Hey!

Guess what???

My washer is fixed! I had a local place order the right part - the one Sears didn't bring - last Friday. It arrived today. Sarge fixed it in five minutes. Catching up on the laundry may take years.

Now my car is broken. Specifically, the spedometer. Shit.

It's Monday!

And I know you want to know...

Did the Maytag repairman piss me off again today?

Why, yes! Yes he did! Despite my telling them exactly the part I needed for my particular model number of washer, he showed up without it. Shit. Do they not know how damn much laundry's downstairs?

Sunday, November 4th?

Today was completely lacking in blog material. Because I teach Sunday School (shut UP Ian!), I had to go and opted to stay for church. I bribed convinced my children to behave so they could have Burger King for lunch because they are just such good boys and then we all came home and had a lovely nap.

I'm sorry. I know this is boring but my washer is still broken and the thought of that growing mountain of laundry downstairs just makes me tired.


And sad.

Sharing, Schmaring...

The Khan: "Here Mama" (presents half a snack sized Butterfinger)
Mama: "Where's the other half of it?"
The Khan: "Uhm... Papa eat it."

What a rip-off....

It's Fun for the Whole Family!

The family and I just finished a couple rounds of this game and it is an absolute blast!

Buzz! The Mega Quiz hits on another of my true talents. I'll bet you had no idea that I am a gold mine of useless knowledge, but it is true. And this game, with it's cool five button controller featuring a Big RED Buzzer on the top and four color coded answer keys really gets me going. It feels like you're on a real game show. It appears it may be possible to use the Eye Toy with this game and put your own face in, but I just got the game today so I've really no idea. You didn't know I was a video game nerd did you? Well, I'm not, but there are games I really like Gauntlet: Dark Legacy and oldskool Legend of Zelda because they're so cool - like me!

Pluses:
It's a four player game with a USB hookup so you don't need a multi-tap. It is expandable to 8 players making the party possibilities endless. Imagine me beating my children AND my husband at this game!

The game is not complicated to learn. The rules of each phase are clearly explained and you can skip them if you don't need to hear them.

The categories are varied and interesting: Science, Sports, Entertainment, Music, etc. and a great Geography category that shows you where the country your question will be about is located. I love the hidden map lesson included here.

It appeals to a wide audience. The players tonight ranged from 9 to 43 and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely.

The price! For a new-release game with the controllers, this bundle comes to market at $39.99 at your local TrUs. A bargain!

Cons:
The biggest complaint I have is the music. The music categories ask you questions about songs that you can't decipher because they are muzak versions. They're hard to figure out most of the time and that's frustrating. It would enhance the game greatly if they'd gotten permission to use the real songs. Yes, I would pay more for the game if it had this feature. (Oh if only Sony's product development team read my blog!)

It would be nice to be able to undo errors before submitting your answers when you're asked to rank things. But I can understand why that's not allowed.

All in all... Buzz the Mega Quiz! Is a fun way for the family to spend an hour after dinner and before bed on these cold midwest autumn nights. I give it 4.5 of 5 Stars. I am really loving how PlayStation is making a run at Nintendo Wii's interactive aspects with games like Dance Dance Revolution, the guitar hero series and Eye Toy. Eye Toy, may I say, ROCKS as much as this game in so many ways. Maybe I'll review that later.

So Long Lonely Repairman!

Remember those commercials when you were a kid? The poor Maytag repairman was so lonely because the appliances worked so well he was never needed? I am pretty sure those days are long gone. We bought a brand new washer and dryer in June. In July, the dryer required service to replace a bad control panel. Now my washer is broken. Maytag pisses me off. Here's why:

My note:
I am an extremely unhappy customer. I took delivery of a brand new front loading washer and dryer approximately June 15. Within 45 days, I had to have the dryer repaired due to a control panel issue. Now I have a broken door latch and who knows what else wrong with my washer. The model number of the washer is MFW9600SQI and the serial is CSU1807531. Again, the door latch is broken and there is water in the washer. This should not be. I bought Maytag because my grandmother had a Maytag washer with no problem for many years and mine dont even last a year without a service call. It is totally unacceptable. Not only will I never buy a Maytag again, rest assured that I am the kind of customer that will spread the word about this experience. My next pair will be LG.

