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#26 2017-08-12 06:18:29

Eric Storm
Pub Owner
From: New Port Richey, FL
Registered: 2006-09-12
Posts: 5745
Website

Re: Ugh....

Eric Storm wrote:

Question:
What's worse than Florida at the beginning of June?

Answer:
Florida at the beginning of June with no air conditioning.  UGH.

Question:
What's worse than Florida at the beginning of June with no air conditioning?

FLORIDA AT THE BEGINNING OF FUCKING AUGUST WITH NO AIR CONDITIONING.

Yes, that's right, friends and neighbors, our brand-new, $7500 air conditioner went belly-up this week.  For 36 fun-filled, wonderful hours, we were completely without AC.  The temperature in the house reached over 90.

What happened, you ask?
Apparently, the guys at Quality Control were having fun with their mind-controlled bitchy female boss instead of inspecting my compressor.  The compressor "shorted to ground", causing a small electrical fire within the compressor, burning the refrigerant, and destroying the compressor.  So, why's that take an entire day to repair?  Because they did not have a compressor in stock.  Why, you ask, did they not have a compressor in stock for the particular model of unit that they are installing frequently and their sales force is pushing?

Fuck if I know.

So, yeah.  From 3:00 AM Thursday morning, to about 3:00 PM today... no A/C.

To top that all off...

So, those of you who aren't prone to insomnia: what's the longest period you've ever stayed awake?

My personal best (or worst, really...) ended last night around 11:00.  It was 35 hours.

I normally go to bed around... uh, 3:00 - 4:00 am.  Get to sleep between 4:00 and 5:00, depending on exactly when I get in bed.  Well, the A/C screamed at 3:00, so I'm like, "I'll wait up until 7am, so that I can call them as early as possible to come out and fix this thing."  (Fat lot of good THAT did...)

So, I call at 7:10.  And at 8:20.  At 8:20, she tells me that all the techs will be "in a meeting", and won't even leave the office until 10:30.  I am... annoyed?  Yeah, let's call it annoyed.  But there's nothing I can do.

Apparently my annoyance got through to the lady, as the technician showed up at 9:40.  He was here until 11:40, told me that he'd have to "go get" a compressor, that they might send him on another job nearby while they got the parts together for the repair.

At 4:00pm, I called the office.  Seems they were unaware that I needed a compressor.  (Either that, or nobody bothered to call me to tell me what they already knew...)  It would take until late morning today for the compressor - which they did not have in stock (wtf???) - to arrive.

So, it is now 5:00pm.  I have, at this point, been awake since noon the day before, a grand total of 29 hours.  I am NOT a happy camper.

Apparently, the Universe has a lot of fun when I'm not happy.

Keeshaba decided to go out and sit in the van, to cool off in the van's A/C.

Get in.  Insert key.  Turn key.

Click.

Please note:  not "vroom".  "Click."

The van will not start.  I go and get the battery charger from my brother's house (he lives nearby), follow his instructions on charging the van (he was a mechanic before becoming disabled)... the best I ever get out of it is Wuh-uh-uh-uh-Click.

The battery, which was working JUST FUCKING FINE the day before, is now completely shot.  It will not charge, and it sure as hell won't turn the engine on.  So, no hope of relief from that quarter.

Well, we stew (and I almost mean that literally) for the next several hours.  Each of us takes a shower more to cool off than anything.  By 11:00, I have finally managed to exhaust myself to the point where it doesn't matter that I am sweating like I've just run a marathon, while lying still on my bed.  I slept without so much as a sheet covering me.  I was honestly surprised that I slept through the night.

I am awakened by a call from the A/C company.  Is it them telling me, "We have your part, we're coming right over!" ????

No.

The woman on the phone: "I have a note that you need a call back."  She has no idea what's going on.  I explain it to her as patiently as my temperature-enraged and sleep-addled brain can, and she tells me she will look into it and call me right back.

To her credit, she is the only person at that place who has actually lived up to one of their claims.  In 15 minutes, she did call me back, to tell me the part was "on the truck" (WHAT truck?  Why don't you have one of these compressors in the shop????), and that the repair guy would be there in about 3 hours.

She called at 9:15 the second time.  Three more hours means about noon.  It's a three-hour install.  So.  Our hell will be over in six hours.

At least that did seem to work out.  The guy got here almost exactly 24 hours after the other guy left.  It actually took him 4 hours before he left.

The house is just now back to its set temperature.

The van... is still busted.  It will probably be worked on tomorrow.

My life... is still busted.  I have just about given up hope that it will ever get fixed.

Eric Storm

PS:  Needless to say, I haven't written anything for a few days.


