Technology Freezing and Me – An Update For Your Amusement

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Do you remember the recent post ‘When Technology Freezes – Could I Be the Cause?’

I have the answer to that question!

Stick with me kids, I hope you’ll enjoy the ride!

You know Esmeralda was cured of her freezing ills.  She now runs like a wild horse over a golden prairie.  She glitters and sparkles and does everything I want and even more – she has not frozen – or even chilled out –  not once!

You remember the fridge that thought it was a freezer?  Well, here is its story.

fridge

It’s probably close to a  month now since I first noticed the fridge was running a bit too cold.  I adjusted the thermostat and waited for it to return to its proper temperature.

Some time later I noticed the temperature inside the fridge was still colder than it needed to be, so I moved the slider a bit further down the scale.

Over a period of days I noticed no decrease in the chill level and kept adjusting the thermostat downwards until I had reached the bottom of the bar.  The freezing was just getting worse and salady type foods were now icing up overnight and inedible.   A fresh organic chicken put in one evening was frozen solid the next morning.   My breakfast was made with frozen berry fruits and frozen yoghurt.

Trying to outwit the freezing fridge became a daily event.  What could be stored in the fridge and how could I store the other items?  I gave up trying to keep salad and vegetable items longer than a couple of days in a cupboard and slowly emptied the fridge of its contents – much of it ending in the trash.

Finally realising that being unable to store food in the fridge in the middle of summer was probably a silly status-quo to stick with – and realising I was wasting food and not being able to stick with my preferred food types, thereby compromising my well being, was just as silly…. I decided to bite the bullet and get the darn thing fixed.

I spent some time and gathered together a list of appliance service numbers with the aim of a) finding someone open and b) finding someone I could afford.

In one of those serendiptitous moments we all have,  I had found the Owners Handbook for the fridge when sorting through last years paper work.   Another moment of genius had me decide to actually look at the book and check the trouble shooting page before making the calls to service agents.

I didn’t get far with my reading, for on opening said book, can you imagine my a) amazement to find I had taken out an extended warranty at the time of purchase [I never take out extended warranties!]  and b) unbounded joy to discover there was still 13 days before it expired!  Thirteen days!!

Well, hallooy, hallay!!  Oh Joyous Day – just in time baby – a fridge repair at no cost!!

I capered vigorously around my tiny house and took Orlando with me – he purred and I sang and then we made the phone call.

In an amazingly short amount of time a service tech arrived, he looked like an older statesman in a techie suit and was polite yet remote.  He asked me to explain the problem and then, without hesitation, opened the fridge door and looked inside.

He stuck his head further in and almost immediately pulled it back out.  His face was stern and his voice disapproving,

“You know you’ve got your temperature set at the coldest point” he said and he put his arm in to move the gauge.

“What?” I said – looking, sounding, feeling like a stunned mullet.

He stood aside and ushered me in – if I squinted my eyes, blinked and stared I could just make out the words ‘warmer’ at the top of the scale and ‘colder’ at the bottom.

I pulled my head out of the fridge “I’ve never seen those words before in my life.”  I said to him vigorously.

He ‘tsked’ at me and shook his head.  I buried my face in my hands and wished the floor would just open up and swallow me …. He busied himself hunting through his hi-tech tool-bag and said – “This isn’t covered by the warranty you know.”

I think I groaned out loud.  “I’m not usually this ditzy….”  I think I  said, in a vain attempt to raise myself in his estimation.  He would have none of it.  Just returned an icy silence.

I heard myself give a little moan as I berated myself for being a Bear of Little Brain – apparently out loud, for he looked up at me and said “Winnie-the-Pooh.  I used to read those stories to the grand-kids.”  He looked momentarily wistful.

I  apologised for wasting his time – I could see he thought I was an absolute idiot.  And he was, of course, completely correct!  I told him I absolutely agreed with his every damning thought – I was indeed a person of very little brain – just like Winnie-the-Pooh was a bear of very little brain – and finally he unbent just a little and cracked a smile.

