My car’s press-and-release fuel door wouldn’t open. Less than a 1/8 tank of gas remaining. 7:00 pm at the gas station near my office. Wind chills in the low single digits. Couldn’t get the door open. Couldn’t pump any gas. Infuriating. [Yes, you could point out that, in the winter, I should fill up my tank more frequently and I would concede your point.]

I had enough gas to get home and back to my auto mechanic’s shop down the street from my office.

Next morning I left the car at her shop and walked in the arctic cold 20 minutes to my office.

“The fuel door actuator is broken,” she called at noon to tell me. “We’ve opened the door. You’ll be able to pump gas but the door won’t lock. We’ll order the part. Bring it back tomorrow.”

Next morning, I left the car at the shop and walked in the arctic cold 20 minutes to my office.

When the mechanic called around 11:00 am to announce she’d completed the work, I replied I’d be coming late to pick up the car.

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll leave the key over the visor.”

Eight hours later, facing into the biting wind, I walked 20 minutes back to the mechanic’s shop. I opened the car door, slid into my seat, and retrieved the key.

I pressed down the brake and hit the “Start” button. The car binged and reported, “Key not present.”

“I’m holding the key,” I snorted. “Can you not see that I’m holding the key?”

Then I thought, “Right… the key has been here eight hours. It’s cold. Probably weak. Maybe, if I warm it up…”

I unzipped my coat a few inches, unfastened a couple of shirt buttons, and slipped the VERY COLD key fob under my arm. [While not graceful, it was the best I had to work with.] After five minutes, I pressed down the brake and hit the Start button.

The car fired up. (Yay!)

“How long has it been since you replaced your key fob batteries?” asked my wife upon my return home.

I couldn’t remember when. Years, it turns out. Never, actually.

I tried the spare key fob. It was dead, too.

Quick research revealed: “A key fob battery may last for 2-3 years in a smart key fob and for 4-6 years in a regular fob.”

I pried open the fobs, swapped in new batteries, and set up a replace-in-three-years phone reminder so they have good energy when I most need them.

Nick Miller and Clarity train banks and bankers to attract and develop deeper relationships with small businesses. Many more Sales Thoughts like this and a host of other articles and resources at https://clarityadvantage.com/knowledge-center/ .