Don’t Push Me, ‘Cause I’m Close to the Edge …

I want to rant and rave about something but I can’t decide what it is. My choices have covered a bunch of topics lately but in no order:

• The fact we still do not have a functioning washer/dryer
• Scam being run by the service company and them not calling us back
• Dealing with our unit owner and his request for us to cover the first $100 costs of things in the unit
• Subaru dealership and their terrible service including not calling us back
• General customer service issues here in California
• Home not selling and what it means on a daily basis for us

I could go on and on and who knows, maybe I will. Throughout the last few days I’ve had moments of where I found myself just shaking my head out of frustration; moments of laughing because things are so messed up and moments of bewilderment at what happens around me …

… but this isn’t a philosophical blog so let’s just cut to the chase.

Washer/Dyer: The unit broke last Saturday … E-mailed unit owner Sunday to see what he wants to do … Call service company Monday and they schedule Tuesday appointment … Service tech comes out in the four hour window (joke) and spends 10 minutes diagnosing the problem. Of course he doesn’t have the part to fix what he calls “… the most common problem with these units”. They charge $50 for someone to come out, look at the washer/dryer and schedule another appointment … Get a call on Thursday that the part is in and to schedule service on Friday … Guy shows up during four hour window and starts to work … Hour in he determines they sent the wrong part. Let me tell you the important info again: an hour in he determines they sent the wrong part. Service guy claims they don’t check the parts until they are on-site because customers thought they were getting refurbished parts when the boxes were brought to the houses open. Service guy calls his office and they order the new part. H is upset and rightfully so. Tech puts her on the phone with the manager and says how we’ve taken two days off work already and we are approaching a week without a washer/dryer. He says he will call back later in the day with information/solution. Guess what? No call. Today I need to follow-up and find out what’s going on but we’re looking at me using the same towel for, well for too many days in a row and another four hour window when they decide to come out.

Old Navy: All of this brings us to Old Navy. We head to the one in Glendale yesterday because I can no longer wear the same underwear and socks. I just can’t do it. I find myself staring at the underwear shelf and there is maybe 8-10 packages on the wall. This includes boxers, briefs, boxer briefs and whatever other kind they make. Somehow there is one pair of my ’style’ and in the size I want but not the color. At this point color isn’t a huge problem but having only box (two pair) is. It takes five minutes to track down an employee – no idea where they were but I’m guessing hiding in the back. I get the old “Whatever we have on the shelves is what we have”. Look, I know there was a sale this weekend but it’s Sunday morning and you have a handful of underwear! Fine, I settle on my box and look for socks (didn’t mean to rhyme that on purpose). Of course I can’t find the socks and spend another couple minutes finding an employee. I asked where the socks are and I’m told with the underwear. “There are no socks there” and I’m told they must be out. Out of socks? Old Navy? The entire store? Unbelievable! I take my box of underwear and head to the line. Two registers open, one has a manager ringing up a few people. We’re in another line where some guy is trying to return things and scam the system. After 10 minutes they send the one guy away from the registers to find someone else to open a till. Long story short (I know it’s long already): 15 minutes … Three charges on my debit card because the register is broken … I paid cash and was told the transactions didn’t go through … Find out this morning they did. Not once did anyone say I’m sorry, for not having stock or the joke of an experience at the register.

Subaru: Remember the trouble we had with the car and someone followed up from the dealership to ask how our recent experience was? They told me a manager would call last Thursday to follow-up. No call Thursday. No call Friday. Typical it seems.

Condo Sale/Cash Flow: I usually roll with the punches and try to be the even-keel, non-emotional thinker. The time we decided to list our condo was out of our control, and so is the housing market. While eating In-n-Out following the fiasco that was Old Navy I realized we are out around $2,000 a month based on what we pay for our place back in Chicago. For a moment I thought about the things we could do with $2,000 a month. Get new phones … take a much needed vacation … put money away for investments/emergency fund … purchase a few items for the house we need/want … buy more underwear and socks. That’s a lot of money every month and for a few minutes it got the best of me and made sure I didn’t enjoy my hamburger.

So I get to start the week following up with Sprint who has screwed up my bill for the third month in a row; the washer/dryer service company who didn’t return a call; the Subaru dealership who didn’t return our call; and our real estate agent to argue about their new “cancellation fee” they want to impose.