nlbarber

Cautioned by patgund, I called about possible damage to a compressor that had been turned upside down (and left that way) by the shipper. The repair appointment person felt I should take time off work to wait on the repair tech, so he could figure out if the part was usable. I pressed, and she transferred me to a technical support person. He also thought the tech should be the one to make the call, but under additional pressure said he would text the tech to call me so I could ask the question.

No one ever called, either the house number or my cell. I'm soooo shocked.

On to today: Repair appointment window: 1-5. My plan: go to the office, get through as much as possible of the too-long list of 'things to be done before going on leave for 10 days', leave at 12. Drive to Northlake, swing by WW to weigh in for November (before 10 days on the Disney Dining Plan), pick up lunch at Panera, get to house before 1.

The reality: tech calls at 11:55 and says he's on his way. Miraculously it's the same tech as last time--that's the first repeat. We negotiate on timing: I'll try to see if brother or sister-in-law are home and could let him in, so he could at least check the parts. I mention the problem with the upside-down compressor, and he immediately agrees the part is no good. However, he still needs to check on another part (the heat exchanger, I think) which might be boxed with the coils, or might not be there. No one's home next door, so I frantically complete my response to my supervisor's writeup of my annual review, pack up, and go home. I got there only 5 minutes after the tech.

The heat exchanger wasn't there, so the tech will order it and a new compressor and we'll try again. I told him I'd be gone next week, so I'm hoping a) Sears won't automatically schedule an appointment for then, then drop the whole thing when they don't get hold of me and b) this tech continues to be assigned the problem.

Oh, and the tech had not been contacted about my call on the compressor--clearly that is an easy call and could have saved both me and Sears the time spent today to come look at a boxed, dead, replacement part. Too logical for Sears to handle, I suspect.

Appointment window: 8-12 Thursday 10/29. I arranged to work from home so I could be there. I called at 12:15, and the phone agent promised to text the technician and have him call me with an ETA. How long should I wait before calling back, I ask. She promised he'll call immediately. Hah!

12:45: technician called to say he's on his way. That was the first call, of course.
1:10: he arrived. The compressor appeared to be locked up at first, but did start running. He quickly found a leak in the newly installed inside condenser coils, and said he'll replace the compressor too, and will order both parts. Right.

The parts will take at least a week, then I have to get an appointment for the installation. I'll be at Disney World week after next, though I think I'll get sister-in-law to let me know when the parts arrive and I'll call for an appointment from there. It takes at least 4-5 days to get an appointment, and I don't want to wait until I'm back from Disney to start that process. Assuming the parts come in. It sure would be nice to have my freezer back before Thanksgiving--older brother is coming here with (probably) one of his two sons, as we decided not to have one last holiday gathering in Moultrie and his wife will be in Europe.

The Sears tech and I chatted about the sad state of Sears--he's frustrated, and says they are always this overbooked, and he gets confronted by irate customers all the time. He also recommended that I not put food in the freezer until it's been running 5 days after the next repair. I guess slow leaks are common.

Waitin' on the Sears repair tech....again.

( Full complaint behind the cut )