Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Crisper Componant

I'm not sure how old our refrigerator is (it came with the condo), but shortly after we moved in I figured out one of its vegetable drawers was cracked at the top which made it fall off the slide rail. I super glued the crack closed, which solved the problem until Saturday. After lunch I opened the drawer, heard a 'clunk', and discovered that the drawer had completely broken at the crack line.  

I searched for a new drawer on Amazon, but was reluctant to order something without knowing I had the exact right thing. Besides, I've been trying to patronize local places, so I expanded my search to Google, and found an appliance parts store that sounded like it might have what I needed. That store was closed, but I called first thing yesterday morning.

The man who answered the phone had a gruff voice, but he really knew his stuff. He asked me the model number of the refrigerator, and after pulling up the information, exactly which drawer needed to be replaced. (Each of the three are slightly different.) He told me he could order it and it would arrive this morning. 

Sure enough, this morning I received a call telling me the part was in. The store was halfway across town but I happened to be going in that direction for something else. I just allowed an extra fifteen minutes for my extra errand. 

The part store was located in the middle a nondescript strip mall, right next to a payday loan place. When I walked in I was transported back in time. The small place was small and full of character. It had a linoleum-covered floor with heavy wear marks on the traffic routes. Fifties-style vintage metal stools were placed in front of the counter. Hooks held different shapes of oven heating elements, and boxes on the shelves held water filters, drain hoses, and appliance cords.

The man I had talked to on the phone was behind the register. I gave him my name and he walked over to the side of the counter and picked up a large box. He apologized for it being opened, but said he wanted to make sure they had sent the correct item. I paid for the part, and the man printed out my receipt on his dot matrix printer.

Five years ago today: You Know You're Drinking Too Much Coffee When . . .

16 comments:

  1. I wonder if a store like that is busy? I'm glad you found a replacement part, much cheaper than having to buy a new fridge!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wondered if it was busy, too, but since the store had obviously been there for a very long time it much bring in enough business.

      Delete
  2. That's great you got a replacement, the right one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The drawer works much better than the temporary bowl I had put in the opening to hold our fruit!

      Delete
  3. oh that sounds annoying that despite of you glued it well ,dryer still broke out completely dear Kathy

    thank to google that just like you we either like to search about what we buy ,actually our eldest son advised us long ago to do so :)
    blessings to your lovely world my friend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had hoped to get more use out of the fixed drawer, but figured it would eventually be no good.

      Delete
  4. The bottom shelf of my frig cracked in many places. I've tried to glue it. The bottom of that shelf holds in the two vegetable drawers so they no longer stay put. So I'm wishing we had a local appliance parts store like the one you found. Who knows. Maybe we do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can live with a lot of annoyances, but eventually need to take care of the issue. You'll take care of yours when the time is right.

      Delete
  5. Your appliance parts store sounds just like the one here in Fresno, even the description of the location is the same! Terry would go there for parts for our 1975 vintage oven and cooktop but now that we have replaced them, I don't know if he'll be able to so easily fix parts that quit working.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bet every large metropolitan area has at least one store like these.

      Delete
  6. Good work, going local. We try, but we are limited...

    ReplyDelete
  7. That is awesome! This is why it's good to have a brick and mortar store also.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good for you for going local and helping local people keep their jobs and businesses running and great you got the replacement so you can keep your refrigerator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Every week I read another story about a local business closing its doors. I don't spend enough to keep them afloat, but I'd like to think I'm doing my part :-)

      Delete