You know, sometimes things don’t go your way, but in the process of fixing it and to make up for it, you end up getting more (or a better deal). Of course, it’s all about perspective whether that’s worth it, but for me I’ve had a couple of those situations lately where I feel pretty good about the whole thing.
First was my fridge, which broke not long after I moved in. One day, I went to get some leftovers to find that they had started to ferment — it was that warm in the fridge! Gross. Strangely enough, it wasn’t that the cooling had stopped entirely; in fact, the bottom part of the fridge was nearly frozen. Thankfully, I had a home warranty so I put in a service order for that and my oven, which had also broken. At first, the technician said he thought it was a fan issue, so he wrote up his report and left saying that they’d be in touch to schedule something once the part was received.
I waited for a long time and approved an email ordering a part, but then didn’t hear anything. When I finally followed up, I learned that for whatever reason, they decided to replace my fridge entirely! Perhaps it wasn’t a fan issue, or the hassle of trying to fix that wasn’t worth it. Whatever the case, I paid just $75 for the visit and got my oven fixed and eventually, a brand new fridge installed. I was pretty happy with that outcome since I didn’t particularly like the fridge that was there.
The old fridge had a very dirty ice dispenser, the doors weren’t magnetic, and they were not aligned. The only thing I don’t like about the new one is the water dispenser area, which 1) isn’t tall enough and 2) the light has to manually be turned on instead of automatically whenever in use.
Second thing was my car, which got scraped when I was parked at the bank. I was almost too lazy to call in a claim, but I figured I might as well see what I could get from it since it was the other party’s insurance anyway. The damage was just surface scratches on my rear bumper, which isn’t super obvious. I was offered $663 that I happily pocketed. I don’t plan on fixing the bumper since I want replace this car as soon as I can anyway.
Third is my washer dryer set, which I received damaged. There was a small dent on the dryer so I got $150 back, which I was more than happy with. The washer was taken away because it either had not been manufactured properly or it got quite damaged on the way. I called in to get a replacement and was assured that while they wouldn’t have time to reach out to me, but my request would get processed. I waited two months with no response and finally called in only to find they had incorrectly closed my case!
So finally, with a new request processed, they sent me my replacement washer. I’d been living here for over four months with no washer and they only refunded me another $150 for the inconvenience. I wanted way more but I was also too lazy to argue. Overall, still not a bad deal since I don’t need to wash my clothes very often, though it has been a hassle.
Fourth were my sunglasses, which I broke one day when they dropped on my tiled floor. I was hoping I could use some warranty coverage to replace them for a decent price, but the offer that Sunglasses Hut has to replace broken ones within a year of purchase only applies if you are registered with their club. Sadly, I hadn’t set up an account. So I went directly to the Ray Ban website instead and put in a request. They offered to repair them for about $78, which I figured was decent and certainly better than having to buy a new pair. So I paid the fee, mailed in my sunglasses, and waited.
Two months went by without a peep and when I went to check on my request, it had disappeared. I put in a new one to ask about my old one and they finally got back to me on my original request, saying they couldn’t repair it and offered me $300 off an order. I took advantage of that opportunity too get an additional pair of sunglasses and it only cost me another $25. All in all, I ended up getting two brand new pairs of sunglasses for a total cost about $60 less than what it would have cost had I bought them on my own. I basically got the second pair at half off and I’m good with that.
In each of these scenarios, I ended up happy with the result and getting more out of it than I otherwise would have.
