The Virus Diary: Delivery Saga
With the preamble out of the way, I give you the delivery saga!
As many of you can attest, we've had a hot summer this year. It didn't hit hard right away, but it did hit with a long heat wave. Even when that wave officially broke, it was still oppressively hot and HUMID. As a result, the three a/c units that I have in my house have been used A LOT. (My recent PSEG bill attests to that. I knew when I saw it I would have a cow and I did. However, as much as I hate a high electric and gas bill, I AM grateful that I have the money to pay for it [although let's face it; I'd rather spend that cash on an outrageously expensive purse or something equally unnecessary but wanted] AND that I have electricity [especially after the tropical storm/hurricane came blowing through on Tuesday].)
It also seems like every summer I have a panic attack about one of our units will break down. Surprisingly, I had yet to have said panic attack, when on Monday night (just before midnight; after I had been asleep for a while), the unit in our room started making some horribly loud noise. It always happens in the middle of the night. It never happens when we're just in there reading or trying to watch tv. So what did I do? I did the "wife thing" and woke up my husband (who somehow managed to still be asleep...my son was in his room probably with his earbuds in and oblivious to it all). He tried fiddling with it. He turned it off and turned it back on. For a while it seemed to be working...or at least blowing air that was no particularly cool at a noise level that was somewhat tolerable. And then it started up again...
So what did we do? We turned it off and then turned it on to fan only. We opened the window. My husband, who had been doing research on his phone into a/c units found one that he thought would be good (supposedly it's a "quieter" unit...we'll see about that) and ordered it. All done before 2 in the morning. (Note, I usually get up around 4:15 in the morning...) He used Amazon Prime and was promised that the unit would get here by Friday.
We managed to make it through the night (somehow) with just the fan going. Thankfully temperatures were cooler as Isaias blew through. (I mean REALLY blew through...it's been a long time since I've heard those kind of winds and I'll be happy to NOT hear them again for a while.) By the time the storm was over, windows were able to be opened and we could sleep somewhat comfortably with multiple fans. The good news was that UPS provided an update that the unit had arrived in the location in Saddle Brook, NJ that night (despite the storm) and would be to us by Wednesday at 9 PM. (It should be noted that Saddle Brook is approximately 12 miles from my house.)
Since this particular Wednesday happened to be bulky item pick up day in town, my husband and son pulled the old unit out late Tuesday and put it on the curb for pickup. I did the clean up! (Although not too much clean because I knew when the new unit came we would be in for some more mess.)
Wednesday morning dawned. As I did my morning walk, even before the sun came up I could see lots of damage from Isaias. Lots of tree limbs down and the loudest noise I could hear was that of generators as many were (and as I write this some continue to be) without power. I was (and am) grateful that we were not hit too hard.
Wednesday was Wednesday. The UPS record still showed that the new A/C unit would be delivered by 9 PM that night, even though it also showed that it had not left Saddle Brook. Sure enough 9 PM came and went. No a/c.
Thursday morning dawns. UPS now says that the unit will be delivered by 9 PM Thursday night. The unit still resides in Saddle Brook. As the day goes on, the record does not change: deliver by 9 PM but still not moving from Saddle Brook. Towards the end of the day I tried to call UPS customer service, but it appears that there IS no live customer service...because of Covid-19 you can't get to a person on the phone.
Now I get the problems and issues...we ARE in the middle of a pandemic during which, as I have experienced until now, wonderful service from UPS. (I LOVE our delivery man!) I know there was a tropical storm/hurricane which has caused much damage. I don't like, but understand why things are delayed. What I DON'T understand is why someone can't update the system or put out a communication of some sort. Why keep saying it will be delivered when it won't?
It's a lie...and that's what bothers me. I have a real problem with lies and misinformation. (Something I am trying to reinforce with my son!) If there is a mistake or a problem; ok, just own up to it. Make the correction if you can, but own up to it. I'll understand...I may not like it but I WILL understand.
(Aside: it got hot Thursday night. So we ended up moving our portable unit [https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2020/06/mystery-gift.html] from the office to our bedroom. It IS noisier than a window unit, but it did get the bedroom cool last night. I cannot thank my cousin enough for this generous gift.)
Today is Friday...amazingly late last night my lonely a/c was taken off the floor and sent to the UPS facility in Parsippany. (By the way: Saddle Brook is to our east; Parsippany is to our west and we are sort of in the middle. It had to pass by us in order to get from one location to the other.) The unit was take from Parsippany and is now on a truck. According to UPS, it should deliver by 9 PM today...
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