camalaio
Active Member
I was not making fun of him. I very casually asked if I could drive the car in and he rather gruffly said No, and asked for the fob, though he had seen from the papers that it was a Model 3. It is not an insult to say that this car is different and note that he apparently had not encountered one before and I didn't want mine to be the one he learned on. But I didn't say any of that. I explained that my phone is the key and that I'd walk to the car with him so that it would unlock and drive for him. It was after he didn't know how to get in and asked for a start button that I again asked to be allowed to drive the car.
His garage is one bay opening directly into the parking lot. But rather than civilly explaining that his insurance would not allow that and asking me how to operate the car, he got out and stormed away.
Note please, that he did the inspection on the car before mine in the parking lot and never brought it into his garage! Yes, he apparently felt insulted, and FYI I have Aspergers and zero social skills so perhaps I was not as tactful as I might have been, but I am polite and I've never encountered a reaction like his.
On-line reviews say he is quick but has a bad attitude.
People here are generally friendly and since I moved here almost two years ago, plus my several visits before that, I have had consistently nothing but friendly encounters with everybody.
And, FWIW, when I lived in North Dakota and occasionally visited Winnipeg, and later when I lived in Spokane and spent summers hiking in southeastern British Columbia, I found Canadians to be universally friendly. I cannot imagine a Canadian storming off in a huff because I asked to be allowed to drive my own car. Maybe they'd have explained that they could not allow it, but storming off in a huff, certainly not.
Sorry, what I meant is that here it sounded like making fun of him. Honestly no idea what occurred in person (or here for that matter - tone is supremely difficult to convey on the internet, Asperger's or otherwise!).
@john5520 has a really good point, that simply pulling up in a Tesla may have been the trigger for everything in addition to it being unfamiliar (which in hindsight, your story kind of points out). To me, it's one of the worst parts of owning the car. Either the "Tesla tax" of increased costs just because it's a Tesla (e.g. for protective clear wraps on the hood), or people assuming things about you. Seems to make kids really excited when they see one though, unfortunately adults are usually not so excited haha.
Regarding friendliness etc., we (Canadians) probably keep up appearances in general but business-type interactions aren't particularly affable by default (unless it's a small business). Don't anyone take this the wrong way, but we're also very "American" up here as well in general. Many are just getting by, don't like their jobs, aren't living the dream, etc. which can lead to grumpy inspectors pretty easily. Especially when an Tesla rolls up and assumptions are made.
That said, I'm from the western bit of Canada and I hardly exist to most Canadians, they're all East! So what do I know about Canadians, eh? (ugh, cringe)