"Couldn't fix it, so I won't take your money."
—Mike Masiello
As the idea of this billboard campaign was being created, we wanted to focus on people who were making a difference in our communities. Around this same time, it just so happened that our creative director, Jay, took his car to have it repaired.
As Jay searched for an “honest” mechanic, Mike Masiello came highly recommended. Yet, after Masiello had spent nearly three hours trying to fix Jay’s car, he realized there was nothing he could do. The problem was unfixable.
Jay had suspected he might hear that news. Reluctantly, he asked how much the diagnosis was going to cost him.
Masiello replied, “I couldn’t fix it. I won’t take your money.”
As Jay stood there, in a small shop on Long Island, he knew that people like Masiello were exactly who we were looking for in this campaign. Everyday heroes.
Among his neighbors and peers, Masiello is known as the “Mother Teresa” of the automotive world. He’s an honest guy, making an honest living, and he never tires of helping those around him. But even beyond his local neighborhood, he represents the good at the heart of many people—a heart of integrity and honesty.
This billboard about Integrity features Mike Masiello.
YOUR COMMENT
The is a good guy
Wyatt from Baxter springs, March 28, 2018
I read this somewhere. " If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you have no integrity, nothing else matters." This rings pretty true....
Ken from Illinois, May 17, 2017
So impressive! Thanks for sharing your light.
Julie from New Zealand, November 15, 2016
He was raised right
Jebediah from New York, February 23, 2016
These are the people that need to be in the news, GOOD NEWS, everyday!!!!! Values are more powerful than anything else.
Diana from Florida, May 30, 2014
Thank you so much!!!!!!
jj kay from usa, March 22, 2013
Got me interested, very honest man .... what would we do without these kind people!!
marie from Alabama, November 9, 2012
I love these kind of people. Let this kind of being multiply through out the world. Thanks Mike for living life as natural but great. Your deeds are worth to be followed!you're really great men!
peport p. from philippines, October 18, 2012
Hey, guys. When they first showed me the billboard, I was surprised. values.com What was it? So I looked online and found this site. Your comments have made me really and honestly happy. There's no other word for the euphoria I feel. Anyways, Integrity . . . There's a bit of it in everyone. Be yourself. Be you. Be a kind and good person.
Mike M. from Long Island, NY, September 15, 2012
Mike Masiello is an excellent model for our younger generation! I hope my students from 2A3, Greendale Secondary School, Singapore, will follow his example.
Colin Phee from Singapore, August 14, 2012
Integrity, like all these values or virtues are choices we all make every minute. The cost of holding values such as integrity can be very high when confronting those of no values. Still,Integrity, Honesty,Responsibility can not be tossed aside and picked up again casually. I wish more people understood this.
Cheryl from Danville,IL, April 7, 2012
I love us recognizing small, but powerful actions. I had a similiar experience just last week when I took my car in, his diagnostics and initial action plan didn't fix the problem and I knew he had put time and effort in it but he refused to let me pay him for the work he put in, knowing that a strong reputation will bring in more business. I know where I will be taking my car in the future!
Joshua from Clearlake, March 9, 2012
So refreshing to go on a website with wonderful uplifting comments! Integrity is sadly lacking in our communities and churches. All is not lost! Well done Mike. There are still some good people in the world! Also Kudos Mike! Your actions exemplify that wonderfully grand quotation from Samuel Clemens, "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."
Maddie from Omaha Ne, January 18, 2012
So refreshing to go on a website with wonderful uplifting comments! Integrity is sadly lacking in our communities and churches. All is not lost! Well done Mike. There are still some good people in the world!
Paula from Barbados, January 10, 2012
Kudos, Mike! Your actions exemplify that wonderfully grand quotation from Samuel Clemens, "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest." Especially in a day and age in which most mechanic shops charge a hefty diagnostic fee to cover their cost of doing business before they will even look at a customer's car.
Beverley E. from Sacramento, CA, August 8, 2011
Ladies and Gentlemen, This is what the United States of America was formed on. I'm 16 years old, and I was addicted to drugs at age 12. I've now been clean for over a year and have a 3.9 GPA. Let this be your poster, Let this be your sign to strive for whatever it is in your life. Just do it.
Tanner E. from Dubuque, Iowa, United States, May 10, 2010
I find that compliance to sound moral has given a LOT of joy and appreciation of life! I can ONLY recommend it to others. Maybe there's a Heaven behind it. Cheers!
Terje L from Norway, December 21, 2009
All about being TRUE to oneself...!! By being True to oneself, we can win accolades.. Hats Off and Thanks for Inspiring Mike.!!
Vasudha from Kanpur, India, November 19, 2009
Wished all company's followed his creed.
Human Being from Earth, October 6, 2009
This billboard has been a source of encouragement to me since I first saw it in LaGuardia Airport in 2004. Thank you!
Miriam W from New York, September 18, 2009
It takes a lot to have integrity but this guy did it. Not everybody has this quality.
Sebastian Andres V. V. from Chile, Santiago, May 12, 2009
It's hard to find such an honest character in today's world. I applaud Mike for his actions.
Emily N. from Cairo, Nebraska, April 6, 2009
I am convinced that if we have such more and more Mikes in the world it would be a nicer place to live.. Thanks Mike. It really affected my life..
Fnoase F. from Maldives, March 30, 2009
I'm glad to hear that my dad's not the only mechanic out there like this. We need more people who refuse to take money for something they couldn't fix, instead of charging a ridiculous amount for some reason or another.
Bonnie H. from Georgia, March 19, 2009
Changed my life FOREVER AND EVER.
Isaiah C. from McMinnville, OR, November 18, 2008
So touching, I've never cried more in my life. It really touched me it changed my life forever and ever.
Michael M from Mcminnville,OR, November 5, 2008
I think it's good what they are doing and what they do to help the world to be a better place.
Mitchell M from McMinnville, Oregon, October 22, 2008
I can't imagine anything better!!!
M.S.C from Ohio, October 21, 2008
Go Mike Masiello! You're restoring my faith in people!
Kim M. from Virginia, September 15, 2008
It's easy to highlight the life of someone famous or recite a historical event or fact that's fairly common knowledge. But it is the "every day people," like Mike Masiello, that surround us and are living "here and now" that are equally significant. They remind us that those traits we've learned to admire and that truly are important for the good of mankind are STILL alive and well.
Ben G. from Memphis, Tennessee USA, January 7, 2008
I agree - this billboard shows us that every day brings an opportunity to do the right thing. Bravo, Mike!
Sarah R. from New York, USA, November 10, 2007
Mike is truly an inspiration, thank you for calling attention to him, and I am sure there are many more Mikes in this world. I have been reading the billboards in order and Mike was the 23rd but the first one I had never heard of. Thanks Mike for making this world a better place.
Bridget M. from Massachusetts, USA, September 9, 2007
These are the people who inspire the most -- ordinary, fame-less men and women who do what's right because it's right and not because anybody is watching. A call to goodness from the common man is the most powerful of all.
Brittany E, June 18, 2007
I loved this billboard the first time I saw it! Bravo, Mike, for your honesty and bravery to do the right thing! You are a great role model for all of us in the service industry.
Susan B. from New Berlin, WI, May 2, 2007
