Farookin’ Hot!
It was (and still is) hot as hell in the Garden State. It started yesterday and, of course, that’s when Mr. Central Air Conditioner decided to stop working. Because I cannot stand this kind of heat (I get panicky – no kidding), I called the company first thing this morning. I had to punch in the “emergency†number. The guy on the road promptly returned my call and asked if we had purchased the unit from his company. Fortunately, we did, so he was at the House by the Parkway (North) within an hour (bless his heart). Had it been otherwise, I think we would have been relegated to “tomorrowland.â€
He apologetically told me, up front, that there would be a two-hour minimum charge (emergency, holiday, etc.), which was fine with me. After about fifteen minutes he had the thing up and running. Turns out that grass and other lawn debris had clogged the vents on the unit, thereby tripping the safety switch (a bigass switch mounted to the house behind the unit), so he popped open the fan portion of the unit, hosed out the gunk, then flipped the safety switch. Done!
Cool air. Eureka!
Yes, it was a big bill, but, under the circumstances, I would have gladly paid more. I was reminded of the joke about the plumber who shows up in response to a homeowner’s call about a clogged sink. The plumber comes into the house and whacks the pipe, and the clog goes away. The plumber hands the homeowner a bill for $300.00. The homeowner, astonished at the amount of the bill when all the plumber did was whack the pipe, demanded that the plumber itemize the bill. The plumber obliged and handed a bill to the homeowner that said, “$5.00 for hitting the pipe; $295.00 for knowing where to hit.â€
I will do my best to sear this day into my memory and dredge it up in January when the air is so cold that it freezes the inside of your nose.
I have a good friend Bob who owns an excavating business……some of his customers once questioned his charge per hour as being high as they had received quotations from an individual with a lower hourly figure. He said it is what it is…..when several took their Business elsewhere , they came back when it was apparent it took the other guy more hours with poorer quality work.
Bob said anybody can low bid but it takes someone who knows the score to estimate the time requirement correctly,You get what you pay for.
Comment by dudley1 — July 5, 2010 @ 9:09 pm
…. hot in New Jersey?…. man, you need to come and shoot some pool down HERE in the next few weeks…….
Comment by Eric — July 5, 2010 @ 10:20 pm
It’s uh… definitely hot up here. I can’t wait to see the power bills.
Comment by Mike R. — July 5, 2010 @ 10:37 pm
You guys need to come visit us out here in Portland, Oregon. Today it was partly cloudy, and a high of 67 degrees Farenheit. Gorgeous. But we do have wicked skeeters this year.
Comment by Cousin Jack — July 6, 2010 @ 12:10 am
Kind of funny: we were hotter in Joisey today than it was in the Carolinas from what I could see.
Comment by Mr. Bingley — July 6, 2010 @ 6:51 am
We’re not as hot as NJ, but it’s pretty warm here. Glad you got the A/C fixed.
Comment by Jerry in Indiana — July 6, 2010 @ 9:06 am
It might have been hotter there over the weekend, but we’re looking at a high of 102F tomorrow here in Raleigh. Thanks for sharing.
Comment by MorningGlory — July 6, 2010 @ 10:35 am
Surprise, it’s super-farookin hot today. Supposedly super-super-farookin hot tomorrow. Just hope the power lines don’t burn.
Comment by Mike R. — July 6, 2010 @ 3:50 pm
It is summer after all! Enjoy!
Comment by Kevin — July 7, 2010 @ 2:19 pm
Ah yes we had mice chew through our wires in the outdoor unit this year. Oh joy!
I’m just glad yours was an easy fix!!! Keep cool!
Comment by Teresa — July 7, 2010 @ 3:46 pm