HERE'S an imaginary tale that may resonate amongst some.
A wedding car is carrying a bride to the church and along the way, the bride asks for the driver to stop at the nearby park where her husband-to-be proposed to her.
The driver parks the car and she gets out just to stand there for a few moments and take in the beauty and significance of her special day.
She gets back into the car and the driver turns the ignition key, only to find that the car will not start.
At first, the bride thinks that it is an inappropriate attempt at humour on the driver's part but soon realises that it is a genuine problem.
She begins to panic and pleads with the driver to get help.
The driver reassures her that all will be fine as he calls his "mate" who owns a garage nearby.
Time goes by and numerous people have tried to get the car started to no avail.
The bride is upset, the guests will be waiting, the church has another booking after them so if they are late a decision will need to be made to cancel the wedding or delay the next wedding party and all that follow.
The driver, tries to defend himself by explaining to the bride that it was her choice to stop along the way and he was only contracted for the single journey to the church so had he not stopped at her request, then the car would not have been stuck.
With only minutes to spare before a call needs to be made for the wedding to be rescheduled, and with the fourth mechanic to have been called out still trying to fix the car, along comes an old man who is known to be someone who tinkers with old cars, lawnmowers and all sorts of gadgets.
In desperation, the driver asks he knows anything about this type of car.
The old man asks the mechanic for the use of his hammer.
He disappears under the bonnet and a tapping sound is heard.
"Give that a try" says the old man.
The driver turns the key and the car starts.
The bride reaches the church just in time and all is well for all concerned.
A few days later, the driver gets an invoice from the old man for £1,000.
The driver is astonished at the amount being charged.
He angrily phones the old man to demand an explanation.
"Why such a large bill?" he asks.
The old man explains that based on the urgency of the situation and the costs that would have been incurred from a financial, emotional and reputational perspective by all parties within the wedding supply chain had the bride not made it, he thought it was a reasonable amount to charge.
"But that's greedy," said the driver.
"Yes it is," said the old man, "but you are a taxi driver during the week and a few months back I was struggling to walk and I asked you to take me to the shops and back and you charged me all sorts of extras such as waiting time, carrying bags and a surcharge for it being such a short journey. So I figured it was payback time"
"Even so," said the driver, "how do you justify £1,000? What's the cost breakdown?"
The old man smiled as he explained.
"Tapping with the hammer - £2. Knowing where to tap - £998."
Take from that tale what you will.
Let's hope the industry downturn is not as long as most people's memories.
Let us also make sure that we don't lose the people who know where to tap.