that was a thing

 So I talked about getting the new mower.

First the good thing - I mowed the whole lawn Saturday. Logged over 4000 steps, the most since before my injury. I hurt a little today, but not badly - more "weak muscles that haven't been used enough" so that tells me I'm getting better.

The new mower is extremely nice. It does a much better job than the reel mower did, it will take down the coarse grass and weeds that the reel mower just left. I'm glad I bought it and now wish I'd gotten one a couple years back. It's the same model as my string trimmer and I THINK the batteries and chargers are the same, so if they are, I can charge one while using the other. (I got the entire front yard and half the back done on one charge, but then again: some of the vegetation was taller and I ran it on "turbo" (faster cutting speed) for a while, which probably ate some battery life. 

I'm also pleased with Tractor Supply and how helpful they were; I will use them instead of Lowe's for that kind of thing in the future. 

The installation of the washer and the dryer, though.....whew. I mean, the tl:dr is everything is fine NOW and I've washed a couple loads in it (I should go get the sheets out and decide if I have the energy to change them tonight) but getting it installed was a whole thing.

So okay: the guys showed up around noon. The tail end of the time window I was given but okay fine, that's par for the course with delivery and service people. They looked at the front and side doors, determine the front one (and through the dining room, and the kitchen) was the only way. Then they started to prep the unit for removal. Some disapproving noises. Then one of the guys came out to where I was sitting: "Ma'am, the cold water tap is calcified open; we can't close it, you'll have to get a plumber in."

The place I use has Saturday hours so I tried calling. Had to leave a message. The guys left, with a "call the store if you get it fixed, we might be able to come back, but we also have to go up to Wapanucka" (which is at least 40 minutes away).

After they left, the plumber called - he was on his way. He came, looked at the tap, and sighed. "Let me get a channel lock. Those guys should have known how to do this." He literally tapped the handle with the channel lock, some calcification fell off, and he turned it off. "I'm not going to charge you," he said  "this was simple and they should have known how to do it"

I tipped him $20 for his trouble - maybe he was able to get a nicer lunch as a result - and he was a good guy to not charge me the $65 home-visit fee. 

But his "Those guys should have known" was, as it turns out, a Chekov's gun.

I called the store back - "yeah, yeah, they're on the road, they'll call when they can come."
I carried my phone in my pocket and did the rest of the mowing. 

Came back in, sat. Didn't want to shower (like I do after mowing) because I knew they'd call while I was in the shower.

Three pm rolled around, I decided to call the store again before they closed. "They're on their way" I was told.

As it turns out, they didn't call, just showed up. Unloaded the new unit into the street (I twitched a bit and hoped none of our careless drivers sideswiped it). They came in and got the old unit, tearing up the closed-cell foam floor mat I kept in front of the stove. Okay, maybe that was partly on me, I forgot to move it when I moved some other things. But still. 

I had to quick scurry and pull down the fairy lights I have hanging over each doorway so they wouldn't hit them - hadn't thought of that (putting them back that evening took a lot of effort, because I just grabbed and balled them up). 

They got the old unit out, loaded up the new unit. It's taller than the old one but narrower. The space has a normal-height ceiling so it fit fine (I was concerned). They hooked it all up - or so I thought.

Handed me all the paperwork, said "we'll start a quick-cycle with the washer empty to be sure everything's fine"

And they left, before the thing completed the wash part of the cycle and went to the drain part.

And here comes the Problem.

When it switched over and I heard it, I thought, "I'll go see how it's doing" and stepped into my kitchen and found......a lake. Water all over the floor. I panicked and first turned off the water taps (thinking, I guess "oh maybe one of the lines burst" but in retrospect - the connection lines to the washer are that flexible metal and probably wouldn't burst. Then I grabbed towels - all the ones I owned save for one to dry off with when I finally showered (at this point it was like 5 pm) and threw them on the floor to soak up the water. 

And I hit the redial for what I thought were the delivery guys, to basically say "guys what the HECK the washer is leaking" but got the same plumber again. He sighed, said "I'll be out in a half hour but this time I'll have to charge a service call" and I was like "I don't care, I need this fixed."

And then I decided to look again - could there be a hole in the unit, could the drum be damaged, could there be a leak in the pipes up in the wall?

And then I saw it.

The drain hose.

It was still folded up against the washer in its transport position, instead of hooked up to the drainpipe that will carry water away to the sewer system.

I said SEVERAL bad words, grabbed the hose, jammed it in the drainpipe. Of course by now the washer was empty. 

Called the plumber back. "Sounds like you fixed it," he said "I won't come out unless you want me to, save you the cost of a service call. I'll be on call the rest of the evening and tomorrow if you have further problems though."

so I turned the taps back on (cautiously), and gathered the soaked towels into a laundry basket (soaked and slightly grubby from being on the floor). Showered, ate something, and then wheeled my desk chair into the kitchen. I put in half the wet towels to the washer, and started the cycle. I sat through it (doing Duolingo on my phone) and waited through. Wash cycle finished, water drained, nothing went wrong. 

When the cycle completed, I put the towels in the dryer. Stayed in there for most of the cycle because I was anxious enough something might go wrong THERE. 

It didn't. So I did the second load of towels. 

I will say the wash cycle on this one takes longer BUT the spin cycle is much more complete, so the dryer doesn't have to work as hard. I presume this is one way newer washers and dryers save energy; by not having to run the dryer as long (this is an electric unit, and using electrics to heat things is costly of energy). 

I did call the store where I bought it right after I called the plumber but of course it was after 5 pm and they were closed. I left a message noting my displeasure; I will probably call tomorrow when they open at 9.

What I would like? An apology and perhaps a refund of the $25 delivery fee. But if I don't get even an apology, or a nonpology like "I'm sorry you feel that way" that Lowe's did? Well, I guess I'll have to find a different store to buy future appliances from. (Which is tough - it's them, or Lowe's, here in town, I guess I go to Sherman and pay the big delivery fee.....so I hope they AT LEAST apologize). 

This is a long-term business and one everyone recommends, but you know? All customer service seems to have gone down the tubes since the pandemic or maybe even before so I won't be surprised at a nonpology.

I mean, the unit is good and I'm glad I bought it but WOW did the delivery experience really sour me on it. When I have the spare cash for a new dishwasher I may buy it there but hire my own plumber to install it.....

Also I'm never doing a weekend delivery from them again, it may be they have their B team on weekends. 

I did go ahead and order a replacement kitchen floor mat; I found Amazon still carries the same exact one (I bought that one in 2015) for about $30. If the place offers to replace the mat for me I'll just tell them what I paid for the new one. (I doubt they sell them so they probably won't hand me one, though if they do, I guess I'll take it and put it in front of the sink)

I like replacing it with the same one; I liked that mat and one of my brain-wiring things is that if I can replace a broken or worn-out thing with an exact copy, I will.

I really hope these past few weeks (well, really, past 3 months) of problems means I'm now due some good fortune and smooth sailing for a while.....