Fixing it Instead of Forgetting About It

By Karen McNew
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: February 18, 2008

We live in a disposable time… we throw things away and buy new items to replace them all the time.  Four years ago my husband and I got a nice vacuum cleaner as a wedding present.  I got it fixed a couple of years ago when the belt broke on it and just the other day was having a similar problem.

I clean our house often.  I especially like to keep the kitchen clean and the carpets vacuumed… so you can imagine that I was a little frustrated when our vacuum cleaner stopped picking up dirt and started making a funny noise and smelling like a tire fire…

For a brief moment I thought we would just buy a new one… it has been four years… I’m not sure how long they are supposed to last anyway.

My husband said I guess we’ll take it to that shop in Roanoke to get it fixed… That was a week and a half ago...in my procrastinating fashion I waited until today to drop it off before work.  When I got to the shop I ended up having a great conversation with a man named Leon.

He said… “You look familiar..” I said.. “I work for Channel 10 news.” He said… I thought so… and before I knew it he had by vacuum cleaner turned upside down.. 6 screws out of it… and was selecting a belt that would fit properly all while talking to me about college football… who I pulled for… and who he pulled for… college basketball too…

Normally, I would be in a huge hurry counting the seconds… so I could move on to the next thing on my to do list but Leon was such a treat to listen to that I forgot about the “other” errand I was planning to run before work and decided I would rather take my time and hear more of what Leon had to say.

He got two phone calls while I waited.  One was a customer asking about the charge for his or her pick up… Leon encouraged the person to come in a feel free to “bicker” with the other man who works there about the price… then he got a cell phone call… I presume it was his wife.. he said to her… I got a news woman standing here… he said “Karen McNew” right?  I said yes… He passed the word a long and then looked at me and said “She says hi.” It was great.  I felt like this man was part of my extended family or something.

He placed the new belt on the machine and said, “Let’s see how that does...”

As fluidly as he had taken it apart it was reassembled… plugged up switched on and working like new!

He said eight dollars and fifteen cents is what you owe me… I said, Can I just make it an even ten?  He said $8.15 will do just fine.. I smiled and wrote the check. 

I grabbed the vacuum but before I headed for the door Leon said, “Come back and see us..” Rarely do you encounter such a sincere invitation from someone working at a retail outlet these days.

I replied, “I sure will.. I enjoyed the conversation.”

Today was a winner all around even though it is a Monday… I got my vacuum fixed for under 10 dollars and don’t have to buy a new one.. I shared some genuine conversation with a stranger… I ran eight miles and I shot and finished the rest of a really cool story I am working on for Thursday.