The Stove

I guess it is time to tell you the story of the stove. I have many words for the stove, but I will try to stick to the socially acceptable ones. The stove is fixed, but I had to go through a great deal to get it that way.

Remember, this story has a happy ending, so if you are in the middle of it and feeling despondent, as I was, remember there is a silver lining in every cloud or some such thing..
Or perhaps you should remember your eight-grade language arts class...all stories are built on conflict. Man against man, man against nature, man against machine, or man against himself. (can you tell I went to school before gender neutral language was instituted???!) Actually, I am not so sure about man against machine....but it fits here, so I add it.

The day after Memorial Day I go to that department store that is known for appliances and tools. You know the one I mean. I look for a new stove. My dream stove is stainless, dual fuel (that means electric oven gas range), slide in (no backsplash) and has a convection feature on the oven. So I look around. All of those are beyond my means. I look at electric ranges instead, and at the very end, the salesman, says Oh I forgot, we had a return! this lady decided she did not want this Jenn-Aire dual fuel range! It is half price! It is exactly everything I had just mentioned as the dream stove.

OMG! so I cannot resist. I buy it. It is at the top of my budget for this item but gosh, how can I get a stove like this. New, never used, no visible dents or any trouble. Half price. I really felt I had won the lottery. Elated, I decide to also buy the extended warantee, just in case. This may have been the only smart move I had made. I NEVER buy the extended warantee, but something just told me that I should.


They hold my precious stove in the warehouse while I demolish the kitchen. All of this work happens, and as we get ready to put cabinets in I have them deliver my dream stove so that we can fit the cabinets around it and perhaps I can use it in a limited fashion to boil water, fry an egg, etc so the Sub shop does not get all of my food money.

Delivery day is wonderful. They put in a new gas line (duel fuel, remember?) the electrician puts in the 220 line for the oven. I am ready to go. The gas range works great. However, the oven does not work at all, in fact the control panel does not light up.

uh oh. (woman vs machine)

It is time to call the automated repair service. I call. They say I have to wait a month for service. A MONTH? you gotta be kidding me. They hand me some dumb line that the dude only works on Tuesdays. (was never true) I argue, cajole, and call 4 more people and they come 4 days later. (man against man) Yup, needs a new control panel.

While I am waiting for servicedude, I look in the bottom drawer of the oven...a yellow reciept is there...with a lady's name on it...and the date Oct. 2003!!! Her phone number is there too.
So I called her. She told me a sad tale about the stove, that she used it for a month while they were getting her a new one, because she paid full price. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Now, after 5 service visits , 10-12 calls to the service center, 2 different control panels, and 2 different repairmen, the stove is fixed. I thought of giving it back and getting a refund because the store LIED to me or at best mis-represented the item. I really tussled about this issue (woman against herself) I researched, I could never get a stove like this for the money...so I just decided to have it fixed. After all, I designed the other appliances around this stove, I already had spent the bucks for the dual fuel line.

Along the way, I hope that I was able to convince the service center of the company that they have a crappy system of making people sit home for 4 hours while they wait for servicemen who do not come at the appointed time. Maybe I have done my part for Corporate America and they will address this efficiency aspect of their operation. The company may have a stock price rise soon because the customers of this company are so happy with the new changes I have been a catalyst for. Oh, wait, I think I see a pig flying past my window... must go look!

I'm back. No flying pig. It was just my imagination.

Last night I baked a cake using the convection feature. It is delicious! (I know, I don't really need a cake, but it seemed appropo) It looks great, and it works. But it was hard won. The ordeal is over.