Epstein's Death

At 9 (F), our outside temp is not nearly as cold as we were told it was going to get.  Several forecasters had been predicting negative temps.  They didn't happen.  And the warm-up begins today.  Our afternoon high should be in the low 20s (F), and tomorrow we should break that freezing barrier and end up with temps in the low 30s (F).  Rising temps are something we can all appreciate.

Work yesterday was ugh.  We have an Indian customer with a recurrent cellular blind problem.  Recurrent, because the blind breaks.   He's used the warranty process once, about a year ago and the manufacturer replaced the blind.  He showed up yesterday wanting to use the warranty for the replacement blind.  If it were a blind located in a different room, then there might be a warranty issue, however, this is the same window.  He told me that the manufacturer told him there's nothing they can do.  I caught him in lie, after lie, after lie. Hopefully, this customer will learn a lesson this time.... probably not.  He'll just switch his business to our competitor.

Otherwise, yesterday was pretty meh.

I'm scheduled for a full shift today, so it's going to be another meh day.

The editing process has begun and so far I've cut out... a lot.

Lindsey Vonn crashed out of the starting gate at the winter Olympics.  She tore her ACL ten days ago, so I don't feel sorry for her in the least bit.  I do feel sorry that she took up a spot on the Olympic team from someone younger and healthier.  I hope this sits poorly with her conscience, that her desperation to win another medal completely overrode her common sense.

Apparently the last Epstein file drop by the DOJ included a rather incriminating awkward piece of information.  Evidently they released a letter announcing Epstein's death on the 9th, however, he supposedly didn't die until the 10th.  So, was this press release a dry run?  Were they actually prepared for him to die on the 9th?  This is making headlines the Republican party hates.  I've heard the Epstein scandal is going to be bigger than both Watergate and the Iran-Contra scandals.  I don't doubt for a second that this will terminate forever the GOP.

Also, there was another special election yesterday, this one down in Mississippi, and once again large numbers of Republicans voted for the Democrat.  This goes to show that there are decent Republicans.

 

Heat This

 The weather was nice yesterday, but I didn't really spend much time outside.  I took Lily for her walk, hit the grocery store, and that was about it for my adventures out in the world.

Around 1130 the installers from UGI arrived to take out the old  hot water heater and install the new one.  They were in and out of my house for four and a half hours.  Lily was not happy.  She spent most of that time right by my side.  She has never liked strangers.  She has no problem with my friends, but those she doesn't know either get barks, or snake eyes from the staircase, or she'll stay by my side so I can protect her, and the older she gets, the closer she stays to me.  \

One of my friends said I should have let him set me up with a "lead" at the store (he'd get credit for it) and I reminded him that our installs are exorbitant as hell.  We attempt to rationalize this to our customers by touting warranties that really don't warrant the additional cost.  The sad truth is that too many people hate to shop around.  You have no idea how many people walk through our doors and ask if we do installs without taking 5 minutes to sit at their computer and simple Google "water heater installers."  Of course, too many people want to take the easier route even though it's going to steal more money from their bank account. 

For those of you wondering this is what $3085 looks like.  $1700 for the water heater and $1385 for the installation.  Keep in mind, the installers were working with natural gas, and this one 's shorter than the previous heater.  Still, I did tell my friend Jon he might want to take up plumbing rather than become a Physical Therapist.

And speaking of "will wonders never cease?"  Aileen Cannon, Trump's ace judge in the hole, decided against him, telling him he could not set up a special "confidential area" in Mar a Lago to study and review the classified documents he stole.  That's right!  She rebuffed him!  Where is her loyalty!  Doesn't she know she only has one purpose, to insure he stays out of jail?  My feeling on this:  One of her Federalist cohorts took her aside and said "Tootsie, look how the Orange Anus is destroying the Republican Party!  He will do that to us, unless we unite to stop him."  Poor Donnie, it looks like someone has left his cake out in the rain.

