Would you like muffins with your car service, Sir?

I took my car in for its periodic service yesterday.

I suppose the stereotype would be that gay men don't know anything about servicing a car. Well, Mk for one is very knowledgeable about cars; so much so that I briefly doubted his gay credentials when he first talked to me about them. But I do fit the stereotype.

I am completely in the car serviceman's hands when it comes to determining what needs to be done. My friends might suggest that being in his hands is not the only place I want to be - but then I digress.

As usual I was quoted a price for the service at the outset and just as usual the service itself revealed other action that it would be wise to take that added significantly to originally quoted charge. It happens every time.

Yesterday I decided to wait at the Service Centre whilst the job was done. I took a book to read and a newspaper for the crossword for when I got bored with the book. I also took full advantage of the complimentary coffee and muffins during the three hours I was there.

I also kept an the eye on the various attractive young apprentices who worked away in the area. Their chores included restocking the muffins from drawers beneath the servery. One or other of them would restock every half hour or so. To my amusement each time one of them stocked up the muffins they looked across at their work colleagues surreptitiously and when they believed none was looking their way they sneaked a muffin into their pockets. Oddly not once did they take notice of me sitting immediately behind them as they pocketed the muffins.

Of course, it is the customer who effectively pays for the 'complimentary' muffins and I did wonder how much of what the business thinks it is providing to the customer ends up in the apprentices' pockets?