Initially, we blamed Blues the cat. After all, we had just gotten back from Seattle and Bainbridge Island and she tends to get offended if we leave her alone for a week. Plus, it is convenient to just blame the cat. After cleaning up the puddle I went upstairs to get a shower and get ready for work. “Hrmm” I thought. This water is really cold. “Well thats odd” I thought, as I turned the shower faucet over to the hot setting and nothing happened.

Went down to the garage and stepped into water. Opened the garage door and it was almost as if a dam broke. Looked over to the hot water heater only to see it gushing water.

“Well, isn’t this a shitty way to come back from vacation!”

I missed work that day as I tried to call Sears. The water heater was still under a full warranty as it was only 7 years old. In water heater terms, we had a teenager. It was supposed to be young and strong.  Maybe, it would be able to stay up past 11 and not be tired, hanging out with friends. Maybe, just maybe it would be old enough to drive.

Nope, ours was old, shot and busted.

The first frustration with Sears came from the fact I had to deal with an automated system. Yes, one of those automated systems that thinks it can solve your problem through a series of inane questions. Then, by the time I had gotten through the maze of yes and no questions I get connected to a customer support professional who I don’t think could even speak (or comprehend) English. You’ve heard these stories before so I won’t go into a lot more detail. Anyway, needless to say, because the water heater was bought by the previous owner of the house, Sears was completely incapable of finding a record of it to check the warranty. To all of this I was less than sympathetic. See, I had water pouring out of my garage – i just wanted the damned thing fixed.

I was frustrated when the Sears rep told me they were booked solid and couldn’t have anyone look at our heater until the following day. What? You mean there isn’t a 10% unemployment rate in this country? There isn’t a contractor with his own small plumbing business that can come out and look at this water heater you sold a warranty on that has died after only 7 years?

Anyway, I told Sears thanks but I’d look for someone else to come out. Then, I realized that opting not to have the company which had warrantied us against such a disaster fix this was stupid. My wife literally called back 1 min and 28 seconds later and the wait time was moved up to 3 days. Thanks Sears!

Honey, you're shower is ready - thanks Sears!

Three days later, after roughly 6 or 7 cold showers, the fine Sears contractor comes out to “fix” our water heater. After about 15-20 mins they determined that it was broken and that it would need to be replaced. Of course, they don’t have a replacement so it is off to Sears to order a new one. Although it is under warranty, Sears wants to charge us over $300 in fees to replace the water heater which was still under warranty. These fees include a building code fee, as well as installation and haul away fees. By the way, they can’t get out to do this the same day, or even the next. We’re scheduled for Thursday, almost 7 days after we first called them.

Sure, it isn’t like our AC went out – it is only our hot water heater. But, think about how often you use your hot water.

• Showering
• Washing dishes
• Washing clothes

We literally boil water on the stove to bathe ourselves. I feel like a pioneer. Yes, we will survive this (haha) of course but damned if Sears needs to get its act together. First, its been said before but bears repeating – hire people who can speak the language. Second, employ more contractors if you have like a 7 day wait to service critical home appliances. Third, if you are going to have an excessively long wait to service, at least reduce or negate the installation, haul away or BOTH. A brand new heater is only $700 – you’re charging me half of that just to fix your own faulty stuff.