I hollered for a Marshall

The battery in my Toyota Echo was sounding a bit feeble a couple of days ago so I went into Beaurepaires on Ipswich Rd -- which I drive past everyday -- and asked did they test batteries.  The clod at the desk said "Yes we do but the machine is broken".  No further comment that he would take my number and ring me when the machine was fixed.  I would have accepted that. So I turned on my heel and left without another word. The battery was definitely low so I would probably have bought a new one from him if he had shown any interest in business.

So then I went to the local Repco outlet, who are big on all things cars. The bloke said a new battery would be $209.  But I haggled him down to $160.  I then asked how much to fit it as at 75 I am getting a bit old to do that.  He said that they don't fit batteries.  So again I turned on my heel and left without another word.

The only other nearby battery place was Marshalls at Greenslopes so I drove to their depot.  The bloke there attended to me promptly and in a friendly manner and quoted me $160 plus $15 to fit the battery.  I said: "Let's do it now" and he did. I walked out of there after no more than 10 minutes a happy man with a new battery under the bonnet. And he had the $$$ that the previous businesses had seen walk out. And even the price was right.

That's about the usual score for Australian businesses.  Only about a third know and care what they're doing. See here and here for previous examples

Something I didn't know is that Marshall is actually an Australian company, not American at all. Something else I didn't know is that Marshall can help with a lot more than batteries

To quote them:

Why keep paying for traditional Roadside Assistance membership every year, when you don't need to? Marshall has revolutionised traditional roadside assistance programs with its new 'Pay to Use Roadside Rescue' service! THAT MEANS NO MEMBERSHIP OR ROADSIDE JOINING FEES!

Who knows when one of those unforeseen breakdown situations may occur? Maybe you have a flat battery, locked your keys in the car or have run out of fuel? Simply 'Holler For A Marshall'

Flat or damaged tyre? We will come to you and change over your flat or damaged tyre with your vehicles spare, saving you the hassle of doing it yourself.

Locked your keys inside your vehicle? Don't worry, Marshall can access most standard vehicles to retrieve your keys.