electronics.

I looked at storage bins (thinking about an apartment).

I looked at everything preparing to go see the food other stuff.

I was down near the pet supplies.

I had put an ear plug in to listen to the "Office Ladies" podcast as they were recalling the holiday episode where Pam is given the teal teapot. Fun fact: Jenna Fischer was offered several options and chose the teal one.

And then?

My phone rang.

Now, I don't normally take calls from numbers I don't know but this one said "Peekskill" and while I might not have been in "The Friendly City" as my mother used to call it (she was a Peekskill girl, after all), my spidey senses told me to take it.

"Hi, Robert, can you come back to the tire shop?"

Damn.

You know how your boss asks if you have a minute? Nothing good is coming, right?

I admit I expected them to find something sinister.

Instead, they found...

That they didn't have the tires in stock.

Now, I'm sure you have questions, right?

Allow me to tell you that I had ordered the tires via BJs website last week. So, basically, from Tuesday or Wednesday, that order was in their system.

Somewhere along the line, I probably should have gotten a phone call about this, no?

Well, I didn't.

"OK," I said sternly. "What are we going to do about it?"

Maybe I should have snapped. Maybe. But I went into the silent, "fix the problem" mode. Which means I'm calmly boiling.

I liked the guy behind the counter. He was apologetic and there is something to say for that, regardless of how bad this was. They were going to make everything right. I was sure of it.

So he began to search his inventory.

"I've got good news, and I've got bad news," came the reply.

Honestly, as I see it there was no good news. Sure, he had tires in my size but he three of one brand and three of another.

Not four of one.

Wait! A FedEx truck drove by...nope. No tires. False alarm.

"So, maybe you could go to another location."

I mostly gazed out the window towards the Popeye's chicken and the Dunkin Donuts that is in the old Slender Magic fitness salon of a lifetime ago.

I was seething but, again, I didn't want to snap.

Going to another store defeated the purpose as the snowflakes fell and the prediction for ice lingered in my brain given I had four tires that were of varying degrees of awful.

How soon could I get my tires? Could be tomorrow. Wednesday. Thursday.

"Just order them and get them as soon as possible," I said.

"I'll get you right in," he said.

Look, here's the thing at this point. I'm not looking for free tires but, for what it's worth, how about a little something for the trouble? Like, you guys -- you -- effed this up. I ordered the tires. I followed all protocols. You didn't call me.

Make it right.

I've got possibly 24 games over the next month or so, including a trip to New Jersey this weekend.

I'm not sure I'll be rushing for that new BJs membership at this point.