If you've been reading this blog recently, you are well aware that I am pretty stressed out. Not over one particular thing, but over a myriad of issues that raise my blood pressure and put a knot in my neck. I'm starting to look like this:
Despite my attempts, I have NOT been a calm and cool person. And a recent situation definitely turned me into the guy above.
On my last couple of treks to see my dad and visit the house at the shore, I noticed that the freezer wasn't freezing. Ice trays were empty and when filled with water, stayed that way. There wasn't much in the freezer so I tossed what was in there out. My dad's caregiver is the one who uses the fridge the most and with him not around, there wasn't much in there either. I thought, I'll just let this go for now. While the freezer section isn't really working, the fridge is still cool...
(You know where this is going, don't you?)
When I was down the other day, I put a beverage in the fridge and it didn't get cold. (It got cooler, but not cold.) It was time to get a new refrigerator.
Now not unlike my house, the shore house has a very specific spot designated for a refrigerator. (For reference: https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2021/08/chaos-on-summers-day.html) I needed to find one that was a certain height, width and depth. In the world of refrigerators, bigger is better and small (but not mini) is difficult (if not impossible) to find. Armed with a tape measure and a photo of the inside of the fridge showing the model, my husband (because I wasn't doing this on my own!) and I
came up with a solution. I hopped on
Lowe's website and ordered a Hotpoint 15.6-cu ft Top-Freezer Refrigerator (white) because it could be delivered next day and for a nominal fee (because there is always a fee), they would take away the old one. I was pleased with the timing and the cost; all seemed right with the world. (Cue ominous music.)
I asked my father's caregiver to empty out the fridge in the morning (again) there was not much in it and unplug it at that time so that it could be taken away. She said she'd stay home and wait for me to text her that they were on the way. Later that night, I forwarded her the text I had received: Your order #11111111 is arriving soon, June 16 from : 10:30 AM-02:30 PM.
This morning I got a text saying that my order was out for delivery. Then just after noon, I got the text that my order was on the way. Immediately I called the caregiver to let her know that the fridge should be there soon.
And then...
I got a call from the delivery company (because Lowe's outsources delivery) saying that driver was having a hard time finding the home, could I talk to him. So I tried...I had a really difficult time understanding him. I gave him the street address; he said his GPS couldn't find it. (Or at least that's what I thought he was saying). I gave him the town again. He didn't seem to get it. I asked where HE was, thinking that if he told me what town he was in, I could get him from there to the house. But there was definitely a communications barrier. I asked him if there was someone else with him that I could talk with. He ended up saying "they'd" call me back and hung up.
"They" did call. It turns out that while the street address was right, the town was MY town in North Jersey...over 70 miles away! It also turns out that the delivery company isn't contracted to go to that area. So...
The "good" news is that somebody would call me back to clear this up. (Do you believe that?)
Ten or so minutes later, I did get a call. The delivery company would return the fridge to Lowe's at the end of the day and my card would be credited. It was up to me to order a fridge AGAIN and make sure that everything was correct.
While I called my dad's caregiver (who was much more calm than I was), my husband got on the Lowe's site and reordered the refrigerator with a delivery date of tomorrow to the shore house. (I made him print out the page so that I have PROOF of the address.) So now I have two charges on my credit card for the exact same amount, for the exact same product and a headache because:
How will things go tomorrow? Only time will tell, but hopefully I won't be looking like
again.
Comments
Post a Comment