The good news is, finally the tire has been replaced on my truck.  My good friend at Petro-Canada is upset that I rang and lodged a complaint about his franchise, he doesn’t understand why.  He seems to think that we had a simple misunderstanding and he was doing everything that he could to have the problem solved.

He said "I had to make 10,000 phone-calls to try and find your tire"

I said "That’s funny because I only had to make one"

He said "You didn’t need to complain, these things simply take time"

I said that "I didn’t complain because it was taking too long, I was complaining because of the way you treated me"

I said "If you’ve done everything properly and followed procedure then you’ve got nothing to worry about"

He said "You’re just upset that you were told you needed to pay for the brakes to be fixed on your truck"

I said "That’s what I paid you for, that’s why I came here in the first place.  Thank you for doing your job, but you’re too expensive to have the repairs done, I’ve found somewhere where I can have it done for close to half the price.  I’m just angry that you looked me in the eye and tried to rip me off."

He didn’t say anything.

I said "You fucked up my truck.  You screwed up and your first fucking reaction was to try and get more fucking money out of me"

He said "I was just suggesting possible solutions"

I said "I’m not going to tell you how to do your job, but if I was running a business my first reaction wouldn’t be to try and sell an extra tire, I would have said, look these tires only come in pairs, so I’ll have to replace the one we damaged and the second one."

He didn’t say anything.  He just fixed my truck.

I thought it was strange that they just put the spare tire in the back of the truck rather than under the truck, but didn’t think anything of it.  Later on I found out that the reason they had done this was that the ruined the winch under the car.  After putting the spare on the truck they wound it up without anything on it and all the way up, which isn’t the way it’s designed to work.  By doing this they pinched the cable, rendering the whole thing useless.

It cost me forty dollars for a new one.  I didn’t even go back, I don’t want to deal with him anymore.

Lesson learned.

Mum in her best efforts always told me that vulgar language was a result of someone not having a sufficient enough vocabulary to express the emotions that they’re feeling.

I’ve always disagreed, and I feel that at times vulgar language is the only way to express a particular thought or emotion.  At times it carries more weight.  At times, I feel it’s fitting and deserved.

With that in mind. I would like to write this open letter to Petro-Canada.

"Dear Petro-Canada,

Fuck You.  Fuck you and everything you stand for.  You deserve an explanation as to why I feel this way, as up until now, you had done me personally no wrong.

The dangerously incompetent and intentionally deceptive staff that represent you epitomize the "shady mechanic" - the vulture in greasy overalls that will forcibly and repeatedly have its way with the every day consumer that either doesn’t know any better, or are put in a situation where they don’t have any choice.

I took my newly acquired 1991 Ford Explorer to you for a simple roadworthy certificate to give to my insurance company.  I thought Petro-Canada would be the best choice, simply because they are Canadian owned and was foolish enough to trust a positive review I read of this particular branch.

You proved me wrong.

I dropped off my truck which is affectionately known as "Dora" to you at 8 in the morning for a process that shouldn’t take more than an hour.  When I rang you at 1pm I was told that Dora hadn’t been touched but would be looked at and I would be able to her up around 2.30, 3 o’clock.

When I arrived there at 3 I was told that she had been in an "incident".  You joked that the mechanic had done this before and should know better.  You told me that her back tire and had been ripped off the wheel whilst being driven into the warehouse.  You told me to come back tomorrow and talk to the manager about what was going to be done about my tire.

You then finally did the job you were asked to do.  You told me that my brakes and suspension needed work, you told me that $637.37 worth of work was required for Dora to be roadworthy.  However you didn’t fill out any paperwork.  You gave me a bill and a blank copy of the paperwork I had asked to be completed.  As far as I could see all you did was destroy my tire and tell me that my brakes and suspension don’t work properly.

I asked you to complete the paperwork that I had given you.  I had to reason with you as to why this needed to be done.  To your credit, you did this because I asked you too.  For this I thank you.  This was what I wanted you to do.

I then spoke to the Manager.  The man in charge, the man who could fix the mistake that you made.  This man, he lied in your name.  He stood in front of me wearing a polo-shirt with your logo.  He looked me in the eye and tried to deceive me.

