Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Warranty Schmarranty

It's hard to believe this, but I wrote almost this same post in June of 2010.  I guess I should stop taking in all the neighbors' laundry and stuffing it in with both of my feet and my back againt the wall.

I kid, I kid.

My washing machine croaked.  Died.  Shit the bed.  Is no longer.  This happened at the beginning of July.  It's August and I'm still doing my laundry at my mother's.

Just like before, there was a horrid noise, a screeching, but unlike last time, there was also smoke.  I wasn't present for the smoke.  I had heard the grinding the last time I had done laundry and checked to see if the warranty was still good.  That load finished unscathed and I kind of forgot and put another one in a few days later.  I left the house about 20 minutes before it was finished and it was kind of grinding.

Thank God k-ster was home.  I told him I was leaving and that it was making a noise but not to worry.  Soon after I left, he worried about the atrocious banging and went in to find smoke coming out of the washer!  I suspect it was the belt letting go, but he thinks it was electrical.

So, I called and got an appointment and though I explained what happened on the phone, they had to send a guy here.  I waited for hours and he walked in the door, listened to my story, look at the machine and told me that I needed to replace everything inside and he'd order it for this past Tuesday.  He said I'd get 3 boxes and after 5 minutes he was on his way.

I got 2 boxes and a padded envelope.  It didn't occur to me that the huge box with the basket that is being replaced didn't arrive.  I saw a box, it said outer basket, and I thought it was all set.  I'm not the repairman, remember.

Yesterday morning, I mused to k-ster that I was shocked that Sears didn't call to verify that  my packages arrived or that I hadn't sold them off already.

Lo and behold, after my 2 hour wait for the repairman, he called and asked if everything arrived.  I said that I had 2 boxes and a belt.    He said he was on his way.  I did a happy dance that I could now leave the confines of the house and not worry that I wouldn't hear the phone if I was outside.  He called back in a few minutes and delivered this little note:

You didn't get the basket.  You only got the two outer basket parts and the belt.  We also need to replace the basket.  They don't even have a record that I ordered it for you, but they do have a record that you received those parts.  This is Whirlpool's fault, we don't have any control.  I emergency ordered you the basket, so it should arrive tomorrow.

GREAT, so I will see you tomorrow.

No, you will have to call and reschedule. 

WHAT?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????  A third day of me sitting by the phone between 8-12 waiting for the I'm on my way call????  If I miss it, they won't come.

Oh, and also?  They scheduled this as a 33 minute job.  It takes 1.5 hours.  You might want to mention that when you reschedule.

Oh, I mentioned it.  And I reminded the guy on the phone today that the repairman told me that when I got the part, I could be squeezed into the schedule the next day because I had been waiting.

Well, he said he understood and he was sorry, but there is nothing for me for tomorrow.  So I repeated myself and explained that this has been a 3-4 week ordeal.  He was so very sorry.  But I could have Friday or I could wait even longer. 

I'm sure you know what I chose. 

And I'm going on the record here to say that I will bet you a whole washing machine that when it all gets put back together, it will also have an electrical failure (the smoke, remember?) and the entire thing will be junk and they will have to give me  a new one.

Just sayin'

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