A mechanic’s act of kindness in the run-up to Christmas has gone viral on social media, after the exchange was shared online by a customer who said she was left feeling like she “met a real-life Santa” — after he did not charge her for fixing her car during a visit to a garage on Tuesday.
Twitter user Hannah O’Sullivan had already had car problems worked on twice to no avail and then thought she’d try JPN Car Service in Glanmire, Cork City.
“Was given the kindest gift ever today!” the motorist said in a four-part tweet voicing her appreciation. “Felt like I met a real-life Santa”.
Was given the kindest gift ever today! Felt like I met a real life Santa. An engine warning light came on on my dashboard. Brought my car into JPN Car Service in Glanmire – the man in there fixed d prob with my car – then he went into his office where I assumed he was getting 1/4
— Hannah O Sullivan (@sullydaysleeper) December 13, 2022
She explained how an engine warning light appeared on her dashboard, prompting her to bring the car into the car service in Cork City. She said after the mechanic working at the time fixed the problem with the car, he went to his office where she assumed he was bringing out a card reader for the customer to pay him.
“I called out to him, how much do I owe you, and he returned with a can of coke, a bottle of water & a few chocolate bars & handed them to me”.
Ms O’Sullivan went on to explain her confusion: “I was thinking why is he giving me treats & I asked him again how much I owed him & he said “it’s a 2/4 gift”.
She admitted she had tears in her eyes writing about the heart-warming encounter, admitting she was concerned about how much the trip to the mechanic’s would set her back:
“I had taken my car to a [different] garage [about] a week ago & it cost €850 to fix – was reluctant to take it back there as I had to take it back twice after having it fixed” meaning she would be bringing it back for the third time.
“Anyway, this was so kind of this man. He didn’t know any of this – I rely so much on my car for appointments etc – so I just wanted to give this man and his garage a massive #ThankYou by posting this here – there are some really great, really kind people out there!”
Receiving the gift of the free service, she added: “I really had to compose myself not to burst into tears when I realised that he meant that fixing the car was a gift as well as the chocolate & coke!”
The tweet was flooded with happy responses, with people praising the man’s act of kindness in the month of Christmas.
One user was quick to identify the men working at the Cork mechanics as Peter and Joe – adding that it was not the first time they had shared their sweet tooth with others.
“That’s Peter & Joe!” one user said. “They’re the nicest guys and excellent at what they do. My Dad works near them and he’s often come home laden with sweets & cans of coke!”
The inclusion of treats for customers appears to be a regular thing – with another customer named JW adding: “Joe and Peter have kept my car going for the last 4 years. Legends. Always laughing and lashing out the treats !”
“That’s a lovely warm story – this business deserves recognition and support,” another user said. One woman, Caroline, said the story has “lit up the joys in all of us” as she thanked Ms O’Sullivan for sharing the uplifting encounter.
“This definitely made me a little teary. Kindness costs nothing and means the world!” said another appreciative commentator named Orla.
“It’s nice to see there are some good people out there,” another said, with others saying how reading the Twitter thread about the mechanic’s generosity had “warmed” them up.
“Think your smile won him over,” another said, adding: “#MerryChristmasToAll”.
The outpouring of praise for the act of generosity comes as a set of studies published online in theJournal of Experimental Psychology: General, reported that people who perform random acts of kindness do not always realise how much of an impact they are having on another individual. Scientists Amit Kumar and Nick Epley said that the studies showed that people “consistently and systematically underestimate how others value these acts”.
Kumar penned in Scientific American this week: “Acts as simple as buying a cup of coffee for someone can boost a person’s mood, for example. Everyday life affords many opportunities for such actions, yet people do not always take advantage of them.
They wrote:
“Missing the importance of warmth may stand in the way of being kinder in daily life. People generally want to perform kind actions—in fact, many of our participants noted that they’d like to do so more often. But our data suggest that underestimating the impact of one’s actions may reduce the likelihood of kindness. If people undervalue this impact, they might not bother to carry out these warm, prosocial behaviours”.
As proven by the story of the kind mechanic in Cork, the scientists noted that “kindness can be contagious” with the consequences of being generous having the potential to go beyond a single recipient. They also said the “pay it forward” effect was manifest in the experiment – detailing how those who had just been on the receiving end of a kind act showing greater generosity than those who had not. They added:
“These findings suggest that what might seem small when we are deciding whether or not to do something nice for someone else could matter a great deal to the person we do it for. Given that these warm gestures can enhance our own mood and brighten the day of another person, why not choose kindness when we can?”