This year can’t finish without more calamities!
On Christmas Eve morning, I felt like the hot water was cooler than it should be and that it took longer for it to get warm. However, since the weather was exceptionally cold, I attributed the water temperature to that fact. By evening, however, I’ve grown a suspicion that something is wrong with the water heater.
My water heater can keep the water warm for a long time, and I am not sure when it actually stopped heating. I thought that I would survive a Christmas Day (nobody would come out anyway), and I could call Allied Saturday morning.
On Saturday morning, the water was still warm enough for me to take a quick shower. Then, I called Allied. It was 6 AM, so I didn’t expect anybody to be in, but I wanted to leave a voice message. Following the prompts, I reach to the technician on call only to find out that they are not picking up, and their mailbox is full. When I call at 7-30 AM, the message was that the office is closed for the holidays. They suggested another company for emergency service.
I called and texted them, and there was no answer. I started to look on the internet for alternatives and quickly found one. I called them, and they said that they will come over within two hours.
By that time, the first company replied, saying that they are swamped with work and won’t come on Saturday, but they can come on Monday. I replied: no problem, somebody is coming.
Then, “somebody” came. The guy didn’t even have any tools with him, just a pad. I showed him the water heater and left him alone. In ten minutes, he emerged from the basement and asked how old is the water heater. Immediately, he proceeded with, “if it is more than ten years old, it’s cheaper to replace.”
I called Boris to ask him whether he remembers, but he didn’t. Then, I called Anna and John, and they told me that I’d be better off waiting till Monday. This guy from company number two told me that he could replace the whole device right away. Still, if I want a repair, it would be longer, because they will need to call the company, etc.
We decided that a single old lady should not be scammed into the purchase of a new water heater. The most important sign of this person was a salesperson rather than a repairman: when I said no, he left without charging me for coming!
You’ve guessed what I did next: I messaged the first company again and asked to come on Monday. They asked me to send them a picture of my water heater, which I did.
On Monday, Allied replied to my message and told me that they could only do the after-hours or Tuesday, and I decided that I had enough life without the hot water. Company number one messaged me at 7-45 AM and said that I am the first on their list.
Yes, after all, I ended up with a new water heater. But first, I actually heard all the technician’s conversations with the manufacturer’s tech support, and I knew he was not scamming me. And second, his quote for the new device was $400 less than from the second company, so it was a win in any case. And he left with the worlds: hope we won’t hear from you! I hope so, too!
Hettie's Reflections 