Pooh thinking

While I silently contemplated a bill with several zeros after a two or even a three, he finished packing up and writing out his notes on his electronic thingy-ma-jig.  Eventually he was finished and printed out the invoice with an ominous whirring sound.

As we walked to the door he said “You should probably take a few minutes and read that owners manual.”  He handed the invoice and a business card to me, “I’ve put down that the three point plug was faulty and I’ve changed it.”

He smiled politely, nodded his head firmly at me and left.

I quietly shut the door and with my heart in my mouth, looked at the piece of paper he had given me.

Job: refit loose plug at defrost element.  Test ok.

Call Out charge                 $0.00

Labour                               $0.00

Parts                                  $0.00

Thank you for your custom, have a nice day!

The business card held his names and contact details and bore the title  ‘Company Director’.

How much more good fortune can one brainless bear have?

I paid attention to how I was feeling.  In amongst the mix of shame and elation was that wonderful heart opening sense that another disaster had just been averted, that I, with all my shortcomings, shortsightedness and general idiocies was still, somehow being carried through to a happy ending…..

That seemingly humourless and remote service tech was obviously not a service tech at all!  He was the company owner, probably understaffed, obviously stressed, and needing to fulfill an urgent extended warranty job that turned out to be neither urgent nor even a job……  And he did have a heart – he knew a genuine ditz when he saw one – and he liked Winnie-the-Pooh!

So, to my original question – can I be the cause of technology freezing?  It appears the answer is a resounding  Oh, Yes Indeedy!   🙂

Geez!!

What Day Is It

Thanks for coming by today, I love that you did!  🙂

39 thoughts on “Technology Freezing and Me – An Update For Your Amusement”

    • Like I said before: You are not alone! 🙂 What’s a bit of blu-tac stuck to the bottom of a baking pan when you actively turn your fridge into a freezer? I was mortified and still shudder when I think of that moment when his eyes met mine….. My fridge behaves beautifully these days too 😀

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  2. Once in a while, behind the “icy stare” there’s a warm heart. This is a great story with a truly happy ending. Lessons learned, not every repair person is out to rip us off and read the manual. I’m terrible when it comes to manuals. I found your post by way of Elaine @ fingerprintwriting…so glad I did! 🙂

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  3. I saved this post because I knew I didn’t have the time to sit and savor it, and I am so glad I did!!! You had me cheering at 13 days, laughing at the diagnosis, and smiling at the bill. Why? Not because you are dim or brainless, but because you charmed him with your genuine embarrassment over a mistake you made, with your efforts to make him smile, and your sorow for making him come to the house without reason. THAT is why the bill = zero. Because YOU were kind and treated him well, and you probably made his day in the same way that he made yours.
    Great story!

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    • Laurie, that is just the loveliest comment! You are very sweet and I am quite overwhelmed! I never thought of it that way and would be delighted to think he had a good story to tell when he got home. Thank you for saving my post til you had time to read it – that is also a lovely thing to do and I am so glad you enjoyed it 🙂

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  4. And I thought that I was the numpty around here! 😉 I was going to ask if you had turned the fridge temperature down but thought that no-one else would be so ditzy…looksl like we belong together my technophobic mate. We can start the ludite club of the South and can lounge about in our sombrero’s sipping warm white wine (as our fridges do whatever the bloody hell they like because we are certainly not going to be able to stop them! 😉 ) and eating cold canapes (out of a tin…tins never fail! 😉 ). How serendipitous indeed that the manager had a sense of humour, albeit an ingrown one and that he felt the spirit of Christmas past (by at least 15 days) grow his heart 25 sizes. Was he green by any chance? ;). Glad you can sip your pina colada’s at a reasonable temperature and that you don’t have to suffer the stress of trying to find a recipe for “101 uses for frozen lettuce”. By the way, if you ever freeze lettuce again, make soup with it. Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall has a great recipe 🙂

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    • My eldest daughter said something along the same lines: “….if I’d known YOU were fiddling with the temperature I would have checked it myself ….” She used the verb ‘fiddling’!! It’s like I have a reputation or something. Her full email response after reading the post and sharing it on her FB page with a comment that indicated a good laugh was to be found here, was [and I copied and pasted to get it word perfect]: Bwah haha hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! Bwah hahaha – hic! hahahahah! Bwah hahaha! Hiccup! BWAH HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Snort!!! HAHAHAHAHA HAAAaaaaaaaa!

