Exploitation

Due to the fact that I have to commute roughly a hundred miles every day to work and back, and that I work seven days a week between three jobs, I recently stopped by Jiffy Lube for the inevitable oil change. I don't know about the rest of you, but oil change day is quite possibly the worst day of the entire month for me. I don't have any data to back this up, but I think car mechanics can smell ignorance in the same way that dogs smell fear, or they put some special mark somewhere under the hood that identifies me as an ignoramus. Generally, as if ripping me off isn't enough, they go out of their way to verbally humiliate me too. (The following are excerpts from recent oil changes)

Mechanic: "I noticed your oil is black."
Me: "Uh... isn't it supposed to be?"
Mechanic: "Not this black, we need to flush out your engine."

Mechanic: "See how dirty your air filter is?"
Me: "Uh... yeah... I'm guessing we need to replace it?"
Mechanic: "shaa, you know what else that means, right?"
Me: "Actually, I have no idea..."
( the other workers pretending not to listen laugh)
Mechanic: "means you need a new breather element too."
Me: "How much are those?"
Mechanic: "cheap, like five bucks"
Me: "Ok, yeah, I'll take one of those."
(the mechanic cuts a piece of black foam off of a larger chunk- apparently the markup on a breather element is around 5000%)

Although an oil change was advertised on the sign outside the Jiffy Lube for $18.95, I was able to get my oil changed for just under $50, a personal best. The extra cost was for a special high mileage oil, and a new air filter. For the most part, getting me to buy extra services for my truck is like getting a hypochondriac to purchase medicine, you just gotta tell me I need it. However, I managed to leave without the optional engine flush/transmission flush/pcv valve replacement/blinker fluid refill this time, seeing how I only had fifty dollars in my wallet. For the most part, I've resigned myself to paying for my ignorance...