This particular day in Minnesota, the weather was not cooperating and it snowed more than I have ever seen in all my travels. The roads were clear in both directions on the interstate but there were piles of snow over 20 feet high on either side of the road; it’s normal if you live in Minnesota, but I had never seen anything quite like it before.
I had returned the rental car and waited at the hotel for the local rep to pick me up and work the following 3 days visiting clients; the meetings were in small towns far away from the main cities. He had made all the appointments and the rest of the week was to be quite busy.
The rep and I were traveling at a normal pace through lonely roads in the country; looking back on the rear view mirror I noticed a black cloud was following us. I asked him what he thought it was and he said it seemed one of the engine belts had broken and we needed emergency assistance. In the middle of nowhere there are few garages to take care of problems such as these.
Without much alarm, he slowed down, took the next off-ramp and entered the only garage on the highway. By this time, one of the rear tires was almost flat, so we were delighted we had found this place in the middle of nowhere.
After consultation between the owner, his assistant and his wife, they decided the replacement for the broken belt was not in stock and it would take a couple of days to find one. We did not have a couple of days to wait, so alternative ideas were springing from their minds at a rapid pace. We were just waiting for them to make a decision on what would be the next step.
So, what is the alternative? I asked. The garage’s owner was able to locate an slightly used belt which would take us as far as the next town to find an auto parts store and purchase the right size belt. To change the tire and repair it he charged $20; the rep did not have enough cash with him, so I opened my wallet and gave him the money so we could leave. I did not want to be sequestered in this lonely place. So glad my expense account was not in the red yet.
As we continued our trip to the next town, we heard another quirky sound coming from underneath the car; there was a metal-to-metal scrape which sounded like the brakes were rubbing on metal. I was right and also afraid to be stranded on a lonely road with no way of transportation out of there. The next town loomed ahead.
We arrived at the next town, got the right size belt and replaced it. I asked one of the attendants to give us a ride to the rental car agency so we could have a reliable car for the rest of the week. The rep called his wife and asked for additional funds to cover the belt, the tire and the brake job. We left the car at the mechanics, picked up the rental car and continued on our way visiting clients for the rest of the week.
However, at the end of the week and all the meetings, we still needed to go back to the small town to retrieve his car and get to the airport for my next flight. After several hours of traveling to locate his car, we were glad to have finally completed the week. Arrived at the airport for my flight with plenty of time; he left for his trip back to the city and I waited for my plane to take me home. When I heard the public announcement about my flight being cancelled, I almost cried. Back to the hotel and to wait for the next flight the next day. Such is the life of a traveling sales rep.
To this date, I’m still waiting for the rep to send me the $20 I paid to repair his tire. I should have taken it out of his commission check.