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Welcome to the world of the Vincent D'Onofrio obsessed - and a bit of real life thrown in.


Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Any more? Come on, I can take it!

Today I went to a DIY store with garden centre attached to get a large plastic box as a substitute for the potting bench I couldn't build. This is for the storage bins for my chicken feed.

Bonus - it was really light. And it just clicks together. What could be simpler?

When I got home with my new acquisition, I found a message on my answering machine from the company that makes the potting bench. The score goes like this:

I phone them and have to leave a message, even though their helpline should be open.

They leave me a message the next day.

I leave a message, even more snitty than the first.

Nothing.

I leave a third message.

They phone me up and leave a message while I am at work, saying that they will be there till 6pm.

I phone at 4.15. The helpline is closed. I leave a really snitty message.

This is the current state of play.

I take my new purchase into the garden and start to put it together. Everything is clearly labeled, and fits together really well.

As I start to put the end pieces on the lid, I find that I HAVE TWO RIGHT ENDS AND NO LEFT END!

I phone the manufacturer. Their helpline closes at 4.30. It is 4.45. They say leave your contact details but not a message. I do both. Then I phone the store and give them the details of the item and the fault. I can hear the assistant looking the item up on the computer. She says, "Unfortunately we don't have any more in stock." I reply, "Unfortunately you had a pile of them when I bought this an hour ago." She goes out and checks, returning to say that she has found them, and will reserve a left end for me till tomorrow. So another trip out of my way is on the cards. At this rate I won't have enough fuel to get to the rescue centre.

The phone rings at 5pm. It is the manufacturer. Unlike the first company, they appear to have a customer service policy, rather than a customer aggravation policy. They will send me a replacement part in the morning. It seems I will now have 2 left ends!

Meanwhile, I have received a message from the suppliers of special feed for ex-battery hens. I emailed them yesterday complaining about the fact that their carrier had left a large bag of feed on my doorstep, in full sight of the street, so that any passing burglar could read it as "No one home, please break in". This despite the fact that I had given the instruction that they could leave the package with either neighbour.

They had the damn cheek to say the driver had left it with the neighbour to the right, who must have put it on my doorstep! Never in over 30 years has she done such a thing, nor would she. In fact, nor could she - she is in her late 60s, with a gammy shoulder, and they think she heaved a 20kg bag of chicken feed next door? As it happens, she wasn't even home.

Do you think I am not meant to rescue these chickens?

8 comments:

judith said...

What to say eh. Val? Life gets sillier and sillier. People today could'nt run a p---up in a brewry.

Eliza said...

I don't know what to say..but you'll get there in the end!! Those chickens are going to love being with you, and I'm sure you'll love having them :-)

JoJo said...

Good lord Val! I cannot believe the machinations it's taken to rescue the hens!!

As for the delivery person, he's a big fat liar. I hate that. There's no such thing as 'the customer is always right'. When we moved to our house here, Comcast was supposed to arrive b/t 12-5 to hook up our cable. They never showed. When I called, Comcast INSISTED that the installer had been there but we weren't home & he left a note on the front door. I told her that was a big fat lie b/c there was a huge moving truck in the driveway, AND our garage door was up showing 2 vehicles in the garage AND the we were in & out of the house all day moving boxes AND there was NO note on the door. They made ME out to be the liar.

SnarkAngel said...

Your challenges certainly seem limitless! Whatever you decide, Val, you have my support.

Anonymous said...

Lucky cluckers. I'm sure if they knew the lenghts you are going threw to provide their rescue, they would do backflips.

mauigirl said...

It will be worth it in the end, and you'll have a good story to tell about the lengths you went to accomodate the little dears!

Anonymous said...

Well, perseverance seems to be a pre-requisite ;0)

The assembly instructions for my computer desk said 'Two persons, 45 minutes' It took two persons an hour and a half, especially since we had to UN-assemble the whole thing after assembling it, when we realised that 2 bits were, in fact, upside down but then there were no distinguishing features to indicate which way was 'up'!

val said...

Diane, my worst DIY job was when I put together a galvanised 1 metre x 1 metre x 2 metres aviary, which ahd NO instructions, and I managed to build it inside out!

The next weekend, I had to dismantle it and reassemble it the right way.

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