My Own Personal Kitchen Nightmare

Oh my dear readers. We cannot get a break with this kitchen. Just when John and I thought things would be done, nailed down, etc. We run into big issues with the new fridge delivery.

And yes, I know, I probably wouldn't have much sympathy for me either if I didn't have a working fridge. However, this is my story, so I'm going to tell it because you should know if you're going to be experiencing the same thing.

OK, so the brand, spankin' new laminate floor has been in for two weeks, as of Friday the 5th (last week), and when the fridge delivery guys come, the first thing I say is, "I have stuff to put down on the floor because it's just been installed and my husband will be very upset if the floor gets scratched (so will I, but not nearly as much as John)."

The delivery guy says "We don't need that, we know what we're doing." I know, famous last words. Then, removing the old fridge, he proceeds to scratch up the brand new floor. I nearly started crying right then. But it gets worse.

From refrigerator_delivery_issues

As he removes the handle to the door of the new fridge, he uses an extension to his screwdriver that promptly scratches the paint off the door. In three places.

From refrigerator_delivery_issues

From refrigerator_delivery_issues

From refrigerator_delivery_issues

OK, at this point, I'm biting my lip to keep from going into hysterics and trying not to twitch as they scratch up the floor moving the new fridge into place.

From refrigerator_delivery_issues

From refrigerator_delivery_issues

From refrigerator_delivery_issues

From refrigerator_delivery_issues

After they put it into place and I struggled not to burst into tears with them watching, the delivery guy who had done the most damage asked me how I was going to report it. This guy had the nerve to ask me to lie! He told me I should report it as having arrived damaged. I told him flatly that I'm an honest person and that the company I purchased the fridge from would know the truth.

They then left, leaving the giant fridge box and a bunch of trash out in the driveway. I didn't even know that they had until John arrived home and showed me (I hadn't seen it because it was out of view from my position in the doorway to the kitchen.

Then, I took a good look at all those scratches and the damage to the fridge door, sat down on the floor of the kitchen and wept for about 5 minutes. Then, I phoned the company from whom I bought the fridge and was on hold for about 10 minutes waiting for the salesman who sold me the fridge. Much as I tried to hold it together, I couldn't. The poor guy had to listen to my sobs as I told him what happened.

He told me to call again on Monday (today) and talk with a particular customer service agent about what happened, take lots of photos and be prepared to email them to her. After we said goodbye, I took the photos above and contacted our floor installer to have him come by on Saturday morning to give us a quote for what it would take to replace the damaged floor.

When he came by on Saturday morning, he saw the damage right away. He told us that he'd have to take up all the trim, the kickplate, all the boards to the right of the damaged boards, remove and reinstall the stove and fridge because they are to the right of the damaged boards, and reinstall the extra boards we had ordered because they had told us to buy 10% more than what we thought we would need. (We originally thought we would use the extras to do the downstairs closet. Not anymore.)

The cost he quoted is $800. So, when I talk with customer service later today, I will also send them his estimate because we shouldn't have to pay this. It's just maddening. They should have put down something!

Well, all that said, I just hope that they take responsibility for their actions and are accountable for what they did. I'll let you know what happens.

However, I'm going to be on hiatus for a bit because I begin my internship tomorrow, in addition to the rest of my school stuff. So, June's going to be tight. If I get some time, I'll check in, but more than likely, I'll see you again in early July. Details here.

Kitchen Update and More

Sorry Folks, no photos of the kitchen's finished-ness yet, but we're getting very close. Yesterday, I ordered two Gel-Pro mats for the island area and for the sink area. They are in transit as well as some nifty trays to put into the plant window of the dining room. Yes, it's true. John and I are doing our best to bolster the economy during these tough times.

Outside of the rugs, we also updated a light fixture above the kitchen island. There was much cursing involved as John battled with the ill-constructed box holding the electrical works. The end result is that it looks much brighter in that part of the kitchen, and I won't have to clip a shop light to my bookshelves anymore when I take photos of food. In fact, the bookshelves have moved to the dining room, and the Aerogarden now sits on top of the mini fridge which holds all the flours, nuts, and dried fruits.

Finally, we're still in search of an ideal replacement full-size fridge. It's pretty much impossible to find a top or bottom mount energy star fridge that meets our specifications. We should have bought the fridge prior to measuring for the cabinets. We will most likely need to compromise and find a french door fridge that doesn't have gallon-sized shelves on the doors. The limitation is that the fridge will be located adjacent to the garage door on one side and next to John's custom spice cabinet on the other. We need one that is counter-depth to fit in the space. In order to pull out any interior drawers the fridge may have, most fridge doors must open wider than the space we have (or, ideally, be a single door that opens from the left as ours currently does). Nothing about any of the work we've done on the house has been easy.

For example, you'd think that painting the new trim would be a breeze just like it's been in the past. Nope. The flooring guys used MDF on the shoe molding and wood for the baseboards. I wish they had used wood for the shoe because when I pulled up the tape after painting, the tape above the wood came off like a dream, with only two spots on the entire downstairs project to touch up (and those were small). However, on the shoe molding, the paint pulled off the MDF like it would on most plastic. It was very frustrating. I was able to smooth some pieces out, but in most of the ripped areas, I had to spend extra time touching up. No more MDF for us.

Overall, I'm the happiest about the fact that nearly all the cleaning is finally done, and I can focus on getting back to cooking/baking and doing my work for the semester. This summer session is far and away much more interesting than the spring. I'm taking a class called Art Librarianship, which is riveting. The professor is a fascinating fellow full of very interesting art history. Makes me wish I was an art history major for my undergrad, that's for sure.

The other course is highly theoretical so far. It's called Human Information Behavior, and deals with how people deal with information retrieval and other issues pertinent to knowledge workers. Sometimes the readings put me to sleep, but the class discussions and lectures are worth it.

Next week, my life becomes increasingly complex when I begin my internship at the Zimmerli Museum, specifically working for the Registrar. She's like the hub of the place. She gave me an interesting little project regarding artwork that used to be the covers of New Jersey telephone books. I had no idea Bell Telephone had commissioned New Jersey artists to produce art for telephone book covers for 30 years or so. The museum is deaccessioning (a new term for me) the artwork and giving it to the New Jersey Historical Society, so my work will be tied to that. Very cool and much more interesting than I expected.

I will be able to photograph some of the work to blog about, and when I have that set up, I'll link to it from here so you'll be able to see some of it too!