Above and Beyond Help – An O’Reilly Auto Parts Story

Marsha Kinzer doesn’t typically make impulse purchases. But, after dreaming for decades of owning a lifted Jeep Wrangler rag top, she bought one 15 minutes after spotting it for sale. “I had one in my 20s,” she said. “I pined for another for four decades.”

To truly make the ragtop her own, Marsha turned to the team at O’Reilly Auto Parts in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Bonding over a shared love for “big trucks,” Store Manager Tami Fitzpatrick got to know Marsha as she installed a new steering wheel cover and seat protectors for her.

They ended up talking about much more than women who own big trucks. Marsha shared that she has a medical condition which makes her unable to tolerate heat. It turned out that Tami was very familiar with it, because her son suffers from the same thing. Neither woman thought much more about the conversation, until Marsha found herself stranded on the side of the road on a hot day a few weeks later.

“Luckily, two men came along and discovered I had a loose battery cable,” she said. “They fixed it temporarily so I could get back to Tami’s store, which is where I headed right away.” 

By the time she arrived at the store, Marsha was already feeling unwell.

“I knew that look on her face immediately,” Tami said. “I’ve seen the same thing with my son and I knew I had to get her cooled down quickly.”

Tami guided Marsha to the cool concrete floor of the store and had other O’Reilly team members bring water to help her feel better.

“At heart, I’m a positive and fun person, even during a medical emergency,” Marsha said. “That floor was amazingly clean, and I kept congratulating Tami on it. She’s a wonder. She knew just what to do, and she and her team took great care of me.”

While Marsha recovered, Tami checked in on her and the O’Reilly team fixed her battery cable and kept the Jeep safe at their location. When it was time to retrieve her ride, Marsha came with cookies to thank the team. 

“I can’t say enough about them,” Marsha said. “They’re knowledgeable, professional, kind and so fun. It’s easy to complain about poor service, but when you meet people like this who are phenomenal at serving the public and not afraid to go above and beyond – everyone deserves to know!”