THE COLD SIDE OF REFRIGERATOR OWNERSHIP

So, WAY back in June the SO and I thought that it would be nice to finally treat ourselves to a new refrigerator. Our current one is circa ’84 and is the color of an anemic banana – not quite yellow, not quite white. Since we’ve made so many spiffy upgrades to the kitchen we also thought it would be nice to finally complete one whole room of the house.

So off we marched to Sears to pick out a lovely black model with a bottom drawer freezer and a few more cubic feet of space to stash our Yeungling and freeze pops. I should mention before we did this, we armed ourselves with internet research on the best pricing, best features, best brands! So there we are – standing in front of the icebox of our (affordable) dreams. (No honey, we can’t have the one with the computer – how about an ice maker instead??)

“We would like this one” we say enthusiastically.

“We’re sorry, that one has been discontinued” they retort. (But I’m standing here looking at it??) “But we have another model number that is the same thing – would you like it?”

So after finagling a free icemaker (installed!) we agree.

The happy shiny salesgirl does our paperwork and after about an hour of creative financing (half cash – half no interest credit) we were told we would have our new behemoth delivered to our door in three weeks.

Three weeks? But you have our money now! Why three weeks?

FINE! Three weeks it is. We will expect our new baby on July 26. (I can feel that labor pains already!)

So, two weeks later (as goes the story of our lives) the phone rings and we are told that delivery will be delayed yet another week. We should expect our now aging baby on August 4. (It’s a good thing we didn’t jump the gun and get rid of our old one yet!)

After some screaming and yelling by SO they offer us a “loaner”. NO WE DON’T WANT A DIFFERENT ONE – WE WANT OURS!!!

Along about August 3rd we receive yet another call that it has been delayed once again and to expect it on the 9th. On the 5th we received a call that it wouldn’t arrive until the 16th. So at this point we ask ourselves:
Has this refrigerator been invented yet?
Did the patent fall through?
Did the young underpaid manufacturing children go on strike?
Did they forget to attach the ice maker?
Did it “fall off the truck”?
Is some woman in Albuquerque using my new refrigerator?
How can Sears sell you something and not be able to figure out when they can deliver it to you???

So, disgruntled, we call our original happy shiny salesgirl and chew her a new – er – exit. She offers that for our inconvenience we will be refunded 10 percent of the purchase price back to our card. Yippee! So now we continue to wait for our refrigerator – 10 percent richer.

If that phone rings again and it ain’t a sweaty delivery guy...