Mechanic Surprises Sick Customer By Waiving His $950 Repair Bill And People Online Can’t Hold Back Their Tears

Charity can be more than donating millions to a far-off country; little acts of kindness stack up and make a difference too! Especially in these tumultous times, we need to rely on our better natures to push through: help your neighbor, take out the trash or do a grocery run.

And if you need an more impactful example, there's a man in South Florida who took time to help one of his customers and instantly became an internet darling. For a good reason too, he tossed aside a well-earned fee just because he believed it was his moral duty to support another man who already had enough on his plate.

A user going by the name of 11b240 posted a story on Imgur that garnered 122K views—and for a good reason! Apparently, 11b240 owns a repair shop that he accidentally (and there's a whole different story there) acquired 2.5 years ago. The place didn't have a large staff, but the man showed a jack-of-all-trades attitude and the shop is now up and running like a finely tuned machine; the business expanded to 40+ cars being serviced at one time.

And then he was contacted by a customer called Bob. He needed advice on some problems that his vehicle was displaying, and the men spent close to an hour talking. But it wasn't the need for repairs that bonded the two.

Bob's story was an unusual one. He had traveled a great distance for health reasons: he needed a liver and heart transplant, so he moved to South Florida. On one of the phone calls, Bob opened up about his fear of leaving his children behind, which tugged on the heartstrings of 11b240, who himself has a young daughter. The two bonded over the fatherly role.

It took three weeks for them to meet face to face. Bob was struggling to find the time, since the doctor's appointments and life in general took priority. Their meeting was set up after Bob's truck finally threatened to give out entirely, and so the visit to the repair shop was unavoidable. Reportedly, Bob was in his 40s, but the strain from the treatment and multiple operations had taken its toll on his body and it struck 11b240.

However, a job is a job and he inspected the vehicle, ordered the replacement parts, and fixed up the issue, just like with any other customer. When it was time to provide Bob with a bill of $950, 11b240 had an altruistic idea: "As I was billing him out, the cost came out to just under $950, and something just went off in my head. I closed my laptop, and stood straight up and told Bob, you're good to go."

He waived off the fee and simply wished Bob a good trip back home, no charges or hidden fees at the door. Bob was overwhelmed and tears soon made an appearance; turns out, neither of them is a graceful kind of crier, as the man eloquently put it: "Bob looked at me like a deer in headlights. He immediately broke down, which made me break down and, well...we both ugly cried."

11b240 waived away almost $1,000 to ensure a man he barely knew had more freedom to spend with his family because Bob's need was greater than the possible profit. 11b240 ended his post with, "I think what I'm trying to get at is, if you can, help your fellow man or woman. Be nice to people. Sometimes a little positivity, especially in 2020, can go a long way." Such a heartfelt notion is especially relevant in these times, as 11b240 said.

Imgurians were amazed by the charitable spirit 11b240 displayed. The post has 6,000+ votes where other users shared their impressions and thanked the mechanic for his actions; many even admitted shedding tears of their own, so the original poster's message was clearly taken to heart.