‘This scam stuff is going to get worse’: A man approached me in my car — he had a crazy story

Dear Quentin,

Here is a variation on

the power-washing scam you recently wrote about: A guy walked up to my car window to point out a hole in the bumper and, like the power-washer in your letter, he went on and on about how he could fix it, inferring that he could resolve it “right then, right there.” 

It was a crazy story: He went on about his daughter working at the local car dealership, and so on, to illustrate his so-called expertise. I’ve done enough of this kind of work to know he was full of s—, but he was playing on the “most people aren’t naturally rude” thing.