      Obviously there is now a need for a Luddite Club in the South – I never knew I was a natural born member before, my pride has taken quite a battering 🙂 Though obviously, as a born-again Luddite I should reverse that and be extremely proud of proving that technology is indeed bunkum for see how they cannot even insert a thermometer the right way round!

      Next time I post something mentioning an issue even vaguely techie based and you think to yourself ‘I wonder if Little Luddite Pooh has ……’ do feel free to mention it.

      I don’t have television [I do have a television and use it as a large computer screen and to watch movies and I watch a very few favourite shows online, I don’t have television reception] so am not aware of lettuce soup, which is a shame as I threw out at least four partially consumed and fully frozen lettuces before I gave up trying to keep any.

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      • We have a television. A really big HUGE one that Steve hogs shamelessly watching his hillbilly shows in the evening. I could care less about television and only know about the (bugger…I can’t find a word that doesn’t need the letter that comes after “O” and before “Q” because Earl ate that keyboard note! while I was out *ainting the deck!) errr as my sone would call it “foods last chance to be eaten” made with water or stock and things thrown in to simmer and in your case, luddite sou* ;). I am off to thrash Earl! 😉

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          • Lots of yuks does our Earl *rovide (he also makes me revert to my Yoda form a**arently!) At least I finished *ainting the deck…I have given u* trying to think of words that mean what I am trying to say without the letter after O and before Q so * is the new letter after O and before Q until I can get another keyboard. Narf7 hath *roclaimed it and thus…it is SO! 🙂

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            • It might catch on and we’ll all start doing it. You make the third *erson today quoting -or citing – Yoda to me. *erhaps I must try and *ay attention to his words of wisdom…. Or, as he says [quoted to me today] “Do, or do not,. There is no try.”

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  5. LOL!! such a wonderful story! I never read manuals either, so that is why I love the ones that come with the IKEA products… no reading allowed! heehee But the service man had a good heart and I am sure felt your sincere misery. It was a good thing too, that he knew you quoted Pooh!!! 😀 This are the things that makes us be grateful! Thanks for sharing Pauline! You told it well!

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    • I’m glad you enjoyed it Pati! That is such a good description ‘sincere misery’! That indeed was me in that moment! And isn’t it heartening to know the world is so full of non-manual readers!

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  6. Aw, this is just gorgeous lol – and sounds so much like something I might do – I am very fortunate to live with a logical, reasoning person. I am pleased for our sake that was it’s only problem even if it does appear you were the problem 🙂 What a nice man!!
    I once had a new washing machine delivered and was terribly excited, only to find it didn’t work. They plumbed it but didn’t check it. I rung the company and gave them what for. Then the woman asked “Have you switched it on at the wall”? “Well, of course I have!!” I screeched just as I turned to check… and found I hadn’t.
    You are not alone 🙂

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  7. What a lovely story, beautifully told Pauline. I love Poo-Bear (as we call him). The Tao of Poo is one of my favourite little books. I love when you bring Poo into your stories. I also love your gratitude for the little blessings in life.

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  8. Had to laugh . . . I’ve done that, too. My Mum reads ALL her manuals (more than once!), but I find it difficult; they are often written by the techs who produced the item and assume knowledge that is not common except to techs (I’m thining Microsoft manuals here, but other techie companies rival them . . .) So it’s wonderful that your problem is fixed and I love that ‘serviceman’! I bet you call his company if you ever have another fridge problem . . . and I also bet you read that manual first 😉 What a wonderful resolution!

