On Thursday our Subaru conked out, the H6 is famous for having very delicate idler and tensioner pulleys on the serpentine belt and the tensioner pulley went this time and also took out the tensioner by stripping the threads right out of it.
I called my regular local parts guy and he told me his suppliers didn't have any in stock so it would take a few days at least. He suggested calling Performance Imports who last year lost their Subaru dealership, but still run the parts and service department for Subaru. This is the same dealership that years ago lost the BMW dealership and now I also see that Suzuki is gone.
Anyhow, I drive to the dealership and go in, there is nobody there. I wander about the showroom, which has a Jag E-type couple and a TR-3 in it. Have a good look at those for a while and still nobody around, all offices are empty. This doesn't surprise me as I've been in there about 5 or 6 times and never had anyone try to sell me anything or even acknowledge my presence.
As I'm leaving a lady comes out of the back and into the service dept. Yay.
I tell her what part I want and she takes down my info, then tells me the parts guy is really busy and can't get to me now. I look around at the empty service department and say "What do you mean he's too busy?" She again says he's just too busy to look up the part for me and he'll call me back.
"So, let me get this straight, I'm here to buy a part, you may have that part, but you want me to leave, wait for a call, drive back across town later to buy it here?"
"Yup" she says.
"And you think that will happen?" I say while leaving, not really caring what her response was.
So I left, went around the corner to NAPA and bought the part. Half and hour later the parts guy calls and I give him a rant in business 101, something like;
"Your best customer is the one standing in front of you with money in hand, don't ever ignore them or you will lose them and their business, but I guess it's too late for that."
And that is why Kingston doesn't presently have a Subaru, Suzuki or BMW dealer.