Maytag's Reply:
Dear Me:

Thank you for visiting the Maytag website. We appreciate hearing from you.

Thank you for taking the time to write in reference to the concern you expressed regarding your Maytag dryer. (psst! It's a washer!)We regret that you are not totally satisfied with your appliance.

Although our appliances are manufactured under strict quality guidelines, occasionally an appliance will not operate as expected, failures can occur, or components may cosmetically deteriorate. We cannot explain what factors may have contributed to the premature malfunctioning or to the deterioration of the parts in your unit.

We have documented your comments, and we apologize for any inconvenience this concern has caused you. Your file is stored in our computer system and available for review.

Please do not hesitate to contact Maytag after a service diagnosis and before a repair is completed. It may be helpful for the Maytag service technician to contact us so that we may insure that all that can be done to remedy your service concerns is being done.

Thank you for allowing us to assist you today.

You are a valued customer and we apologize for any inconvenience this concern may have caused.

We invite you to contact Maytag again either by calling (800) 688-9900 between 8:00am to 8:00pm EST weekdays or by emailing whenever the need arises. When calling please press the available option or stay on the line to reach a representative.

Sincerely,

Susan M.
Maytag Customer Loyalty Team
Maytag Customer eXperience Center
http://www.Maytag.com

My Reply:
So what you're saying, then, is that, while it is unfortunate that I've had a horrible experience with my washer and dryer, you're not really going to do anything about it? Why not expedite my service call? Get a tech here who has the parts and knows how to fix my appliance either today or tomorrow so that I don't miss the opportunity to do laundry for my family of six this weekend. Because what is likely to happen otherwise is that the tech will come between 8 and 5 on Monday when no one can be here, not have any parts, not fix the washer and it will be another week before the situation is resolved.

I'd suggest contacting the guy in New Lisbon that fixed the dryer for us. He was pretty good and works on a schedule that accomodates customer needs. But get my washer fixed by tomorrow PLEASE! Ten days of laundry for six people isn't pretty.

thanks!


Maytag's reply:

NAR_Maytag_CustomerExperience@Maytag.com wrote:

Dear Me

Thank you for visiting the Maytag website. We appreciate hearing from you.

Local service companies are independent business concerns neither owned nor franchised by Maytag. We cannot set their days or hours of operation. We can not compel them re arrange their service schedule and we can not compel them to bring particular parts to your home. To be sure that they would have the parts to repair your appliance they would have to carry every part on the parts list for that model number. We are sure that you can see how this would not be possible. If the unit is in warranty we can assist in getting the parts as soon as is possible. If we order the parts for you we can have them to you in three business days. Please call while the service technician is in the home on the day of service so that we can verify parts needed with him.

We hope that this information is helpful.

Thank you for allowing us to assist you today.

You are a valued customer and we apologize for any inconvenience this concern may have caused.

We invite you to contact Maytag again either by calling (800) 688-9900 between 8:00am to 8:00pm EST weekdays or by emailing whenever the need arises. When calling please press the available option or stay on the line to reach a representative.

Sincerely,

Susan M.
Maytag Customer Loyalty Team
Maytag Customer eXperience Center
http://www.Maytag.com


-----Original Message-----

My Reply:

You could, however, pick up a phone and call them directly to try and expedite my service. If they already know that the little black latch is broken when they come then one could assume they'd show up with the right parts saving an extra trip. You really have no interest in providing true customer service.

Your message is clear and cements my opinion that I will avoid purchasing Maytag in the future. I doubt that the Maytag repairman is lonely since when I call the 800 number both washer recall and a dishwasher recall are included in the menu. Keep up that commitment to quality.

Happy November!

Yes, kids... I'm caving to the peer pressure and participating in National Blog Post Month. I'm not sure what I'll write about but I guess I'll write every day. For those of you who have blogs - grab a badge at NaBloPoMo and get to work!