[Gusto Brunt]

I laugh at this now but a few years ago, I started getting my puncture repairs at the local bike shop. He only charges £6.50 for a new inner tube, fitted in half an hour.

However, he is the rudest man I have ever met. He stands about 6 feet 5, a big burly man. In his late 40s. I had thought he didn't like me, just like when you're at school the soft kids are bullied by the bigger kids.

It's only verbal, but he'll say things like 'not you again', or 'so you're back with that rubbish bike - do you never oil the chain? IDIOT!' It's like a scene out of a TV comedy sketch. I went in yesterday and he said, 'I'm sick of bikes!'

I thought it was just me he didn't like but I went onto Google to see what his shop's reviews were like and I couldn't stop laughing. At least 50 out of 60 reviews referred to this guy as a 'complete p****', and rude and arrogant. And they wouldn't go back into his shop. A few people also said that he criticized their bikes too. Calling one bike 'a piece of junk'.

I then got to thinking maybe he has autism. It would make sense that he doesn't realize he is being rude.

We might all see a very fat person and think he's fat, but we'd never say it to his face because we don't want to offend people. I am thinking this bike shop guy might just say it.

What do you think?

From Google: 'Autism can cause a person to miss many social cues such as facial expressions and verbal signals that are commonly used while interacting. If a person with autism says something that appears rude or offensive, it is most likely a result of missing or not being able to read typical social cues.'