The Ondracek Refrigerator Saga (and how I almost lost my mind...)

Last week, (Wednesday to be exact) I got up, got my coffee and sat down at the computer after snuggle time with Annie; my usual morning routine before we do school.MY phone rang, it was my hubby. "Is your refrigerator running?" he asked. Knowing his sense of humor, I replied"oh, I need to go catch it, right" "I'm serious!" he replied.I opened my refrigerator, hoping it was all a joke, but knowing it really wasn't. My freezer was at 39 degrees, the fridge at 47. "oh, no" I groaned. I closed the fridge,hoping it had not been shut all the way,and just needed to cool down. I hung up the phone ; waited a bit, and checked again. The freezer was about the same; the fridge at about 54 degrees. I shut the doors, ran to the garage and grabbed an ice chest. I began chucking items as fast as I could into the ice chest, dumping what little ice we had on top of what I was trying to salvage.I ran next door, loaded with egg nog and cheese, explaining quickly the situation,and please enjoy.Thus began my week long(not ended quite yet) refrigerator saga. I called the local appliance service company. They came out the next day. Thinking my fridge was no longer under warranty(It's only two years old) I figured we would be whipping out the old visa to pay the bill, and bite the bullet later. The repair man informed me my evaporator was out, there was no coolant(a leak or blockage somewhere) and it would be an expensive fix. "yippee" I thought. This is the second time in two years something major has gone wrong with my fridge. The motor went out in the first year. The repair man suggested I call Maytag, to see if there is something they can do, since the fridge is still fairly new. Taking his advice, I called. "We can give you half off the part" the operator tells me. "I guess it's better than nothing, I'll call you back in a bit" I replied. I got online, posted on myspace and facebook my frustration. I needed some time to sit and veg before I tackled the situation again. My sister in law posted a message" you should call Maytag!" I had already done so once,but in the meantime had contemplated trying again. I kept thinking this fridge was still new enough that this shouldn't be happening.(not to mention the expense in purchasing the fridge) That was all the confirmation I needed. "Thank YOu, Lord for the confirmation!" I found another number for maytag, and hoping it might yield different results; I tried it. I explained my situation to the man who answered. He connected me to another operator. Armed with the information that the evaporator was kaput, I informed her of my situation. "Your sealed system is covered under a 5 year warranty!" She tells me. Relieved, I told her she had just made my day. " I told her who I had called for repair,and she told me they were an approved company by Maytag. I was so relieved! She put me on hold, while she called the local company and explained that they could go ahead with repairs. I thought that was the end of things. The appliance repair called and set up for the following Tuesday. (bear in mind, this is still Thursday, so we were looking at 4 more days.) "I'll take it, if it's the soonest you have" . The next Tuesday, I left to do childcare for the Bible Study., happily thinking when I got home I would find the fridge repaired,and maybe the ice chests would be emptied, food replaced in the fridge. WRONG! Dick called "the fridge isn't fixed" When I got home, I called the repair company. "they fixed it" she tells me. "No, it's not cooling" I tell her. "It takes about 24 hours to regulate." she replies."OOOkkayy..."(I am feeling rather doubtful, since the fridge had actually gone up a degree or two while I was on the phone.) Dick begins to try and tell me to tell her what the repairman said, so I hand the phone over. They set up another appointment for Thursday. In the meantime, I find out via "Tracy" from another phone call, that no, they had not installed the evaporator(I found out yesterday the part had not even been ordered yet), they needed an authorization number from Maytag. (ARRGGH!) In between allt his, I had been talking with Maytag , trying to get someone to get this straightened out. (I am nearly in tears by this point) I explain to Tracy at the repair company that this warranty that she seems to think I purchased through home depot is the MANUFACTUER warranty, I did not purchase this warranty through ANYONE, it is in the owner's manual,and not an extended warranty. "we have to have an authorization number!" I call maytag again. The operator tells me they don't need an authorization number, but I can try another repair company. So, I call A&E factory service. The operator there(who barely speaks English) sets up an appointment, explains they will diagnose the problem, order the part, blah blah (.The woman from our local repair place said Maytag was going to waive another diagnosis , just to tell the repair place what I needed, per whomever she had spoken to from Maytag. ) ( I am nearly hanging from the ceiling fan by now.) She then begins informing me of fees, etc. I tell her I am not paying anything. She tells me this price, that price. "This is a manufacturer warranty, and I am not paying a dime for any repairs!" "your warranty is expired" she says. "No it's NOT!"(I am nearly shouting by now) "Yes it is,you have a one year warranty" "No, it is a 5 year sealed system warranty! (I am ready to begin spelling everything by now in hopes of getting her to listen. The evaporator is part of the sealed system!" "No it's not" "Yes, it is! " I ask to speak to a supervisor. I am put on hold. She comes back, explains the same story she had tried already. "I want to speak to supervisor!!!" "I am telling you what the supervisor said" "Fine then" I hang up. I call Maytag once again. I am so frustrated by now, I am not sure I can be civil,but I pray and find myself feeling like I can do this. Knowing I am covered by the warranty, I try once again. Explaining the situation,and telling her I cannot live out of ice chests for another week, it's costing a fortune, she checks my file. Agreeing I am under warranty, she apologizes(sounding very sincere) for my difficutly and tells me the repair place needs no auth. number. "I have been trying to tell them that all week!" I exclaim. She puts me on hold, and a few minutes later, apologizing for the delay, explains she had brought a supervisor on to the line, called the repair place and asked me to read the warranty. I do so. She tells me they(Maytag) have to honor it, and can I please fax a copy of the warranty to her, she will fax it to the repair place.Yesterday morning, I received a call from Linda, at Maytag(the woman I spoke to on Wednesday). She informs me that everything has been taken care of,and I should hear from "M's" appliance shortly.I did get the call from "M's " appliance. They told me the part would be ordered(My heart begins to sink, thinking another week, minimum of living out of ice chests) and in the meantime, they would bring me out a loaner refrigerator. I exclaim my thanks. She tells me it may not be the prettiest; but it would keep my food fresh. "I don't care what it looks like,as long as it works! " I exclaim in reply.Yesterday afternoon, they brought me out the loaner fridge. To my pleasant surprise, it is clean inside(albeit a litttle dusty on the outside, but that was easily taken care of. ) ! It isn't bad, a few dents, but it works,and I can actually go grocery shopping! The best part is; I can put my ice chests away (hopefully) until summer when I WANT To use them for camping!
So, that is the end( I hope) of the Ondracek refrigerator saga. I still have my hair, I did not find myself swinging from the ceiling fan,and did not completely lose my mind. I did find myself telling Hannah that if I had to live out of ice chests, couldn't I at least have an old fashioned"ice box" to use in the house? I seriously meant it. I figured I could handle that for a fridge since I had the big freezer in the garage. So, for those of you who may have read my status posts, and wondered if I had gone off the deep end, well, I may have teetered on the edge, but with God, I made it through!