Well that’s it. Outside of HVAC and bathroom, the whole house is now kitted out with new appliances.
With some downtime two weeks ago, we started hitting various stores to see what we liked, what we didn’t like, and what we liked and could also afford. While you can do all the research in the world these days thanks to the net, there’s still nothing like slamming doors and kicking tires.
Our journey eventually lead us to Sears to check out good old Kenmore. Much to our surprise, the saleslady told us that if we waited until the 12th, Sears was having a 30% off on Kenmore sale. After comparing models and prices, we decided that this Kenmore sales was something we wanted to take advantage of.
Now, I’ve learned in the past that to avoid frustration and embarrassment in the checkout line, if you’re going to make an unusually large purchase, it is in ones best interest to call the card company ahead of time to inform them of the impending transaction.
Well that’s what I did, and after working out the estimated amount, time, and store name, I was told “No problem. Have a great day!™”
So I get in line and begin the whole waiting process. When it finally comes to be my turn (20 minutes later,) there is easily another 10 people behind me. So I start getting rung up and I am asked for the delivery zip code. Doh! I know the address forwards and backwards… the no clue what the zip for Worth is. A quick-ish call home determined that the Village of Worth claims its zip code is 60481. I mean… if ANYONE will know the proper zip code, surely the village itself would. After we get all of that tucked away, I swipe my card and BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP “Call for authorization.” I’m instantly pissed and ask if this is my bank wanting verification or Sear. “Your bank.”
So she calls the number and goes through her whole four minute routine then gets put on hold… for 10 minutes. Goes thru her routine again, then passes the phone to me. I reiterate all the information she was asked and then some. Mid-way thru my interrogation I say “Listen, I appreciate this level of fraud security, but if you just check my notes you will I called in not even an hour ago that I would be making this transaction so that I wouldn’t have to be having this very conversation.”
I get put on hold and moments later “Hello, are you the teller or the bank?”
“Me? Neither. I am the card holder.”
“Oh, well I guess the call was disconnected. Let me have the teller please.”
Now I have 15 or 20 people behind me, half of which have entered irate customer mode… understandably.
So now the process starts all over again. The teller is on hold for 10 minutes when the bank finally takes the line, she plays 20 questions with the fraud dept, I play 20 questions with the fraud dept, and no joke, 15 or 20 minutes later the end result is, “I am sorry sir. We cannot verify your phone and address. You will have to call back from your home or business to complete the security check.”
I gently place the phone down and apologize for this fiasco, and happily pay with my debit card. So why the BS with the credit card company? Well, I really wanted to get ~30,000 mileage point to help towards getting the wife back to Romania for awhile to visit her family.
So I pay with my debit card, apologize profusely for holding the line up for almost an hour, and head on home.
I get home, straighten out the credit card issue with the bank, and start plugging some totals into my rehab spreadsheet when I realize that on one of the items, I wasn’t given my 30% discount. I think to myself, “Well shit, at least I can maybe get some miles too now,” and head back to Sears.
To my extreme delight, I find that my saleslady is no longer busy and she agrees to re-ring all the transactions on my airlines card. No sooner am I thinking “SWEET!” than her register starts making ominous beeps again. Despite that not 90 seconds ago I “returned” the stove I was looking to purchase again, “There are insufficient quantities of this item available to complete this transaction.” She tries a few more times and says no worries, we’ll finish the rest up and by then the inventory should have refreshed.
No dice.
She panics. I panic. Her manager agrees to sell me the stove at a later date with with all included discounts.
That later date happened to be today.
Oh yeah… that zip code business. It turns out that the village doesn’t even know it’s own zip code. It’s 60482, not 60481. Luckily, changing the zip on the delivery tickets was a breeze.