Please Remember:  The right to Freedom of Speech does not carry the proviso, "As long as it doesn't upset anyone."  The US Constitution does not grant you the right to not be offended.  If you don't like what someone's saying... IGNORE THEM.
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#27 2017-08-12 17:40:14

Sniper
Inebriated
Registered: 2016-07-04
Posts: 94

Re: Ugh....

Eric Storm wrote:

Why, you ask, did they not have a compressor in stock for the particular model of unit that they are installing frequently and their sales force is pushing?

That one is easy. Because those compressors blow up by the dozen and they already have used all their spare compressors for other customers.

Longest time without sleep? From Friday 06:00 am until Saturday about 11:00 pm, 41 hours. We had the brilliant idea to leave for vacation directly after I got off work (about 05:00pm) and then drive the 900 miles to our deatination in one go. Drove all night and then went exploring. I was so fucking shot when we were back at the hotel. Runner up were about 39 hours when some friends and I decided to party for 3 straight days after graduation. We were totally wasted. One of my friends fell off the roof and broke his arm. Nobody knows why he even was on the roof, maybe he was just too stoned and thought he could fly.

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#28 2017-08-12 18:12:39

Eric Storm
Pub Owner
From: New Port Richey, FL
Registered: 2006-09-12
Posts: 5745
Website

Re: Ugh....

I highly doubt those compressors blow up "by the dozen".  Carrier is one of the top names in the A/C industry, and their Infinity line is one of their top brands... in fact, it IS their top brand.  I don't have the top model in that brand line, but it's up there.  I think one site I looked at rated it the #3 best model of air conditioner you can have in your home.  (The others being even more expensive than this one.)

But the fact is that the company that installed this unit is a Carrier authorized dealer.  This model is, according to the technician, a popular model for them to install, and, as I said, they are actively pushing it through their sales force.  (By which I mean it's the one the guy recommended I put in.)  All of that says to me, "We should have a half-dozen of every single part on this machine in the shop at all times.

And even if your (I'm aware, facetious) assertion were true, it only took them a day to get a compressor down from wherever they ordered it from.  In which case, they should still have spares on hand.  If they blew up that frequently, then they should have double the number they are likely to need to replace in a day.  (Or, barring that, a bare minimum of the number of them their existing crew COULD replace in a day, plus two.)

This is how customer service is done, especially in an industry as critical as the HVAC service industry.  People die due to lack of A/C in Florida.  The temperature in the house went over 90 during the outage... and there wasn't anywhere to retreat to.  We were already "in shade", so to speak.  We actually had to go outside to be more comfortable.  (And that, only because there was a breeze.)  But you can only sit and stare at the yard for just so long.

Eric Storm

PS:  Who, me?  No, I'm not annoyed.  Not in the slightest.  Royally pissed off, maybe, but not annoyed...


Please Remember:  The right to Freedom of Speech does not carry the proviso, "As long as it doesn't upset anyone."  The US Constitution does not grant you the right to not be offended.  If you don't like what someone's saying... IGNORE THEM.
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#29 2017-08-12 22:51:42

Barbarian3165
Completely Blotto
Registered: 2015-02-11
Posts: 329

Re: Ugh....

More likely, they don't expect any problems with compressors for that particular model and they don't want to get stuck with one sitting on their shelves for more then a week or two.  Part of the decision to do inventory this way can be cost of pre-purchasing the compressor along with the cost associated with storing and handling the thing (taking up space in your warehouse).

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#30 2017-08-13 01:05:21

Eric Storm
Pub Owner
From: New Port Richey, FL
Registered: 2006-09-12
Posts: 5745
Website

Re: Ugh....

Yeah, I call that "profit-centric customer service".  Which is customer service by no definition that I'm willing to accept.  There was a time when the customer was the first consideration for companies.  I only wish they still thought that way.  We'd have much better products and services.

As an update:  The problem with the van was, in fact, a bad battery.  The replacement cost nearly $200.  I liked to faint when the guy at the parts store told me that.  I even called the other parts store across town to compare.  Their price was only marginally cheaper, and not worth the trip.

But hey, I learned how to change the battery in the van.  Didn't know how to do that before.  So... meh.  That skill was NOT worth $200.

Eric Storm


Please Remember:  The right to Freedom of Speech does not carry the proviso, "As long as it doesn't upset anyone."  The US Constitution does not grant you the right to not be offended.  If you don't like what someone's saying... IGNORE THEM.
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#31 2017-08-16 23:48:35

Eric Storm
Pub Owner
From: New Port Richey, FL
Registered: 2006-09-12
Posts: 5745
Website

Re: Ugh....

It never rains, but it pours...

So the A/C is STILL not working right.  We have a two-stage unit (part of why it costs so much).  For efficiency, it should spend most of its time in "low stage".  Right now, it NEVER spends its time in low stage.  It is either in "high stage" or "off".  The A/C guy is coming tomorrow (needed to, anyway, as a follow-up to the compressor install), and he'll check it then.

