Well, the countdown to Wook-lets continues with the young mother uncomfortably restless. It’s quite amazing to watcher her expand by the hour, while we can now not only feel but see her babies exercising just under her skin. Nature will soon repeat itself the way it has for centuries, with Wooklets entering the world in a normal way. Leaving the Wookie to rest comfortably at home, the Mysterious Marine and I had other things to handle yesterday.
The harsh environment in which we live is very rough on our vehicles. There are a few automotive options that are pretty important around here, even more so as you get closer to the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Four Wheel Drive is one of them and one of us experienced a malfunction requiring the replacement of transmission parts.
The promises some businesses will make to someone to make a sale are fascinating. The parts will be delivered in a matter of hours. The work will be done at record speed, getting you on your way. Their spoken desire to get you on the road is all it takes. After all, in the 1900’s, men stood on their word. Great businesses were that because they delivered what they promised. Unfortunately, 18 days after purchase a service that was promised in seven, promises made weren’t kept. Some businesses will wonder why they’re failing when they do. Lucky for this business, a truck only loses it’s transfer case once during a normal lifetime. This business is a fail. There will be no repeat business.
After leaving the vehicle at the shop with no real date of completion, given, we were pretty disheartened, disappointed, and hangry (hungry + angry = hangry). MM and I decided a little breakfast would perk us up, choosing a local eatery in business since 1966. Located on the main drag of a little town just to the East, cars lined up in front of the restaurant, a diner that would fit right in any stylized movie about the Mid-West.
Immediately, a waitress with a very large septum piercing and orange hair came to take our order. It wasn’t complicated. She had her order pad and we knew what we wanted. Coffee and two breakfasts. According to the menu both came with biscuits and gravy. Sounded good after the disappointments of the morning.
The coffee was delivered and then we waited. We talked. We waited. We looked at our phones. Did I mention we waited? We did. A very long time.
Finally, a different waitress came bearing plates holding food we didn’t order. Burned bacon. Chicken tenders over eggs. Just a weird order that didn’t resemble what we had envisioned for breakfast.
“This isn’t ours.”
“Yes it is,” she answered.
Quite sure we didn’t order deep fried chicken tenders for breakfast, they realized they wrote down the WRONG name of the breakfast ordered.
I ate. MM waited. Then, MM ate. I waited.
Finally , we were ready for the bill, which was incorrect. The 2nd waitress told us she would fix it. I was hoping it would be fixed to $0.00. But, No. One biscuit and gravy was removed. End of story. We paid and left, agreeing never to return again. Now two businesses in this small town to the East of us were no longer on our recommended list.
10 AM, and the day was just getting started.
MM ordered a cover for his hot tub in September 2022. After paying for the specially ordered cover in advance, he hadn’t received word from the company since. Yesterday was the day he’d check on that. With no answer when he called, he left his phone number and waited for a call-back, which did finally come.
“Your Name?”
“Oh yes. Well, here is your order. It’s scheduled for delivery in June.”
June.
Not January.
Not on the way.
Five months from now in June. 2023.
Shaking his head, MM asked for and will be receiving a refund in 10-14 business days.
Somedays, life is better retired while enjoying winter snowstorms from the picture widow of a warm home. The world makes no sense anymore. It’s sad that business practices of the 1900’s making life more pleasant are definitely gone. Those of us that remember how things used to be aren’t all that old. The 1900’s weren’t all that long ago. Heck, we even had phones, television, and the gas engine. Somedays, I wish for the old days.
Whatever you do today, practice patience, but only to a point. I, for one, am tired of accepting poor products, rude customer service, or no service at all. Vote with your dollar. If we all try that, maybe things will improve. If all else fails, have a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy the day.
More tomorrow.