Don't You Put Me On the Back Burner

I've tried not to be overly bitch-y and complain-y because I get it: most people don't want to hear that shit. We want to live in a world with happiness and joy and relaxation with no mentions of Wood Rot Under the Dishwasher and Oh My, My Kitchen is Flooding. Again.

But, you know, when that stuff happens the not-overly-bitchy-and-complainy go straight out the window and lo, here I am.

My dishwasher flooded the kitchen a couple of weeks ago so I was a diligent homeowner. Upon putting on my Big Girl Panties I called the repair center because extended warranties? They rawk.

It took over 48 hours for Sears (hi Sears! you're adding this to my case notes, right?) to send someone out to fix it. Grumble, grumble but okay.

The tech came out, nice as can be, and ran all the diagnostic tests on the dishwasher. Grunts and hmmms escaped from his mouth and I sat here working away, trying to Give The Poor Man Some Space all the while being Miss Nosy Body.

Finally, finally, he figured it out. The dishwasher had a hole it in. A hole.

Not where a knife was, no, it just wore away after the long four years of hard service ::cough, cough:: and everyday use.

He needed to order a new tub (also called a basin also called something else which I can't recall because COME ON I'm not a dishwasher repair fix-it person) and he'd be back in a week to fix it.

In a week when the part would be in and he and another person with him would pull the dishwasher out, tear it down, put in the tub and rebuild the whole thing back together in the course of "two to there hours."

So I put on another pair of Big Girl Panties and set-out to wash my dishes because at that point? After 48 hours? The only dishes that were clean were Aaron's from college packed away in the basement.

Now, this is a good time to interject that we've had this dishwasher for just over four years. In the course of these four years, we've had over $2,000 worth of repairs on it (and was later corrected that that figure was just for the past 18 months) prior to this experience. And the tub alone cost (our warranty) over $500.

So! Yes! Look at me! Being an adult! Washing dishes by hand! Not bitching! Not complaining! Takin' care of my family!

Then, the secondary part for the dishwasher comes that next Monday (day eight of broken dishwasher-ness). But the tub? The tub doesn't come.

So I decided to Act Like An Adult and call Sears to get the tracking number, so if my appointment needs to be rescheduled it can be.

And then Sears tells me my part? Is on back-order at least until December 30th. At least another 10 days away. And they knew this for five days. And I wouldn't have the part on the 30th, they'd just maybe have more information.

And at this point, my dear friends, is where I went internet ghetto.

"This is unacceptable! Mah dishwasher cannot be broken for that long!"

Yes, pronounced and properly spelled: "mah" instead of "my."

That look in your eyes? I hope it is pride.

So I got passed to a "manager" who refused to help me because as the terms of my warranty states, only on the 4th service call within a 12 month period will Sears consider replacing my unit. This was only service call number three in 12 months.

Lisa #79846 at 1-800-4-My-Home told me that no one in the company is above her. She is the manager of everything. And no, she would not transfer me to her boss, she would not transfer me to an associate and no, there was not a damn thing I could about this situation.

Really?

You sure about that?

Not a damn thing?

Not even Twitter?

Because guess what I did.

Oh yes, I totally went all Heather B. Armstrong to Sears on Twitter.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I was mostly working our my aggressions. Considering it was the week of Festivus and Christmas and I'm not well known on the internets I didn't actually expect a reply.

But a reply I received.

The next day I received a call from the Executive Department and oh hey, they would like to replace my dishwasher. Would that work for me?

Um, yes. Yes, it would.

Granted, it would be another week, but the part is now scheduled to be back-ordered till January 5th, at which point they'd have a new date of back-ordered-ness.

So we arranged the details, Aaron and I danced around the kitchen and for a split second I felt like Someone Important.

(Dude. I twittered a free dishwasher. How kick-ass is that?)

Two days later, though, that part? That was on back-order for more than a week? Arrived on my doorstep. Sears let me choose to fix or replace the until ("replacement would be lovely") and yesterday our new dishwasher was installed.

And that part? On back-order? Is sitting in my garage indefinitely. But it's a small price to pay for the boys to recover from the food allergy contaminations.

In closing, I would like to say YAY for Sears to listening to customers on Twitter and insuring their complaints get addressed.

And a BIG FAT BOO for ever letting this situation escalate to a point where I had to go to Twitter to complain about you.