The saga of the washer.

Well, it's apparently time for a new washing machine. Dammit.

I bought my current machine about 5 years ago...I think...I'm pretty sure I had my old one when I moved into my house and replaced it with this one.

Three years ago, the machine broke. It would start the wash cycle, then halfway through it would just stop. You could manually advance it to the rinse cycle, but then the same thing would happen. It would just stop.

So, I called a repairman. I arranged it through Whirlpool, and they set me up with A&E Factory Repair Service. Okay. The repairman couldn't diganose the problem, but he did manage to sell me a warranty. I'm sure it made sense at the time. According to my notes, the problem must've recurred two months later, because that's when I have down that the motor on the washer was replaced.

That's right. Three years. Two weeks ago, the exact same problem happened again. I called A&E Factory Service, thinking that if I called the same people, I could tell them what happened last time and maybe they'd have a record and maybe they could just plan on doing the same repair in one visit and this whole thing could be resolved in one shot.

Because my current job won't let me take any time off for any reason whatsoever (presumably I'd be docked for a hospital stay), I have to schedule these sorts of things on the weekends. They couldn't get me a Saturday appt until today - two weeks. So, I've had no washer for two weeks. Or rather, I've had a washer filled with water, sitting in my laundry closet for two weeks. I figured I'd let the tech empty it.

It's been annoying, but at least today it would be fixed. At 8:45, they called me. Their technician called in sick - they'd have to reschedule. WHAT??? I've already waited two weeks! Is there NO other technician? Apparently not. I tell the lady to cram it - I'm calling Sears.

I call Sears. I make my way through the voice-prompt phone tree (which I hate), and I finally get a human. She asks all the same info that the phone tree made me give (what exactly is the purpose of those damn things?), then asks if I bought my washer at Sears. A few more questions and she passes me to someone else. The new guy says he sees a cancelled appt. No - I had an appt with A&E Factory Service that THEY cancelled, but I have no appts with you guys. I get passed to someone else. For the third time, I give all my info, get an appt for next Saturday (ARGH! Another week! And next Saturday is the first day of a holiday weekend! I don't *want* to be stuck at home waiting for a repairman on Labor Day weekend!), then I ask (because I'm suspicious that the other guy mentioned a cancellation), "It is a Sears repairman that'll be coming right?" No. It's A&E again. The Sears bastards passed me on to A&E when I said I didn't buy my washer at Sears!!! Oh, the screaming in my head.

As an aside, the lady on the phone mentioned that in another part of the country 10 of their technicians called in sick. Seems we have some kind of "sick out" going on. Congratulations boys. You just lost your company business. They lose business, you lose your job - without customers, there's no need for your services. But back to me...cause you know it's all about me.

I kept the A&E appt, but then I got out the phone book. I found a local company that advertised same-day service. Best Service Co. I call. A human answers. A real person who is polite. She says she can have someone out between 10 and 1 today. Thank you, God. Thank you for this nice lady who will actually give me timely service. About 10:30, the technician calls me, asks me what's going on. I tell him the history, and he says that he's pretty sure that the motor will need to be replaced again. He says that the technician 3 years ago likely put a salvaged motor into my washer, not a new one, and that's why it's out again. He gives me a quote over the phone, for free, and we determine together that I'd be better off buying a new washer. Appt cancelled, no charge, and I have an answer today instead of a week from now.

Best, you really are the best.

So, I'm going to be washer shopping today, and my Labor Day weekend appt with A&E (my last with them ever) is cancelled. If you need a repair service in the Austin area, call Best Service Company. A human will answer the phone; they'll get you service in a reasonable timeframe; and they'll be honest with you. Not much more you can ask than that.