Pac This

 Well, I had planned on sleeping in this morning, even going so far as to set the alarm for 0600.  However, an hour before that 180 pounds of dogs decided to have a little horseplay on the bed before demanding to go outside for a heavy duty pee.  So much for sleeping in.

I have some yardwork planned for later today, and tomorrow as well, since the temps are supposed to be warm.  Nothing major.  From Friday on, we are predicted to have more seasonal temps with highs only getting up into the mid-40's (F).

So, this customer calls in yesterday and asks me about Pergo, and warranties, and if we honor them.  She explains to me that in 2001 (yeah, the year of the space odyssey) she had a Pergo floor installed in her kitchen and hallway.   She goes on to tell me that while she was cleaning under the bed she found the warranty sheet guaranteeing the floor for 20 years as well as her receipt.  I can tell you right now, the only things under my bed are the dog toys.  Anyway, her floor is now scratched and faded and according to her receipt, the warranty expires in April.  I escalated this issue to our Customer Service Rep who requested the woman email pictures of the receipt, the warranty, and the floor.  The receipt she sent is not for a Pergo floor.  Nope.  Twenty years ago she paid $61 for a laminate sheet to make a countertop.  I guess this means she's going to need to start digging under the bed again.

One of my fellow associates came back from lunch yesterday talking about a headline which said Loser #45 was attempting a hostile take over of the GOP.  Well, that headline was wrong... kind of.  What Loser #45 really wants to do is take complete control of their fund raising, hence the cease and desist orders.  You see, he wants all funds raised to go into that personal super Pac he created when he lost.  The one he calls Saving the Steal?  That Pac is, for better lack of a better term, his personal slush fund.  he can dictate which candidates get money, and which ones don't.  But, and this is very important, he can also write checks to himself from this Pac.  Loser #45 will always want to be a tinfoil dictator.  

The Ugly Truth about Extended Warranties

I have worked in retail for many years, some as a part-time associate and some as a full time associate, so I am quite familiar with those extended warranties retailers so desperately want you to purchase.  They love that little add on since a vast majority of the time, it's money in their bank.  Let me explain.  If you were an appliance manufacturer, like Whirlpool, would you want to build, say a dishwasher, which breaks down after three years?  The idea is to create a brand saturated with consumer loyalty.  Whirlpool is not going to grow that loyalty if their products are shoddy and need repairs after three or even four years.  This means they are going to build something which is going to survive longer then an extended warranty.  When it does finally break down, they want you to buy another Whirlpool product, not go with Samsung or LG.  Retailers don't give a shit about how long a product lasts, they just want you to buy the extended warranty since they put a lot of money in their bank account.  This is not to say there are not a few consumers out there who have not purchased and used these warranties, but they are a rare breed.

I did some research to find out who exactly buys these extended warranties and was surprised to find out low income people, those that are the least financially fortunate, tend to purchase them.  Of course major retailers don't really care about how much money you make they just want you to buy them: out of poor pockets into theirs.  Doesn't that seem a little unethical?  The largest group, how  ever, are those who don't want to worry about their appliances breaking down.  Now I don't know about you, but I tend to put some time into research before I go out and buy any large ticket item.  I look at online reviews, Consumer Reports, check out how many stars the product gets at Amazon; there are a vast number of resources out there.  When I make a purchase I want to make sure I'm getting the best bang for my buck.  I sleep well at night.  Unfortunately there are a lot of pudding heads out there who do not do that.  No, they will go from appliance showroom to appliance showroom who will always end up extolling the wonders of their own brand of extended warranty.  Holy Shit, when are people going to get smart and do the research, it doesn't really take that much time.  It's also feels great to walk into a showroom and say "I'll take this refrigerator in white," and when they move into extended warranty territory say "actually, this refrigerator has a lifetime expectancy of around thirteen years, so you can take that $400 extended warranty you want me to buy and use it to wipe your butt."