I can now have a Diet Pepsi over ice at home and at school. Life is good.
Contrary to what you might think, however, this is not due to the incredible competence of the refrigerator repairman who visited my house, looked in the fridge and presented me with a bill for $59. Between the time the ice maker stopped spitting out cubes and the time the repairman arrived, the ice maker decided to heal itself. By the time he arrived, it was working merrily and had filled the ice holder to the brim.
I did not cancel the visit since, as you well know, as soon as you do that the appliance will immediately quit working and you will have to reschedule the visit. And be without ice. Not a happy place to be. The repairman deduced that we would need a $250 part and suggested, quite confidently that since we had purchased the refrigerator in 1999, it was almost 20 years old and we should just buy a new one.
Not taking the time to do the calculations in my head and, quite frankly, excited at the idea of finally getting a refrigerator with ice and water in the door, I immediately agreed with him and told him I would talk to my husband about it. When Tom got home, I pounced on him, exclaiming that since our refrigerator was 20 years old and we could get a new one for roughly $1000, it was JUST PLAIN SILLY to spend that money to get it fixed and, just think!, we can get one with ice and water in the door!!
Since Tom is, compared to me, a rocket science mathematical genius, (well, honestly, anyone is) he immediately replied that a refrigerator purchased in 1999 is not exactly 20 years old, in point of fact, it is not even 10 years old.
Well, damn. He's right. So, what's with the appliance repairman? Did he really think from 1999 - 2007 is 20 years? Did he think I wouldn't notice? I will never know, since we are not about to buy a new one and we have a friend who is going to fix the old one for us. I do feel a little silly. But not in front of my husband. He doesn't mind. He knows I am a mathematical moron. A zero. Or is that zero to infinity? Or something about Pi?
Who knows. Just get me a good book to read. That I can handle.
4 comments:
We had a similar situation with a side by side we got in 2000. We went to Consumer Reports online, and they said if your refrigerator was older than 2001, replace it because they have made such advances in energy efficency that over all IT WOULD SAVE YOU MONEY. Hey - any excuse for a new one!
hehehe...sounds like something I would say to Nick. Sometimes you just don't want to take the time to do the math....you just really want to believe it is the right answer to HAVE to buy a new one!
Yeah, and the fridge repair guy gets a small commission for selling you a new one....even though you dont actually NEED a new one...
Don't sweat it, I had to do a double take on the numbers, too... and I am an accounting student! I am supposed to be a wiz with numbers!
(20? wait, that isn't right? Is it a typo, or is the repairman an idiot? THAT was my thought process!)
Post a Comment