Friday, June 25, 2010

You Had To Know It Wouldn’t Be Just Right

First of all a great big Welcome Aboard to new “Followers” Dennis and Donna.  I appreciate the time you take to read about our RV travels and our lifestyle living in a motorhome.  THANK YOU for joining my group.

I’m not a betting person, but deep down I figured things wouldn’t go exactly right Thursday at the RV service center.  Darn if we didn’t have a “small problem” with getting the back-up monitor installed. 

First of all, when we got there at 8:30 for our scheduled appointment we were met by the new guy who was handling our service needs and another guy that we have been acquainted with for about 3 years.  They were both at the service desk but it almost appeared that they weren’t very enthusiastic at all in their job of getting us checked in.  I almost wanted to ask each of them if they needed a good strong cup of coffee to WAKE UP!  They mumbled a lot and didn’t crack a smile.  We left them the keys to the RV and our cell phone number and then went off to McDonald’s for English muffins. 

We got back about 90 minutes later and were hanging out in their nice lounge area.  I was checking in on my favorite blogs and leaving a few comments, Bruce was reading some spy thriller, and Annie was quite comfy on the floor with her pillow.

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Bruce was back and forth checking on the progress.  Around noon, after checking again, he came back and said to me, “do you want the good news or the bad news?”  Good news first:  the monitor was perfect and it looked great in the dash of the motorhome, and it worked.  Bad news:  we have a 3 camera system and they had only received wiring harness for the main camera and none for the 2 side cameras.  That had to be back ordered now.

When they received the camera monitor from Winnebago nobody bothered to open it and check to make sure it was all there!!!!   Inefficiency really makes me want to scream.  I was ready to punch somebody square in the face.  Nothing I could do about it without getting the local police involved and me being carted off to the pokey in the back of a squad car for assault, so we wait again.  We had to pay our $50.00 deductible and we also got the propane topped off so we owed a few bucks today.  When we were up at the desk paying our bill…..guess who was oh so nice and smiley!!!  Yeah, those same two grumps that greeted us in the morning.  Now that they had screwed up they were all friendly and nice.  Fat lot of good it will do them!  Once we get the other 2 parts installed I hope we never see these folks again.  It is so close to Tumwater, we probably will.  BUT ONLY IF WE HAVE TO.

So we left there and drove up to Tumwater with the main camera showing us the view behind.  One of these days we’ll be able to use the side cameras again too.

We got our usual space here in the good old Allimor Estates and hooked up to our 50 amp service and turned on the A/C.  We have found some warm and sunny weather once again. 

We went over to our kids house in the evening.  Darin is on vacation but there was a crisis at the store and he had to drive all the way to Federal Way (45 miles each way) to check on that.  Stephanie left to go watch some of Mackenzie’s practice at the gym and Bruce and I stayed with Zoey.  She was happy to see us and show off the new empty space in her smile….she lost her first tooth.

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Before I had to start fixing the veggies for dinner, Zoey and I did some coloring.  Papa then played on the trampoline in the backyard while I started dinner.

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Darin got home around 6:30 and he fired up the grill to cook up these New York beauties.  

DSCF5159 Stephanie and Mackenzie got home at 7:10 and dinner was ready to be served.  Mackenzie was glad to see us.  I couldn’t get too many pics of her, we were all hungry and wanted to eat.  She is always striking a pose.

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After dinner we played one round of Rummikub and then had to head back to the motorhome.  The girls needed to get into the shower and get ready for bed. 

  DSCF5165 It’s good to be back to our hometown, even for just a couple of months.  We have a lot of plans for the next 2 months to try and keep everyone busy.  I know Grandma and Papa will be ready for a peaceful time in Pismo Beach come September!

Until next time…..so long for now!

14 comments:

Al Bossence said...

Well, that's a new one on me. Never new there were such things as side cameras. We have the usual cam high on the back so I'm curious where the cams on the side are located. I can see that being a good idea especially on the blind side when you have a lane of traffic with cars tucked in along there that is hard to see with the passenger mirror sometimes. Know what you mean about the 'Grumps' & wanting to 'pop' somebody on the nose sometimes!!

Phyllis said...

Ugh! But hey, your day might have started off sour but rejoice in how in ended! Bet you loved seeing those beautiful grands.

Sam&Donna Weibel said...

What beautiful Granddaughters, I can see why Grandpa & Grandma are so proud of them, Zoey looks fine with the missing tooth, and it looks like she had Grandpa wrapped around her little fingers.Sorry to hear about the mess up eith the wiring, just another example of the customer be damned attitude in todays society. I can just see my Granddad telling the guy where he could put his furture business and storming out. Oh well maybe it will be in before you leave in Sept. Be safe out there, Sam & Donna.

Cindy said...

Aww Margie..I know you are in Grandkid..heaven!! lol You are so creative..and ya'll do so much with them..they are so lucky!!

Have fun.Cindy and Walker

Travels with Emma said...

Aren't dealerships a royal pain in the asparagus? They always seem to have an excuse for their incompetence.

Enjoy your time with your family. Those two girls should keep you busy!

Jerry and Suzy said...

You have a wonderful life pattern with your family and with your travels away. Even though you go many of the same places each year, you also get to see new things, new places, and then tell us about it all in a very entertaining manner. Thanks for bringing us along with you!

Rick said...

A lot of RV dealerships have the same attitude that the Big 3 automakers had prior to Toyota and Honda - they just don't see customer service as an priority. At least you got the hard part done - getting the monitor installed properly.

I'll bet those steaks were good on the bbq.

The "Grands" will be happy kids now - schools almost out and the G'parents are back home!!

Gypsy said...

I absolutely dread having to deal with any kind of service or repair. People just don't seem to have to meet any standards of competence or dealing with customers in order to keep their jobs.

The only exception I have run in to during my entire time of RVing was at Savannah GA this past year, when a kid at the service place finally figured out what was causing the noise in the truck's steering, and what would fix it. God bless that kid!

Carol K said...

Margie, I'm sorry to hear about the inefficiency of Uhlmann's service department. Three cameras are common today, even our motorhome has that system. I hope you eventually get it the correct replacement.

The pictures of your granddaughter are so precious. Bruce looks like he's having so much fun!

I agree with Jerry and Suzy, you have the best of both worlds: travel and time with family. Enjoy!

Prettypics123 said...

Those grandkids are adorable! Nice mix of road adventures and family. I hate repairs and service that includes leaving the RV! So disruptive!

You're going to be in Pismo Beach in September. It would be great to meet you in person! We'll be in Morro Bay through October if all continues at the current rate. The Camp Host Housewife

Dennis and Donna said...

Does Grampa do any cool twisty stuff on the trampoline? I couldn't even get my fat "you know what" up on it! Your grandkids are beautiful...I call ours "the continuance" of our family. What great steaks!! I LOVE steaks..My arteries apparently don't ...I'm on Simvistatin... Keep bloggin'!

Sue and Doug said...

one bad day that ends on a "great note'..you should have 'popped' them one!!..dang it!!!..enjoy the grandkids..!!

Happytrails said...

I know the frustration due to inefficiency, but it too shall pass. Your day had a "grand" ending. You guys have the best of both worlds and are so fortunate.
Take care!
Mike & Gerri

ThE MidLiFe CrUiSeR said...

You have beautiful grandgirls! I'm glad you had a happy ending :)

Nellie
http://midlifecruiser.blogspot.com/