Received a notice in the mail a couple days ago from Fiat-Chrysler: there was a safety recall on our van.  No biggy, they cover that stuff for free.  Decided to do annual maintenance while that was going on... another $60 gone... *sigh*

And then, what's this?  Keeshaba's phone will no longer receive phone calls.  Oh, it can call OUT just fine, but nothing even makes it to the phone if someone tries to call her.  We've run through every setting/test/idea anyone's even mentioned, right down to swapping SIM cards.  The phone - an aging S4 - is just dying.  So we have to get her a new phone.  Thankfully she's not the type to demand an S8.  (If she tried to demand an iPhone, I'd kick her out.  I don't even like that she has an iPad that was given to her, and actually BOUGHT an iPod.)  Still, S6's aren't exactly growing on trees, either.  *sigh*  I really wish life would just settle down for a little while so I can catch my breath...

Eric Storm

PS:  Yes, I hate Apple.  Deal with it.


Please Remember:  The right to Freedom of Speech does not carry the proviso, "As long as it doesn't upset anyone."  The US Constitution does not grant you the right to not be offended.  If you don't like what someone's saying... IGNORE THEM.
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#32 2017-08-17 06:15:43

Barbarian3165
Completely Blotto
Registered: 2015-02-11
Posts: 329

Re: Ugh....

lol... I don't blame you on hating the evil apple.

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#33 2017-08-18 14:25:49

sacketts86
Inebriated
Registered: 2014-01-24
Posts: 25

Re: Ugh....

For car batteries try walmart next time, believe it or not they have great batteries and warranty's . Their most expensive battery is 120 bucks and start at 50. Come with up to 3 year free replacement then 2 year prorated

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#34 2017-08-18 18:46:48

Eric Storm
Pub Owner
From: New Port Richey, FL
Registered: 2006-09-12
Posts: 5745
Website

Re: Ugh....

Um... hate to be nit-picky, but I just checked Walmart's battery finder, and the matching battery for my vehicle is either $150 or $165, so... I'm thinking their most expensive battery is not, in fact, $120...

And that's a brand I've never heard of.  AND Walmart was an extra 4 miles away.  The store we went to is about 5 blocks from my house.

Eric Storm


Please Remember:  The right to Freedom of Speech does not carry the proviso, "As long as it doesn't upset anyone."  The US Constitution does not grant you the right to not be offended.  If you don't like what someone's saying... IGNORE THEM.
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#35 2017-08-19 03:00:34

sacketts86
Inebriated
Registered: 2014-01-24
Posts: 25

Re: Ugh....

I didn't look online just while I was in the store, have bought walmart batteries for all my vehicles. I like the nationwide warranty that comes with them since I travel so much.  (I know so do others but I think there is more walmart then AutoZone's or any of the others) have never had to use the warranty just like the option

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#36 2017-08-21 01:03:53

StoryJunkie
Wasted
Registered: 2010-12-31
Posts: 191

Re: Ugh....

Eric, next time (hopefully a long time from now) you have a problem with a cell phone and need a replacement...look on Groupon.com they usually have some decent prices on cell phones and such....actually they have pretty decent prices on lots of things, but I've only bought a phone through them.

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#37 2017-08-21 05:37:12

Eric Storm
Pub Owner
From: New Port Richey, FL
Registered: 2006-09-12
Posts: 5745
Website

Re: Ugh....

Thanks for the thought.  We actually haven't yet replaced her phone (which has remarkably started accepting calls again, at least for now), but looking on Groupon, the only S6's I see for less than MetroPCS is going to charge us are refurbs and scratch-and-dents.  Phones last a short enough time: I don't really want to risk shortening it even further with a less-than-perfect-out-of-the-box start.  That's just me.

But I appreciate the heads-up.  Though I've heard of it before, I've never actually been on Groupon's site until now.

Eric Storm


Please Remember:  The right to Freedom of Speech does not carry the proviso, "As long as it doesn't upset anyone."  The US Constitution does not grant you the right to not be offended.  If you don't like what someone's saying... IGNORE THEM.
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#38 2017-08-21 09:03:13

Jefferson
Completely Blotto
From: East Coast, USA
Registered: 2006-12-03
Posts: 449

Re: Ugh....

I've never used it to buy a phone but we've used it and gotten some great deals on local restaurants on Groupon.

There's a local restaurant we won't even go to unless we have a Groupon. It's just too expensive otherwise.

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#39 2017-08-25 01:40:18

Fenixreign
Completely Blotto
Registered: 2014-08-02
Posts: 255

Re: Ugh....

