Using My Career To Get Things Fixed

Yesterday was the first time I threatened a company with my career.  I have an embroidery sewing machine that I bought to use as a stress release.  Something fun.  It would sew just fine, then start bunching the thread underneath ruining whatever I was sewing.  

I took it in for repairs, and it took 4 weeks, and $132 to get it back.  Of course what they supposedly had to replace wasn't covered under warranty.  Took the machine home and sewed one test embroidery before it started doing the same thing again ruining the thing I was making for my daughter's birthday, which is tomorrow.  

I took it back yesterday, Halloween.  This was definitely a trick or treat and I definitely wasn't going to get a treat.  They said their repair guy was lousy and they were having to return a lot that he fixed or didn't fix.  Guy there said he'd look at it and see if he could tell what was causing it.  I waited there for about an hour, he was busy and didn't have time to look at it.  My husband, James and I went to lunch.

I had brought James to lift the machine.  It is pretty heavy and I have back problems.  So we were both losing a day of work.

After lunch we killed more time at a couple stores in the area.  Bought some Christmas stuff at the dollar store, bought crickets for my daughter's lizard.  Finally we were running out of time.  James had a dental appointment back in our town, so we went back to see if the guy was able to figure out anything.

He hadn't been able to look at it.  They only pick up repairs on Tuesday, and since this was Monday it had to go in the next morning or wait a week.  He said I could send it in, but it would be gone another 4 weeks and chances were it wouldn't be fixed since the same guy would be working on it.  He suggested another guy down the street.  I would have to pay again, but he was a whiz at sewing machine repair.  

At this point I was desperate just to get it fixed.  We hurriedly took it there, waiting while he promptly fixed another lady's machine.  He looked at my machine and said he couldn't work on it, he couldn't get parts, and it would null the warranty.  He suggested I complain higher up.  The place I took it before should have to fix it and fix it free.

I took it back to the first place and left it knowing it'd be a month before I'd see it again, but maybe I'd get it back fixed just before the holidays.  We barely made it back in time for James' appointment.  But then it started really bugging me the way I was given the run around.  

I'm not great at calling and complaining, so I emailed the main office and said I was a bestselling author (hey publisher puts it on my books, so it must be true, right?) and I would use my blog, facebook, twitter, yahoo groups, and would even put it in my next book how bad their machine was if I didn't get a repaired machine back.  This machine has been giving trouble more than half the time I've had it and I was pretty fed up at this point.  Two hours later I get a call from the manager where I dropped it off.  I was told the machine would be sent in on high priority, would be back next week, fixed, and free.  I wonder if it's not fixed if I could get a new machine out of them.  Evil writer thoughts.  You will notice I did not mention the name of the machine and I definitely won't in a negative light, if it's fixed.  I might even write about how good a machine it is, if it is fixed.  I've even thought about writing a mystery centered around embroidery.  You get the idea . . . if it's fixed.