My dad has ‘a guy’ for everything.
Need someone to fix a gutter? He’s got a guy. Need new brakes on your truck, but don’t want to spend a fortune? He knows someone. Have an irrigation problem in your backyard? Don’t worry, he’ll make a call. It’ll be fixed by Monday.
Need to make somebody go away, Mafia-style? OK, maybe he doesn’t know that guy. Still, his connections come in handy, especially for someone like me, who doesn’t have any ‘guys’ aside from a few plumber and electrician friends who work for free (or, at the very most, for a case of beer.)
My dad’s mental Rolodex of ‘guys’ comes largely as a result of his nearly four decades working with contractors of various stripes, as well as his uncanny ability to strike up a conversation with almost anybody at any time.
It can sometimes make a quick trip to the grocery store last half the afternoon – the phrase “guess who I ran into” has started more than a few conversations in my parents’ house through the years – but it sure pays off when your hot-water tank starts leaking at 9 p.m. on a Sunday.
And though I often bug my dad about knowing so many people, I’ve also come to realize how important it is to know people whose work you can trust, whatever the job.
And as they have countless times, my dad’s connections again came in handy this week, when I needed some quick work done on my truck.
I’d had a trailer-hitch installed recently, and it turns out there were a few problems with the wiring – something I did not discover until last weekend, when I was three hours from home in the B.C. Interior.
A shop there took a look at the problem and quoted me what I thought was an outrageous price – three-figures minimum, bordering on the $1,000 threshold.
“It’s the only way to fix it,” they insisted.
Gulp.
They no doubt could sense my predicament – far from home, with no knowledge of the situation at hand – but they were nice enough guys, and it was a reputable place, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt, pushing away any negative thoughts that they were, perhaps, taking advantage.
Still, trusting or not, I’m also cheap – and figured I’d be able to get it fixed for a lot less somewhere else. So I got everything put back together as best as could be done, and headed for home.
My dad would know a guy, I figured.
He did, of course, though it wasn’t so much a singular ‘guy’ as it was another shop he was familiar with from some encounter years before.
My dad – who is retired – even offered to drop my truck off for me the next day, because I had to go to work.
Talk about service.
A few hours later, my cellphone vibrated on my desk with a text message from my dad.
“You aren’t going to believe how much this is going to cost,” the message read.
Double-gulp.
“$49.”
My truck was fixed on the spot, and I picked it up after work that same day. I resisted the urge to call the first shop that quoted me an arm and a leg, instead choosing to take the high road.
But I did wonder just how many of their customers have had to pay exorbitant prices through the years, all because they didn’t know the right guys.
Turns out, you don’t need even need a whole bunch – you just need one.
Nick Greenizan is a reporter at the Peace Arch News.