Eric, in answer to your question about sleep, it wasn't me (my personal record is 37 hours and that only happened once.  My body normally shuts down after 20 regardless of circumstances), but my dad, on his way home from serving his tour in Vietnam, stayed up for just short of 4 days with less than a total of an hour's sleep over that time and most of it in the last 24 hours.  Apparently, the cargo planes he had to fly back on were so uncomfortable and the crap he had to do to muster out was setup so poorly that he really could do no more than cat nap more than about 15 minutes at a time max.

When he got back, my mother swears he slept for over 24 hours straight not getting up even to use the restroom.  Now, that could be my mother (she told the whole story; my father will not discuss anything having to do with his time in-country) embellishing the story a bit, but still impressive.

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#40 2017-08-25 01:59:11

StoryJunkie
Wasted
Registered: 2010-12-31
Posts: 191

Re: Ugh....

Eric Storm wrote:

Thanks for the thought.  We actually haven't yet replaced her phone (which has remarkably started accepting calls again, at least for now), but looking on Groupon, the only S6's I see for less than MetroPCS is going to charge us are refurbs and scratch-and-dents.  Phones last a short enough time: I don't really want to risk shortening it even further with a less-than-perfect-out-of-the-box start.  That's just me.

But I appreciate the heads-up.  Though I've heard of it before, I've never actually been on Groupon's site until now.

Eric Storm

yeah, I bought an unlocked manufacturer refurbished phone, the current LG G model is the G6, I bought a G4....I refuse to pay what those people want (any carrier) for a new phone.

but, they do change all the time, so it's worth at least bookmarking the site and checking back in once in a while for other things, like Jefferson said, they have some pretty good deals on restaurants and such on there


as for the sleep thing, I spent 4 days awake in high school....but I cheated (and screwed myself up pretty badly) by taking Vivarin  (caffeine pills) I was working nights and going to school during the day

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#41 2017-08-25 06:34:29

Eric Storm
Pub Owner
From: New Port Richey, FL
Registered: 2006-09-12
Posts: 5745
Website

Re: Ugh....

Well, we ended up abandoning the notion of getting her an S6.  I won't trust 'refurbished', and MetroPCS does not even sell the S6 anymore.  ("So why do you still have it on display?" I asked the man.  "Because we still sell accessories for it." was his answer.  "So why do you STILL HAVE A FUCKING PRICE TAG ON IT?" was the question I wanted to ask, but was too annoyed to bother.)

We're getting her an LG G5.  The G6 costs too damned much, and I was having difficulty finding a new G4 (which the reviews said was the equivalent - or thereabouts - of an S6), so I figured the G5 has to be at least as good as a G4.  It has good reviews (as long as you don't look at Walmart's website...), and the experts seem to like it, so...  *shrugs*

Eric Storm - still using his LG G Stylo from two years ago, and probably will be for another two...


Please Remember:  The right to Freedom of Speech does not carry the proviso, "As long as it doesn't upset anyone."  The US Constitution does not grant you the right to not be offended.  If you don't like what someone's saying... IGNORE THEM.
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#42 2017-09-02 04:54:19

Timberwolf92
Inebriated
From: Canton, New York
Registered: 2015-12-10
Posts: 87

Re: Ugh....

Where has the summer gone? Here in upstate New York it went from daytime highs of the mid to high seventies down to yesterday's high of 62 and it seems to be sticking.
How's the weather down there? Not real good with topography so l hope you suffered no ill effects from Harvey

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#43 2017-09-02 05:34:45

Eric Storm
Pub Owner
From: New Port Richey, FL
Registered: 2006-09-12
Posts: 5745
Website

Re: Ugh....

*snickers*  Highs in the mid-70's.  Those are our LOWS.  (Yes, I hate this fucking place.)

We've gotten a lot of rain out of Harvey, but nothing disastrous.  I don't even think we've had any flooding here.  Though if it doesn't stop raining soon, we will.  Not in our immediate neighborhood, but nearby.

Eric Storm


Please Remember:  The right to Freedom of Speech does not carry the proviso, "As long as it doesn't upset anyone."  The US Constitution does not grant you the right to not be offended.  If you don't like what someone's saying... IGNORE THEM.
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#44 2017-09-02 11:26:24

Timberwolf92
Inebriated
From: Canton, New York
Registered: 2015-12-10
Posts: 87

Re: Ugh....

Eric Storm wrote:

*snickers*  Highs in the mid-70's.  Those are our LOWS.

That does sound brutal.

Eric Storm wrote:

We've gotten a lot of rain out of Harvey, but nothing disastrous.  I don't even think we've had any flooding here.  Though if it doesn't stop raining soon, we will.  Not in our immediate neighborhood, but nearby.

Well hopefully it calms down.

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