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    • Quite so Linne, I think they are often written by the Japanese producers of much of our tech goods now and then translated into English by a high school student in English Language class …. But this particular item is New Zealand made, so I assume the book is written in at least good Kiwi, if nothing else! Don’t know, still haven’t looked at it yet. 🙂 But I will if anything else goes wrong! 🙂

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  9. HaHa! What a great guy! Ah those moments when one realizes there is time remaining on the warranty!

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    • Oh, that was such a wonderful moment! Even discovering I had a warranty was quite something – I still have no recollection of taking it out! I really must pay more attention when purchasing whiteware 🙂

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  10. Great story through and through. The world is full of great people. You, the company owner, and all these wonderful people commenting on your blog. I love it!

    I hate reading manuals because so often they’re poorly written, or at least written for someone that learns differently from me. I’m glad both you and Dani found redemption in those little white pages.

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    • And, the thing was, I wasn’t intending to look up anything about the thermostat, so convinced was I that what I was doing was the correct thing – I was going to look and see if they had a sentence: If your fridge starts freezing get the do-hickey and give it a wipe’ You know, something along those lines…. 🙂

      Shhh.hh …….don’t say anything, I still haven’t read it….

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      • My guess is that 99% of fridge related problems would need a licensed tech anyway. That or risk electrocution.

        Do you remember the Monty Python bit (or at least u think it was them) with the two men in the airport eating a box of cookies? I’ll see if I can round up the clip tomorrow. I’m heading to bed early. Hugs and good night dear one.

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  11. I have had those moments as well and have inadvertently frozen heads of lettuce. So glad that your service man was the understanding type and didn’t charge you for the service call.

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  13. WHAT A GREAT STORY…you had me at every moment-LOL…I bet you can tell a good story aloud, that was fun to read and I so enjoyed it today. I needed to laugh, smile and realize I am not alone in the world..I too do things just like this!:-) and I never read manuals—what a “gem” that man!

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    • Wasn’t he though! And he left me alone to feel mortified too, didn’t try to make me feel better, just let me learn the lesson. The more I think about it the more I’m impressed with him 🙂 Pleased to hear I’m not the only one 🙂

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  14. Oooops! Your story sounds a little too familiar to me! I am reading a book at the moment called “Happier At Home” by Gretchen Rubin. A big subheading in one chapter had me recoiling “READ THE MANUAL” – but I hate reading manuals – please don’t make me! But just last night, whilst I was trying to set up my new (emergency dash from camping at remote beach village to the nearest big town) mobile internet device, I was beside myself when I’d got so far and then it told me to enter the administrator’s password! I entered all the passwords the lovely lady in the shop had given me and, when none of those worked, I entered every password I have ever used in my life! And, just before I threw it, I remembered Gretchen’s words and relented – I read the manual and lo and behold there was the generic password to get through this point! Perhaps the universe is trying to tell us both something, Pauline! No wonder that cute little yellow bear is so popular – I think there’s a little of him in all of us! So glad you have a normally working fridge and computer again. Hopefully that’s your share for a while! xoxoxoxoxox

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    • 🙂 I thought it was just men who didn’t read the manuals – but apparently the world is full of closet non-manual-reading-women! We’ve been outed!!

      For me, this was such a clear look at what happens when I make assumptions! Assumption 1: the fridge is to blame
      Assumption 2: I’ve done everything I can to make things better

      It truly never once crossed my mind that I was moving the thermometer down, not up – yet as soon as he said those words to me I knew I’d done it the wrong way round! Assumptions are such powerful things! Just another thing to get my head around! 🙂

      I hope you are happily interwebbed now and the holiday is still going well. I have just one more issue to sort and that is my isp link fails at random times and they can’t figure out why. I wonder what I’m doing wrong there?

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