Customer Service

Some days....

This morning my dear wifey woke me up by announcing that our 2 year old -- top of the line -- Kenmore refrigerator quit working sometime during the night.

I can't say this pleased me because Kenmore refrigerator's are quite expensive and (silly me) I expect them to last more than 2 years.

I am tempted to go into a yarn about the "good ol days" when refrigerators lasted up to 5 or 6 years. But those days are loooong gone.

So Michele called the "_ (company name)_" and asked for the maintenance division. She was immediately connected with a genius that had NO interest in getting our refrigerator repaired but was highly motivated to sell her an extended warrantee.

She repeatedly asked him how to get a repairman out here to fix the refrigerator and he stayed the course and refused to assist her with that.

The young lad made 2 crucial errors: (a) he told her that if she would purchase the extended warrantee -- we would still have to pay for (a long list of things) that are not covered by the expensive warrantee; and (b) (and now I quote him) "in a couple years when the refrigerator breaks down again, you will be glad you purchased the extended warrantee".

At this point, I heard my wife comment, "You have a very low opinion of your product if you expect it to break down every 2 years".

The knucklehead persisted in trying to sell her something she did not want until she finally hung up on his sales pitch.

Time for me, the manly man, to resolve this issue.

So I got on line, went to "_ (company name)_" and looked up the maintenance division. Low and behold, they actually have a wonderful, user friendly web site with service technicians "standing by", just waiting for my e-mail.

At this point, I was feeling pretty good about myself. So I typed up an e-mail with all the pertinent information and hit "SEND".

This activated a pop-up screen that demanded my VISA card number. Because there is a $40 dollar fee for using "_(company name)_" maintenance division web site.

They would not even acknowledge my e-mail until I paid $40.

They don't know what my question is -- let alone if they have an answer -- or how involved the repair may be.

CRUD

So, what is your spiritual take-away from today's adventure?
(besides that your pastor is human and is capable of righteous indignation)
This is NOT going where you expect, so stick around.....

"My faith was encouraged today when a Christian brother, unexpectedly came to our rescue."

I had a Christian friend cornered today and was ranting & raving over my lack of satisfaction with "_(company name)_".

When I finally ran down, he laughed and said, "I have an older refrigerator in my garage that is not being used. Stop by and I will help you load it up. Take it home and it should serve you for a long time, or at least until your new refrigerator is fixed."

At the end of the day, as my mind was replaying the events that transpired and my reactions throughout, I was humbled, able to appreciate from my soul, and offer the good Lord my sincere thanks for again, blessing me beyond my expectations.

"Dear brothers and sisters,
when troubles come your way,
consider it an opportunity for great joy.
For you know that when your faith is tested,
your endurance has a chance to grow.  
So let it grow,
for when your endurance is fully developed,
you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."
James 1:2-4

Benched

The good Lord uses circumstances, events and people to transform us into people that glorify & honor Him.

What is uncomfortable, is when God uses pain and suffering to nudge us where He wants us. Don't get me wrong, I have complete confidence that the good Lord always does what is best in every situation.

Anyway, for the last week, I have struggled with a pollen sinus headache and back spasms. I only mention this because God had a plan and His perfect plan required me being removed from my comfort zone.

There is another health issue that I wasn't going to mention but it has a human element to it that is (I suspect) very common. I am a type 2 Diabetic and daily battle to keep my blood sugar in a healthy zone. This is all fine and good.... except I stopped by Super 1's Bakery and purchased a box of their hot apple fritters the other day. Yea, guess what affect apple fritters have on a diabetic. Dork boy....

Last night I was scheduled to teach a Bible study but due to my health issues, I wasn't fit for human contact. An amazing Bible teacher covered for me and explained my health issues to the group. They kept me in prayer and an amazing thing happened. God laid it on the heart of a wonderful retired pastor in the group to call me and offer to teach tonight's Bible Study.

Normally my stubborn streak would never allow me to "call in sick" for work but -- quite frankly, I feel God not only slowing me down to take care of myself physically, but I feel God leading me to schedule more time every day for Bible study and prayer.

So I take this wonderful retired pastor up on his offer to teach tonights Bible study.

The retired pastor taught Proverbs 3:5-6:

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
   and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
   and he will make your paths straight."

The Spirit of the Lord touched hearts tonight. God's Word was presented in a practical, down to earth manner that touched everyone where they lived.

And from where I sit, I realize that this would not have happened as God not moved me out of the way and put me on the bench.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

An Unexpected Blessing

I usually listen to KMBI radio (107.9) except when their talk shows are accepting calls from the public. At that point, I flip over to "Positive Life Radio" at 104.9. PLR doesn't take annoying calls from people commenting on... well, nothing, because their cell phones frequently cut in and out. And I am convinced that many of the callers just like being contrary and take pleasure in trying to offend as many people as possible.
Sorry, I digress....

PLR has a huge listening audience that covers most of the Pacific Northwest. And they started promoting a "pay it backward" program for drive throughs. The idea is, when you go through a drive through, pay for the persons order behind you. Which, I thought was a nice gesture until it developed into something amazing and continued for weeks and weeks and hundreds of people are participating.

And yes, they accept calls from the public - about their experiences with the "pay it backward" program. And no, none of these callers seem annoying or offensive. In fact, it has turned out to have a remarkably positive impact on hundreds of people.

Who knew????

Tonight, a very interesting lady called in to report that when she went to the Jack in the Box drive through window and found the person in front of her had already paid for her dinner. This made her so excited that she insisted on paying for the people's order behind her - which turned out to be $43. She didn't have $43 on her so she called in to promise that next time she goes through a drive through and the car behind her has a reasonably priced bill, that she would cough up the cash. This made me laugh because she failed to comply with the program yet she felt the need to call in and confess to the American public. Why she felt the need to call in and make herself look like a miser, makes my head spin but it turned out to be an unexpected blessing.

So how is this an unexpected blessing?

Bear with me because I am going to take you on a rabbit trail for a minute.

One of my pet peeves is political TV campaign advertisements. I dislike them almost as much as I detest political debates. I will stop there before I offend both of my blog readers.

After spending two days of my life invaded by talking heads expressing opinions of the State of the Union address and the political debates, my faith in humanity was needing a serious injection of honesty and basic goodness.

Enter "Positive Life Radio".

Average American people showing random acts of kindness with pure motives was the simple breath of fresh air I needed today.

You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.
Do Not Judge Others
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you.
Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.
Give, and you will receive.
Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down,
shaken together to make room for more, running over,
and poured into your lap.
The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” Luke 6:36-38

"It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35