Proving that even the worst mistakes can sometimes be funny, is a story from Karma Smoke, an Assistant Service Manager at North Point Toyota in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

Karma writes, "I had a customer come in with their new vehicle for their first oil and filter change. They told me that they had their own oil and it was in the back of the car. I write the repair order and send it back to my shop with notes about the customer's request to use their oil. I later received a page to go back to the shop. The lube technician thought that the oil looked rather thick and heavy so he called my shop foreman over to check it. After a few minutes of observation, my shop foreman tasted the "oil" and discovered that it was honey. The technician had used bottles in the trunk of the car instead of the actual oil bottles in the rear seat of the car. The color is almost the same as engine oil. When questioning the customer about this, we discovered they had just been to the bee farm and gotten fresh honey. Needless to say, the customer's car was replaced with a new one (the dealership owner was more than gracious to make up for the error) and the engine was replaced in their original car. We also reimbursed the customer for the "oil" (honey) that we tried to use for their service."

For all of us that have made some really costly mistakes, that story rings true. And it sounds like everything worked out in the end. If you have a humorous story, please send it on to me at robc@dealersedge.com.