Where have I been?

 

Time flies when you’re having fun.  It also flies when you’re in the middle of chaos.  Over the last few weeks I’ve been dealing with some major house and car repairs.  If you heard recently that the economy is on the upswing, it’s because of me.  I’ve definitely done my part to stimulate it!  Now, it’s someone else’s turn.  Please.

One of my repairs ended up being my refrigerator.  It was so a lemon and it was actually the second one I’ve had since the first one had been totally replaced under the warranty.  That is a whole long story of negativity.  And, I am trying to think positively.  I will say that that experience left me determined to buy locally, not from that widely advertised chain store and definitely not that brand.

However, in shopping locally for a new refrigerator, I found there were only two choices.  Really, just two.  Oh, there were different colors, but only two brands and pretty small sizes.  I knew I was going to have to buy in a larger town, but that meant borrowing a friend’s truck or paying a huge delivery fee.  A friend suggested I try Lowe’s.  Being a savvy online shopper, I tried online first.  There, in BOLD print, Lowe’s offered free local delivery and free removal of the old appliance.  In slightly smaller print, Lowe’s stated that local delivery was within 75 miles of the store! 

I didn’t believe it.  But, I did look online for the specs I wanted in my new refrigerator and found one for the right price.  It was even on sale.  This had to be too good to be true.  So, I called the local store – actually I had several to choose from in the 75 mile area.  The sales rep was very helpful and confirmed the local delivery area.  She also answered my questions about the refrigerator since they had a floor model.  The only draw back…Lowe’s only delivered in my area once a week and I had just missed that delivery day.  I knew I could not go a whole week without a refrigerator as I had already been fooling around with this problem for several days.  (Why do things break on a weekend anyway?)  BUT, the sales rep said I could order it online and they would deliver it the next day.  WHAT?  Could this be true? 

Desperate for ice, I put Lowe’s to the test.  They called the very next day for directions!  The delivery guys set up the new one, made sure it was working properly and hauled away my old refrigerator.  And, the refrigerator I bought without seeing?  Perfect.  I’m happy with the larger size, the price, and everything.  All in all Lowe’s gave me terrific service. 

I do feel a little bad about not buying locally.  If this refrigerator had been available, I would have paid a little more for it.  I would have done that and been happy because I want to support the local economy.  I don’t want to support so much that I would buy an appliance that I knew would not make me happy.  And, refrigerators can make us happy.  Can’t they?