He told me that you had destroyed my winter tire and that I needed summer tires anyway.  He told me that he would replace one tire that was destroyed, however these tires come in pairs.  He told me that I had to buy the second.

This is wrong in two instances.  Firstly, the tire that you destroyed was an all-season tire, not a winter tire.  Secondly, these can be bought on their own.  I know this because in addition to possessing some common-sense, a friend rang where the tire was purchased from and asked them.  They told me how much they were, and they told me that they had them.

I was then lied to again.  I was told that the tire was available and could be purchased for $172.  At this stage I was made an offer.  I was told that I could have the inspection for nothing if I paid for the tire.  Now this confuses me for three reasons.  Firstly, I was told by the tire distributor that the tire costs $152, secondly I’m  wondering why I would be given a $102 inspection for free, but asked to pay $172 for a $152 tire, and last of all, why am I being asked to pay for your mistake?

The following day I was woken up at 8am by you calling me.  To everyone else this isn’t early, but to someone that normally works until 3am, this is extremely early.  But that’s okay.  I was just happy that you were apparently doing something, that you were working to rectify the problem.  The manager that we’ve established is a liar, asked me to fax you a copy of the paperwork from where the tire was first purchased.  This man told me that he was now having trouble finding the tire.

For you, I got out of bed and faxed this information.  For you, I tried to speed up the process.  I rang you and told you my name.  I told you I was calling about my tire and wanted to see if you had received my fax.  The man I spoke to, was not the same liar.  The man I spoke to told me the tire was on order and would be here in the next couple of days.

Forgive me for being somewhat suspicious at this point, but I suspect that I was being asked to provide this paperwork that you do not need because you wanted to know how much was originally paid for the tires.  I suspect that you will ask me to pay the difference.  I know that the tires were purchased for $119, and until I have a tire on my truck, I will not tell you that this, I omitted this detail from my fax because I am now afraid of you.

I am afraid of you as I now know what you are capable of. 

You have done me wrong.

You have lied to me in many ways.

I have one other question.  This question is much simpler.  Why are you charging me $637.37 for repairs that I have found are possible to be done for approximately $267?

I will give you one thing.  You have balls.  The balls to look me in the eye and lie to me.  The balls to think that you are "providing world class petroleum products and services" when you treat me the way that you have.  Most of all though, the balls to think that I’m going to let you get away with it.

Sincerely,

Shaun Freeman."

"The world is like a ride at an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it, you think it’s real, because that’s how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round and it has thrills and chills and it’s very brightly colored and it’s very loud. And it’s fun, for a while.

Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question: ‘Is this real? Or is this just a ride?’ And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and they say ‘Hey! Don’t worry, don’t be afraid - ever - because… this is just a ride.’ And we kill those people.

‘Shut him up! We have a lot invested in this ride! Shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry; look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real.’

It’s just a ride. But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that - ever notice that? - and we let the demons run amok. But it doesn’t matter, because… it’s just a ride, and we can change it any time we want. It’s only a choice. No effort. No worry. No job. No savings and money. Just a choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your door, buy bigger guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one.

Here’s what we can do to change the world, right now, into a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defense each year and, instead, spend it feeding, clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would do many times over - not one human being excluded - and we can explore space together, both inner and outer, forever. In peace." - Bill Hicks

Next step - Castle Mountain.  There’s a rock climbing hut half-way up the mountain for people to spend the night in and break up the long hike/climb to the top.  Just next to the hut is a wooden wall to give some privacy for the pit toilet on the other side.  Apart from that wall, there is nothing surrounding the loo - you’re basically shitting on top of the world.

On a nice sunny day with a warm gentle breeze, that’s got to be a difficult poo to beat.

That’s not meant in any grim sense.  It’s a beautiful time to be alive.  I’m in the mountains, I’m healthy, and I’m going to be a father.

Obviously it’s unplanned and unexpected, but that doesn’t make the process any less worthwhile, that doesn’t make our impending child any less worthwhile.  Any less loved.

Right now, it’s not all sunshine and lollipops.  There’s a lot of fear involved.  Fear of my financial ability to provide for a family.  Feelings of insecurity relating to my ability to be a good father.

It’ll all work out.

I know it will.

How could it not?