A few mo' updates.. busy day

Journal glh's Journal: A few mo' updates.. busy day 3

Journal by glh on Thursday July 07, 2005 @09:34PM

Got some really cool stuff today in the mail from Microsoft for our upcoming user group. Talk about SWAG! Virtual Server, VS.NET 2003, Halo 2, Project Gotham Racing, and a buttload of books. We're going to have some great prizes at our next meeting.. Come if you are in the area!! (TL, that includes you!)

In other updates we had our "homeowners orientation" tonight, which was basically the walkthrough on all the final cosmetic items we are allowed to pester them about until we give them the final draw and are officially completed and ready to move in, which is looking like it will definitely be next week (probably Mon or Tues). I was surprised they got so much done today. They are down to about 10 items on my list now, none of them major. The house is now ready for final inspection and that will happen tomorrow morning. After that we can submit the certificate of occupancy to the bank so they can get the last draw to the builder. The biggest items remaining are finishing the grading up and possibly doing something on the garage floor. The more I look at it the more I think it will be fine, I think it is because it just has had some funny wear on it and the stuff that has the glossy finish needs some abuse to turn it grey. At any rate I'm going to see if I can get some epoxy out of them.

In case anyone was following my last JE about the Microwave Hood for GE, I have some good news. I spoke with the sales person and pitched a minor fit. She tried to tell me that since the letters "BK" were somewhere in the sears part number that I should have known it was black. I told her that I just didn't make that connection, obvious as it may seem to her. After arguing with my fine logic skills (tongue in cheek) I got her to admit she was making the assumption that since I ordered a black stove I must have wanted a black microwave hood. Anyway, we both ended up admitting some fault (I should have checked the box...).

To make a long story even longer... She gave me a few options. #1- she'd be glad to give me a refund and not charge me a restocking fee. I about blew my lid on this one, but kept my cool long enough to tell her that was "unacceptable" as I would have to pay at least $100 (according to Sears retail) to pay for installation. I then explained if I were return it, it is unlikely I would be able to get a competitive price since I'd only be buying one item. So I asked her about returning the stove as well, and she said she'd have to charge a restocking. Again- unacceptable. I asked her if she could speak with her manager about it, or if I could. She then offered to give me a $200 credit on the thing if we kept it! I decided that would possibly be worth it, seeming how it only cost about $275 to begin with. I called my wife but I already knew the answer.. She wanted the stainless steel one (even if we could sell the thing on eBay and turn a profit)! I emailed her back asking if I could get a straight out exchange for the stainless model plus a half the cost of installing a new one ($50). To my surprise, she said yes and upped the credit to $100. So... a lemon into lemonade. That was a big highlight. Plus, Sears has kept a customer and I will certainly go back.

Stepping back a bit, I'm realizing there are a lot of stressful things in building a house and much of it tends to come at the end. It can be hard when your spouse has strong feelings about things you don't feel the same way about. My wife and I have learned a lot about each other in the process and overall I think it has been a good one though there have been a few bumps here and there. Overall we've grown together. Now we're both really excited to finally get in the thing. I am ready to put it all behind me and move on!! It seems like it's about all that has been on my mind outside of work for the last 6 months, especially the last 2-3. Not sure if I could do it again because it is just sooo long and drawn out. I can see why building tends to be cheaper than buying an existing house.. :)

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