I bought a GrabOne voucher for a car service at Autotech, Christchurch. The manager, whom I spoke to on the phone, told me to come "around lunchtime, and pick my car up in the evening". So I turned up at 1pm, and he says, "You're too late, we booked you in for a 12pm-1pm slot"! Am I the only one who thinks that 'around lunchtime' is a loose term that could mean 'anytime between 12 to 2'? I told him that I did not think 'lunchtime to evening' is synonymous with '12 to 1' and that if they were on such a tight schedule he should have told me exactly what my timeslot was instead. He says, "Well, actually they do mean the same thing, but..." ?!

So now I have to wait a week, forgo the weekend trip that I have planned since my car isn't serviced yet, and go the next week. Is 'lunchtime' really Kiwi-speak for 'strictly 12 o clock'????