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The Haunted Repair Shop — It goes without saying that I’d like you to repair your own car or truck whenever possible, even if it just means replacing your spark plugs or installing a new fuel filter. It also goes without saying that if you have a job, a family, a house and a dog you probably don’t have time to do all your own repair work. This means taking your car to a repair shop. Open up the yellow pages and there are dozens of shops in every area. Most of them are probably competent and responsible enough to do good work (use word of mouth to help narrow it down!) so you’re left flipping coins over which shop to try out.

One shop in Newburyport, Massachusetts has found a great way to keep customers coming back. The owner of L&W Auto Repair decided they wanted to become part of the community rather than just beg for their business. Every Halloween Myra Fowler shuts down the shop and completely transforms it into the “Haunted Garage.” Families are invited to work their way through the dark corners of the shop and experience the haunting and everybody leaves with a treat.

Myra told the Newportbury Daily News that it’s worth all the trouble and expense. I agree. If more of us took a little time out of our lives to spread some good times the world would be a better place. From a more pragmatic take, by getting involved with the community L&W has built relationships that will lead to more business. It’s a win-win. Is there a shop in your area that goes the extra mile for the community? Maybe they hold an event, or maybe they’re a shop that landscapes their grounds so the property is more an asset to the neighborhood than a greasy property-value killer. It’s worth checking out. I always try to support businesses that are interested in more than taking my money with a sour grunt.