We got a new garage door. It came with an epic story
michaelestrin.substack.com
Sometimes three acts just aren’t enough to contain the stories life throws at you. Shakespeare knew that, and while I’m no Shakespeare, I’d put my five-act garage door story up against anything The Bard wrote in the home improvement genre.
Thanks for the laugh out loud and the encouragement to write this kind of story- these every day bits are juicy. Love when he says that’s how you know how shitty this company is
Ho. Ly. Smokies. Hilarious! Wretched! Disturbing! Unfortunately relatable!!! I literally (I’m using the correct word here) snorted out loud at a Starbucks. Heads turned. I shrugged. Great writing. The humor is on point. I had a very similar situation with a Home Depot toilet installation. Long story. But you nailed the satirical absurdity of these projects and companies. F_cking ridiculous 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Incredible stuff. We had to a replace a bathroom window with atypical dimensions. Contractor made first measurement sometime in early July 2021. Window was just installed on June 15, 2022.
Apr 19, 2022·edited Apr 19, 2022Liked by Michael Estrin
I really enjoyed this. Thank you. So many of us can relate to the subcontracting insanity that Home Depot employs. And I'm glad to know it's not just my family that encounters this absurdity in the face of such commonality. Water heaters are apparently just as complex and impossible to replace for experienced plumbers... or at least this one guy in town.
I found you from the Substack Writer Office Hours. Goldmine! Thanks for 'springing' into action with your garage door story. Hoping not to hear about it again over the ten year warranty....for your sake!
The big box stores are infamous for this type of experience. You get the service rep or sales person who does the initial deal and promises you everything is A-OK. Then they sub-contract the "job" (whatever it is) to perform the actual instillation and that's when the trouble starts. First, they are being paid by "the job" without really knowing what the job is other than its an install. They show up and right away discover something is not quite right that the service rep/sales person didn't catch because they really don't know how to install anything -- they are just the seller. Next thing you know your simple job that was supposed to take just XX days to complete, will take two or three times longer and the install guys are pissed because they may have to eat $$ because of the added time or expense it will take to complete the job. And you, the lucky homeowner, is caught in the middle, often with little or no recourse. And the finished job more often than not, ends up not done nearly as professionally as you thought.
It's oddly comforting to know that I'm not the only person this type of thing happens to!
The initial conversation with the installers sounds like something out of a movie. I seriously pictured George Clooney in Oh Brother Where Art Thou looking at the two guys when you said "Your dad was killed by a garage door?"
Enjoyed the story, newly subscribed and looking up your book!
I AM IN TEARS! This should not be funny at all. It really shouldn't. But it's hilarious. And I'm looking at my own garage door, with the dents and wobbles and am thinking, there's no way I'm telling my landlord about it. Ever.
And this line just made my day. "Killed by a garage door hinge is a shitty way to die in real life, but it’s a fantastic way to kill someone in a book!"
Thanks for the laugh out loud and the encouragement to write this kind of story- these every day bits are juicy. Love when he says that’s how you know how shitty this company is
Oh this is sooooooooo delightful.
Garage door industrial complex - capitalism has reached its final and most powerful form
Ho. Ly. Smokies. Hilarious! Wretched! Disturbing! Unfortunately relatable!!! I literally (I’m using the correct word here) snorted out loud at a Starbucks. Heads turned. I shrugged. Great writing. The humor is on point. I had a very similar situation with a Home Depot toilet installation. Long story. But you nailed the satirical absurdity of these projects and companies. F_cking ridiculous 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Subscribed, my friend!! Good stuff.
Michael Mohr
‘Sincere American Writing’
https://michaelmohr.substack.com/
You did not have to use all those words. "Home Depot" said it all.
Incredible stuff. We had to a replace a bathroom window with atypical dimensions. Contractor made first measurement sometime in early July 2021. Window was just installed on June 15, 2022.
I really enjoyed this. Thank you. So many of us can relate to the subcontracting insanity that Home Depot employs. And I'm glad to know it's not just my family that encounters this absurdity in the face of such commonality. Water heaters are apparently just as complex and impossible to replace for experienced plumbers... or at least this one guy in town.
I found you from the Substack Writer Office Hours. Goldmine! Thanks for 'springing' into action with your garage door story. Hoping not to hear about it again over the ten year warranty....for your sake!
This mirrors an experience I had with Home Depot's "7 day" carpet installation - that took a whole summer. Never again...
Well done sir. Nice use of dialogue to tell the story. https://sites.google.com/view/danger-men-thinking
This article made my day... unfortunately at the author's expense! I really needed a good laugh and you delivered...thank you!
The big box stores are infamous for this type of experience. You get the service rep or sales person who does the initial deal and promises you everything is A-OK. Then they sub-contract the "job" (whatever it is) to perform the actual instillation and that's when the trouble starts. First, they are being paid by "the job" without really knowing what the job is other than its an install. They show up and right away discover something is not quite right that the service rep/sales person didn't catch because they really don't know how to install anything -- they are just the seller. Next thing you know your simple job that was supposed to take just XX days to complete, will take two or three times longer and the install guys are pissed because they may have to eat $$ because of the added time or expense it will take to complete the job. And you, the lucky homeowner, is caught in the middle, often with little or no recourse. And the finished job more often than not, ends up not done nearly as professionally as you thought.
It's oddly comforting to know that I'm not the only person this type of thing happens to!
The initial conversation with the installers sounds like something out of a movie. I seriously pictured George Clooney in Oh Brother Where Art Thou looking at the two guys when you said "Your dad was killed by a garage door?"
Enjoyed the story, newly subscribed and looking up your book!
Oh man - I'm current 27 days into a "basic" refrigerator repair and this is giving me anxiety! Great post though, haha
I AM IN TEARS! This should not be funny at all. It really shouldn't. But it's hilarious. And I'm looking at my own garage door, with the dents and wobbles and am thinking, there's no way I'm telling my landlord about it. Ever.
And this line just made my day. "Killed by a garage door hinge is a shitty way to die in real life, but it’s a fantastic way to kill someone in a book!"