On the weekend, Ken and I needed to get stuff done for the kitchen in a big way.
I'd signed the contract for the countertops on Friday, and the only thing holding us up with getting the counters measured was to have the cabinets installed (happened on Saturday and was finished on Monday), and have the sinks on site, so the countertop templates could be drawn with the sink-templates.
So on Sunday afternoon, I took Ken with me (and Kelly came along for the ride), and we went down to the closest place that I'd found that was a dealer for the Vent-A-Hood range hoods (that our electician had recommended), and the Franke sinks, (that Ken and I both wanted to install for sentimental reasons) We'd found them online, so knew what a good price was. And we also knew that there wasn't a whole lot of wiggle-room in the Vent-A-Hood pricing. What we'd found it for online (without shipping) was the same price as that of the appliance store where we were going.
It was a hot afternoon, but I hadn't expected the Sales Guy to be practically dripping with sweat under his tent-like bold Hawaiian shirt.
Ick.
The sweaty face and hair notwithstanding, Over-Eager Sales Dude sure knew his prices. And he seemed to have a lot of wiggle room in the sinks. It was all Ken and I could do not to dance a jig and twirl each other around in the store when he quoted us a price on the first (larger) sink. The price he initially quoted us for the second (smaller) sink was equally impressive. Easily $30 less than the BEST price we'd been able to find online.
My only concern was that we were kind of in a bit of a time-crunch, and it was possible that these prices were for "delivery within the next three months". That would've really sucked.
Fortunately for us, his next line was "I'm sorry we don't have these in stock, but we will be making a trip to our distributor in the East Bay on Tuesday, and you should have them late Tuesday, or early Wednesday. Will that be OK? I'll phone you tomorrow, just to confirm that we'll have everything ready for you. OK?"
OK?
We nearly did cartwheels in the store!
So, Monday morning, I was expecting a phone call in the morning from Sweaty Over Eager Sales Guy.
When noon came, I was a little bit concerned.
By 3pm, I thought I better get the ball rolling myself.
I called SOESG.
Me: Hello, this is Kemma Parker. I'm just calling to confirm the order of 2 Franke sinks and a Vent-A-Hood that I paid for yesterday. Is everything still on track for a Wednesday pick-up?
SOESG: Kemma... Parker...? Oh! Didn't I call you? Let me get your paperwork.... oh... hmmm..... I don't have anything down here. Can I call you back in 15 minutes? I'll have all my ducks in a row then, and will be able to let you know EXACTLY what is going on... geesh, it's been a zoo in here today.
Me: Ok. I'll expect a call in 15 minutes. Thanks!
......
[insert theme song from Jeopardy here...]
An hour later, still no call.
I called back.
Oh. What a shame, SOESG wasn't around, but if I called back tomorrow, they'd be SURE to let me know where my sinks were.
.......
[insert theme song from Jaws... I'm not liking where this is going]
......
Yesterday morning, I got right on things.
The first phone call:
Me: Hello, this is Kemma Parker. I'm calling about the status of two sinks and a range hood.
Voice: Um... er... when were these ordered?
Me: I ordered them on Sunday, (and PAID FOR THEM), and SOESG was going to call me yesterday to confirm their arrival time in your store.
Voice: Oh... Let me find your paperwork, and I'll call you back in an hour and let you know what's up.
Me: *handing over cell phone number*
.........
Two hours later? Still no phone call. Anyone surprised?
So I phone again.
Me: Hello, this is Kemma Parker, I called earlier about the status of two sinks and a range hood. Can anyone give me information about the items that I purchased?
Voice: Who helped you?
Me: On Sunday, when I bought the items, it was SOESG. But earlier today, I don't know who I talked to.
Voice: Oh! Here it is. Your hood is here. There is no record of sinks, though. Are you sure?
Me: Oh, I'm sure. The sinks are on our critical path, and SOESG said on Sunday that they would be in by Wednesday.
Voice: OK, let me check on those sinks, and I'll get back to you.
Me: When should I expect a call?
Voice: Oh, just a couple of minutes. I just need to find Bernie.
.......
An hour later, my phone rings.
Me: Hello?
Voice: Hello, this is Bernie. I'm just calling to let you know that your Range Hood is in! Great news!
Me: I was actually waiting to hear on the status of two sinks.
Voice: You ordered 2 sinks?
Me: Yes, and when I spoke with you earlier, someone said that they would call me back with sink information.
Voice (a little huffy): Wel, Ma'am, I can ASSURE you that I did NOT talk to you earlier about a sink. I would have REMEMBERED that conversation.
Me: The "you" was plural. Can you find out any sink information?
Voice: Let me call you back when I get that information.
................
It's kind of getting funny now, isn't it?
...............
A half hour later, my phone rings.
Voice: Hello, is this Mrs. Parker? Your sinks are here! But it looks like your Range Hood wasn't on the shipment. But it should be coming in late tomorrow. Your sinks can be picked up after 9am tomorrow morning, but your Hood will be some time after 2pm.
I'm so glad we got all that figured out.
....................
So this afternoon, on the way to dance class, Kelly and I made a detour to the appliance store to pick up the sinks and the range hood. I had the back seats down in the van, and was hoping everything would fit. I had NO idea how big the things were, or if they'd be in overly excessive packaging.
Fortunately, after all the phone-drama, the pick-up process was drama-free, and within 3 minutes of pulling into the parking lot, we were pulling out again.
Kelly wasn't even late to her dance class.
........
After her dance class, she asked if we could take a detour to the mall on the way home. She'd been such a great helper through the afternoon that I couldn't say "no". She wanted to look at all the new Webkinz, so we made a bee-line to the Hallmark Store, where she petted all the new arrivals, and quizzed me on which my favourites were.
On the way out of the mall, I stopped in at Ritz Camera, and picked up a lens cap. Somehow, I've lost the lens cap for my 18-105mm lens, and I just do NOT want that baby to get scratched. I've discovered that I'm pretty rough-and-tumble on the cameras, and the New Kid could use all the protection it can get.
Oops.
Did you know that PetSmart is on the way from the mall to the house?
Seeing as we didn't buy anything in the Hallmark Store, we had some extra time, and I thought a little walk through to see all the small furry pets would be such fun.
And look!
Dwarf Roborovski Hamsters!
And they're Brand New!
And they're SO Tiny! Half the size of Souffle!
And they're social! They can live together in the same habitat if they're raised together.
And wouldn't it be a fun addition to Kelly's Science Fair Experiment to test the miniatures against the smalls against the bigs?
And they're On Sale!
Sing it with me!
Sisters....
Sisters....
There were never more devoted sisters.....
Never had to have a chaperone... No sir!
I'm going to keep my eye on her....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I jest!
I just took a photo through the glass of the cage.
But Kelly was SO tempted. And so was I, truth be told. They were hand-tame, too.
In the end, I just walked away.
Primarily because I had 4 hamster cages to clean today, and I didn't want to make it 5.
But my sinks!
They're here!
photos to come later...
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