I need to vent

Forgive the following tirade, but I’m so mad, I’m practically spitting nails.

You know I just bought a new washer/dryer set; you also know that the dryer came out of the box making a grinding noise while running. Frigidaire arranged for one of their repair people to come to my house today to fix it. I took a half day off work, since it was one of those aggravating “between 1:00 & 5:00 pm” appointments; the guy showed up at 5:30 pm- this is not boding well.

I showed him the machine, turn it on to demonstrate the problem, & let him have at it; 10 minutes later, he asked if he could use the table to set up his computer. Uh, sure- why not? Well, evidently, he can’t find the model listed in able to order the needed parts.

“You need to order parts? It’s a brand new machine.” He replied that the entire bearing assembly needs to be replaced, since some sort of shaft has been bent.

“How long will that take?” His reply- March 30^th… ten days from now… & I can’t use the machine. Not acceptable.

I call the store where I bought it & ask to speak to the manager; I explain the situation & tell him I want a new machine delivered ASAP. He asks if the repair man will be able to fix the one already here; I let him know that is not the issue- I paid him over $600 for a new, working dryer, not a new machine in need of work. He told me he would get me a loaner machine out by Thursday, call Frigidaire to arrange for another service company to get the repair done sooner & argue with them to get me a new machine. I told him “Fine- I will expect your call in tomorrow,”; he hemmed & hawed that he didn’t know how long it would take to settle everything, blah-blah-blah; I said “I will expect a call from you tomorrow.”

I sent the repair guy out the door, thanking him politely for his time, closed the door, & promptly burst into tears. I hate it when people try to take advantage of me, & really hate any kind of conflict. I go out of my way to keep the peace, so being (politely) forceful & assertive like that was very difficult & stressful. I couldn’t call Chris & tell him about it, because he would just feel helpless & frustrated he can’t ride in to save the day (he is very protective of me, even though I don’t usually feel I need protecting.) I sat on the bed, crying & sniffling, when sweet Poppy jumped up next to me & began rubbing my arm with her head; I reached over to pet her & she stretched up to my face, purring & sniffing my hair- we call it “Poppy Blessing”- then settled down next to me. What a dear animal- I’m blessed to have her in our home.

Anyway, that’s my rant; I took a walk & prayed about it, so I’m feeling better, but I’m still pretty angry, so thanks for listening.

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3/21/07 10:00 am Update: Had a message from the Frigidaire distributor this morning, saying he was calling to explain their warranty/returns policy, & that he'd call back this afternoon- He didn't leave his phone number, the big weenie!

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3:45 pm: Big weenie calls back- I'm at my desk this time- chunters on about "warrenty say repair or replace" they need to see if it can be repaired first, etc. End result- no new machine yet. Store manager calls- have contacted new repair guy who will come tomorrow, & loaner dryer will be at my house before 6:00 pm- he says the magic words "We will compensate you for all your trouble"

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6:00 pm: Loaner is installed & working, Lemon is in garage awaiting service; second repair guy calls & will be here between 10 & 12 tomorrow morning (Chris is back, so he gets the duty- besides, he makes more than I do, so they can compensate us on his pay :P)

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3/22/07 7:30 am: Big, Bad Chris is back on the job- he's had 12 hours of sleep & the full story related to him, so he has decreed "I'll handle this from now on" I am scurrying off to work & the White Knight is in charge!

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10:25 am: Oh-oh; second repair guy has shown up- evidently, he's none too bright, because he was very rude to Chris (8 inches taller & 45 lbs heavier)- Won't work on the Lemon because it's not hooked up to the gas line; Chris explained it was the motor, not the heating, & guy told him he didn't know "sh*t" & stormed off. Chris has called store & talked to manager- manager is now torqued- says he will come & personally get machine from our house, haul repair guy #2 over by the short-hairs & have him work on machine at the store. Chris said he was ready to haul it down there himself- I told him not to even touch the Lemon- I'm not having them try to blame us for any damage!