It’s been a strange day. It started out with me getting a ride to work from Chris again (more on this in a minute), followed by 4 long boring hours of Prelude Administration. I ate a quick lunch then walked 10 minutes back to my office. We’re moving to a new building on Monday and since I’m taking Friday off, I needed to pack up my stuff. I got everything organized and onto my moving cart and ended up leaving around 3PM because Chris decided he was ready to duck out early. All in all, not too bad for a work day, but that’s not the annoying part.
About 3 weeks ago I took my car to Jiffy Lube for an oil change. I already knew I had an oil leak that was getting progressively worse and they confirmed it was something they could not fix. I started trying to figure out where I could take it and got some recommendations via the Classifieds at work. A few calls and my options ranged from estimates of $600 to just under $1,000 to fix the problem. I ended up going with the cheapest place, although it wasn’t my first choice simply because of the strong recommendations for a one-man shop not far from here that wasn’t much more.
I think I made a huge mistake. First, the cost was doubled because the problem was worse than originally thought. I was told it should be done Monday or possibly Tuesday. Tuesday came and went and I was informed that it wasn’t done yet. So I called again today during a break from class and was informed they were waiting on a part. They were expecting it anytime and my car should be ready today. Ok, not so bad. But there’s more…
I’d been home for about 15 minutes when I get a call.
I’m calling to let you know that we just got your parts from the shop. I’ve got some bad news for you. It’ll take three more hours to get it done. It won’t be done today.
Keep in mind that tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I asked when they were open next, already knowing the answer was going to be Monday. I responded by saying that was pretty much unacceptable, that my family was coming into town and I needed my car. She offered to “hook me up with a rental” which I considered for about thirty seconds before she said they would only pay for half. Half of $25 bucks a day for five days? I don’t think so. Not when I’m already paying out the nose for this repair.
So lets recap. I’ve been given an estimate on the cost; it’s doubled. I’ve been given two estimates on when it would be done and both have come and gone. I’ll have been without the car for a week and a half. Not to mention the costs involved make less and less sense the more I think about it. One part plus installation = $600. Two parts doubles the cost. Wait a minute…I can understand doubling the cost of the part, but once they take the engine apart to install the first one, they don’t have to take it apart again. Why should the cost of labor double as well? That makes no sense. Let’s just say they’ll have a hard time convincing me to pay their full price when I go to pick it up on Monday (assuming it’s even ready). I wonder how they’ll react when I let them know that I work in a company of over 2000 employees, the majority of which will read the story of my experience with McDermott’s Service and Repair.
The day wasn’t all bad. My family got here before bowling and it was good to see them, although it was a little tainted from the events with the car. League also went pretty well tonight. Although my first and third games were nothing special, my second was a 196, my new high score and the best so far for our team. Only 2 open frames and 7 strikes (4 of them consecutive). Let’s just say I was shocked.
Lost was also pretty good tonight. I finally understand where Ana Lucia is coming from, but I still don’t think her past gives her an excuse to be such a bitch. They’ve got a long ways to go before they get me to like her.