I've had some history with Jiffy Lube - and I'm not criticizing the company in any way. I've gone to the location closest to my office for several years for oil changes and inspections, and have no problem with the quality of my work. But several years ago I had a scary (but very funny) experience, and I had another one today.
Here's #1 - About 3 years ago, I went to Jiffy Lube right after work (5 PM) knowing that they were open until 6, and I urgently needed an oil change. After talking with the two young men who were working about my car, I ventured into the waiting room. I sat a bit, watching TV and reading the newspaper, and noticed that the phone in the office rang several times but they ignored it. There were no other customers and just the two employees who were working on my car. After a few minutes, I decided to visit the rest room, which was a one-stall unisex type. As I locked the door behind me, I noticed that it was one of those bar-slider locks, and the little handle was missing, but thought nothing of it. After taking care of the necessary business and washing my hands, I went to open the door and discovered that I could not unlock it. Without the little handle, it was impossible to slide the bar. I started to panic just a little but then started laughing, thinking of how ridiculous this situation was. I started to get my cell phone out but then decided that wouldn't help - they weren't answering the phone anyway. And what was I going to do - call 911 and tell them I was locked in the bathroom at the Jiffy Lube? It was now close to 6 PM on Friday and it occurred to me that they might lock up and go home if they didn't see me. What a way to spend the weekend! I started digging through my purse and found a pen, took it apart, and managed to use the ink barrel part to slide the bar open enough to get the door open. Whew! I took my seat, laughing to myself, thinking of how the headlines in the newspaper would read - "Woman trapped inside Jiffy Lube bathroom for entire weekend"....
Trust me, I'm now VERY cautious about using public bathrooms and double check the lock before going in. Oh and I'd like to add that the next time I visited this location - they had a new lock on the door. I suspect I wasn't the only victim!
Now, here's what happened today. That particular Jiffy Lube had closed and customers were directed to go to a different one a few miles away. I went at lunchtime today, badly in need of an oil change, and it seemed fine. There was only one truck already up on a rack with 2 men looking at it so it shouldn't be a long wait. After just a minute, an attendant came out to me and said he could have it done during my lunch hour without difficulty, and directed me into the lounge. Before I even made it to the lounge, I noticed that another worker was now driving my car onto a ramp to be worked on. Great, I thought.
I took a seat in the waiting room, which was empty otherwise, and began looking through some papers I had brought with me. After a few minutes, I noticed that a man kept walking around outside the glass door leading to the work area, looking in at me. Thinking that perhaps he was an employee and needed to talk to me about my car, I looked at him and smiled, but he walked away again, so I returned to my reading. After a few minutes, I heard someone open the door and enter the waiting room, walked towards me and stopped right in front of me. Looking up, I saw it was the same man, and he was just standing there smiling and looking at me. I said hello, and he said "Hello, how are you doing today?". I replied, politely "Fine thanks - and I hope you are doing well too", and he said he was. I realized he was digging into his pocket for change, and that I was sitting beside a soda machine, somewhat blocking it - and offered to move out of his way. He assured me that I was fine, started getting his drink out of the machine, all the while looking at me. He again asked how I was doing and I again thanked him and said I was fine. He kept looking at me, and then said, "You're beautiful". Now, I am not the type of woman who gets complimented or hit on EVER, so I was stunned and speechless. I finally stammered a "thank you" and looked down again at my reading. He stood for a moment, and then left the area. But every time I looked up, he was standing out in the garage, looking at me. It was really creepy, to be honest, and I was getting a bit concerned. If he was an employee, he would have access to my personal information and that concerned me.
After a few more minutes, the fellow who HAD been working on my car came in to finalize the transaction and I walked over to the counter. I could see through the window behind him, and the "creepy" man had gotten into a car and was driving away. That made me feel better but still.......
My life is now complete- I've been hit on by a greasy creepy looking guy at the Jiffy Lube!!!!
