Product Warranty

A trusty calculator that I've used the last 30 years for business and personal needs finally bit the dust this week.  For the last few years I've needed to get the cord kinked just right to power the sucker but shortly after our move no amount of kinking will do.  I had a little free time yesterday because someone did not show up for their test so I wandered over to the nearby Office Max to see what they had.

Finding a solar powered model with big keys, an easy to read slanted number display and for goodness sake an actual  =  key, all for only 8 bucks, I bring it up to the counter with a big smile on my face.  The cashier rings up my purchase and then asks if I want the warranty on the item which will only cost $4.95.

"A $4.95 warranty for a eight dollar adding machine?" I reply.  "No, I don't think so."

"OK" she says and then tells me that if I call the toll free number on the receipt and answer a short survey that I will receive a five dollar credit on my next purchase at Office Max.

I tell her: "Great!  That makes it a 3 dollar adding machine."

Not fazed in the least the cashier shoots back;  "Honey, now maybe you can afford that warranty."

Last week I had the pleasure of wadding through a purchase at Art Van, a giant Michigan furniture and TV retailer.  It was 8 pm on a Friday night and Jackie and I were the only customers in the store.  There were 5 male salesmen sitting and chatting in the recliner section and the lone female hustles over to help.

We were looking for a small dinning table we heard about that had drop leaves and that should fit perfect in the small dinning area next to our kitchen.  And best of all, the price was very good.  Seeing it up front we checked it out and it was indeed what we were looking for.  We picked out the finish, added two matching chairs and thought we could have the lady ring us up and we would be on our way. 

Well, this is 2014 and nothing is as I remembered it.  "Do you want to purchase the warranty on the set?" I am asked by our sales lady.  "No" I reply.  "No warranty".  She finishes up the order on her large computer screen and then calls her manager over, a young guy half her age.  He leans over the screen, mumbles to us that he sees we ordered such and such a table with such and such a finish and two side chairs with blah, blah, blah and then looks sternly at us and asks if we want the warranty.  "You really should get the warranty" he says, shaking his head in agreement with his statement.

But at this point I'm thinking to myself several other thoughts.  "Has buying furniture become like buying a car, you get up sold at the close by the guy who really makes the profit for the dealer?  Are the table and chairs I'm buying a piece of crap that needs a warranty.  I mean, this isn't something like the glass on your smart phone that will break at least once a year and cost you $130 to repair.  This is furniture.  Our family  was in the furniture business.  One brother still is.

My dad in his early sales years once brought a sample of a small end table chest with him on the road.  He would place it in front of the furniture buyer, pound his fist on the top and remark, "Look at this, solid as a rock!"  Did that to a decorator at a design studio one day and got the reply;  "Oh, I don't know.  It looks a little clunky bunky to me."

But I just smile at the junior manager and say;  "No, no warranty."

We pick it up the next week, assemble the table legs and chair legs and seats.  This reminds me of something I saw on FB recently.  A priest looks at the items on the table in front of him.  There is a wood cross, a metal Jesus with his feet together and arms stretched out, a hammer and three nails.  The priest thinks, "Maybe I shouldn't have bought this at IKEA."  Now that's truth brother. 

The table and chairs look great in their spot.  Solid but not clunky bunky at all.  If I happen to sit on the chair one day and it falls apart I'll just have to place the parts in front of the Art Van store with a large sign that says;  "Get the warranty - Piece of crap!" 

Point, Counter Point

With working, working on our house getting ready to move, moving, working some more on our house, working again, arraigning stuff after the move and then sleeping when I can, with all that I find that I have neglected this dear blog.

Not that there hasn't been interesting stuff going on.  We moved in after tearing out the old kitchen counter tops which took the sink and cook tops with it but before installing the new counter tops.  The inspector lady from the city said this would not be a problem,  Just email her a photo when complete.  So Wednesday Jackie's sister Janet and our brother-in-law Rick came over to help with the project.

Janet is the oldest female child in a family that has 9 other brothers and sisters and is used to getting her way, so when she insisted on climbing into the cabinets to work the special clamps that make the main joint look great we didn't argue.  In fact this gave Jackie a chance to duplicate something she had seen on TV, thinking the worst that could happen would be that she would have two sisters named Janet.

Janet was able to climb in through the top but gave little thought as to her escape route.  We put the two large sections on and Janet worked the clamps expertly.  Thoughtfully we provided Janet with a towel to keep any dripping glue out of her eyes but it seems that she missed a spot or two and couldn't move afterward, making it even more difficult to get out from under.  I was out chiseling old glue off the underside of the sink and did not see this happen so I do not accept any responsibility in the matter.

As you can see, the counter tops turned out great.  We still need to build some cabinet doors and paint and we are leaving a slot below the cook top so Janet can get something to eat or drink from time to time.  We have always thought it was great to have family so close.