The Replacements

No, I'm not talking about these Replacements

If you've been around me much, you know I like to tell stories. Today is no exception.

My BFF called the other day and said the handle on her tub faucet was broken. She had waited for hours the day before, only for the plumber to show up and tell her she would need to purchase a new one for him to install. He asked how it happened. I told her she should say it was a private matter and none of his business, but she chose to stick with the "I have no idea, we have kids" story. This is the story I told her:

First story-

A few months ago, the aerator on our kitchen faucet was broken and water was shooting out in all directions, rather than coming out in a steady stream. Needless to say, we used the faucet as little as possible to avoid messes! Financial Guy went to Home Depot and attempted to find a replacement, but was told he would have to contact the company directly, because they didn't carry them. Nice. That's almost as bad as having to buy a replacement part from a car dealer-- it's bound to cost 2 arms + your firstborn child and you'll still probably have to take dinner for the entire staff.

As it happens, the faucet was made my Moen. We called the company to order the replacement part and had a pleasant surprise. MOEN FAUCETS ARE GUARANTEED FOR LIFE!! Woohoo!! That means we took a picture of the faucet, emailed it to them, and waited. I honestly thought we would be out, at the very least, shipping costs. Nada. Nothing. Zilch. Zero. The new aerator came in and the faucet was fixed.

After telling her this story, I suggested she call Moen, too. She did and I'm happy to report that she is also getting a replacement tub handle, also free of charge. Woot woot!

Second story-

A couple of weeks ago, one of the twins was outside riding his bike, when the pedals started free-wheeling, but the bike wasn't moving. With a quick chain check, we figured out something was up with the wheel itself. Santa just brought this bike for Christmas and those elves must have made that bike on a Friday, because it wasn't up to snuff. Financial Guy swags the contact information for the manufacturer and calls them. He tells them the problem and voila (!), they tell him they're sending a replacement wheel FREE OF CHARGE and we should receive it within the week. Again, expecting to pay shipping, we paid nothing.

Third Story-

Financial Guy and I had our backpack stolen, when we were on our honeymoon and everything (wallets, IDs, everything) was inside. Did I mention we were out of the country and needed to fly in via ATL during the '96 Olympics. Yeah, try coming into the country with no ID or passport. Granted, this was pre-9/11... Months later, we got a call from the police department saying they'd found our bag and mailed it to us. When the bag arrived, of course it didn't have our stuff inside, and the bag looked like it had been run over by a dumptruck-- fully loaded, I might add. Knowing that L.L. Bean bags are guaranteed for life, it was a long shot, but I wrote them a letter thinking I'd never hear another thing. I kid you not, they sent me a brand new bag and actually apologized for no longer carrying the color of the original.

Have you figured out my point, yet? When something breaks or isn't working the way you think it should, contact the manufacturer. This week, I'm writing letters to Covergirl and Starter for products I felt were faulty. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

If you find yourself needing to replace something, in the words of my grandmother, "you'll draw more flies with honey than vinegar", so don't be a hateful ol' cuss when you contact them. State your problem, tell them how you've enjoyed the product (IF you've enjoyed it), and state your unhappiness with the current product. Worst case scenario is you don't ever hear back from them. Best case scenario is they send you a replacement product or a voucher to try another product from their line.

If there's a way to save money, I'll try to find a way to sniff it out. You should, too! Save on, friends! :)