Sunday, July 31, 2011

About a Washer and a Dryer

Note: This post is not about laundry, though I sure do love doing it. 

So, back on July 3rd, when we had a pretty good inkling that all would be well with the purchase of our home here in Colorado, I decided to order a washer and dryer.  I love my Kenmore set that is in the Pella house, but it is already 6 years old, so we decided to leave it with the house for future buyers/renters and buy a new set here.

I attempted to order the set online, but whatever was supposed to happen didn’t happen, and I found myself on the phone trying to find out if the order had gone through.  No, ma’am, it hasn’t, but if you would like, I can assist you.

Pulling up the website again, I told the gal what I thought were the washer and dryer I wanted to order (simply a newer model of what we’ve had – no real bells or whistles), I received the order confirmation, the prices were the same, and that was that.

Fast forward to yesterday.

Yesterday the washer and dryer showed up.  I was painting, so I showed the delivery men where the units should go and I left them to their work.  They called me down to the laundry room to take a peek and I almost passed out.  Umm, THOSE were NOT the washer and dryer I ordered.  But, I didn’t say anything, because I couldn’t be positive, and they were sure that these were the units I ordered per the list, etc., so there you go.  I signed their paper and they went on their way.

So tonight I was a bit curious because the last thing I want is for Sears to call me back and tell me they delivered the wrong set.  That, and, well, it seemed like I should know what I ordered and how foolish would I look telling them I ordered one thing and received another but not actually know what I ordered?  Ha.

About 10 minutes ago I pulled up the order, clicked on the product links, and lo and behold, there were pictures of the EXACT washer and dryer delivered to my home.  I must have surely gotten a number wrong when telling the order clerk, or she might have swapped a number around or two, but sure enough, there they are and they match the online product description perfectly.

While this experience could have been a bit of trouble in some ways, it all turned out for the good. 

  1. I actually ended up ordering a REALLY NICE set (washer and dryer)  and get this – they were something crazy like 45% off the regular price the day I ordered them.  (Which is why the price didn’t clue me in because they were the same price as the set I thought I’d ordered.)  Today that set is only ~20% off.  Ha!
  2. We were very, VERY fortunate that the units fit into the space allotted.  There really isn’t an inch to spare.  In any direction.  You see, Adam specifically measured the space for the washer and dryer during the home inspection, and I specifically ordered (or so I thought) a pair that I knew would fit nicely.  These units are a tad bigger.  But, whew, they fit!
  3. They are Kenmore products!  YAY!  I’m very happy for that!  I wanted another set of Kenmores as I’d had good fortune with my set in Pella.

Regardless of the positives, though, there is one downside.  This washer requires HE detergent.  Boo hiss.  I am looking at making my own for the fraction of the cost.  The only real difference I can determine is that HE is low suds, and therefore I should be able to make my own low suds for much cheaper.

I will say that this was a good lesson for me that the next time I order products over the phone, when I receive the email order summary, I should (and will in the future) make sure that what I think I am ordering is what actually was entered as the order.  This time it all turned out for the best, but what would have happened if some metallic blue monstrosities would have shown up?  I shudder to think.  Ha!  Also, it will keep me from wondering for ~30 hours if what I received was what I ordered.  (Way too tired last night to get online and look.)

Have a good night!

Erin

2 comments:

Aleta said...

I actually use he detergent now. I see no price difference from regular detergent. You use so much less of it. We go through a $6-7 dollar bottle of detergent a month, that's it.

Mosey03 said...

You might want to try this: http://norwexproductreviews.blogspot.com/2009/05/product-review-ultra-power-plus-laundry.html. I haven't bought it yet, but am about to (just waiting for my current stuff to run out) because I've heard so many great things about it.

I also remember reading something once that said you can use regular detergent in an HE machine, you just need to use less...the person writing said the formulas are identical, just packaged differently. But I have no idea where I saw that, so I can't give you a link to it.

Hope this helps! If you try the Norwex stuff, let me know if you like it!

-Shanna Mosey