“Most small business owners are not particularly sophisticated business people. That’s not a criticism; they’re passionate about cutting hair or cooking food, and that’s why they got in the business, not because they have an MBA.”
– Andrew Mason, entrepreneur
Thursday, 10:15 p.m.: I’m sitting by the open window in my home office enjoying a cool, quiet evening after enduring a long, hot summer day.
Suddenly, my wife calls anxiously from the kitchen, where she is hovering over our refrigerator’s freezer drawer.
“The food’s all melting,” she says. “We’ve got to get it out of here.”
Fortunately, we have a second freezer, which we use to preserve the vegetables from our organic garden, so we transfer the food there. The refrigerator compartment also is warming, but it seems like its contents will last the night.
Friday, 7:45 a.m.: I call two local, independent businesses: a new appliance dealer and a used appliance repair shop. My wife calls a neighbor to see if we can store some food in her refrigerator.
Friday, 8:15 a.m.: The new appliance dealership returns my call and immediately puts me through to its serviceman. Although we had purchased our refrigerator at another small business, he spends half an hour discussing our problem; suggesting possible diagnoses; explaining how the warranty works on our brand of refrigerator, which his company happens to represent; and instructing me how to find the serial number so I can call the manufacturer and find out more about the warranty.
The only downside to this dealership’s service is that it can’t work on the refrigerator at our house, nor can it pick up the refrigerator to take to their shop until the next Tuesday. Meanwhile, the fridge is barely “keeping its cool.” We fear losing all our food and spending a lot eating out.
Friday, 8:45 a.m.: Our neighbor calls and suggests we keep a big bag of party ice in the fridge. She drops one off within the hour. Another neighbor brings us some plastic bottles to fill with water and freeze in our working freezer to keep our “ice box” going. This works well until Tuesday – no food is lost.
Friday, 8:50 a.m.: The used appliance guy calls. He can come out this morning and work on the machine at our house, so we discuss the problem at length. But as soon as I tell him that there are still a few months left on our 10-year parts warranty, he turns down the job. (Ten years?! Fridges used to last 30 years!)
“If I touch it, you’ll void your warranty,” he volunteers.
Friday, 9:15-10:15 a.m.: I spend an hour on hold trying to get through to the warranty department of our refrigerator manufacturer’s parent corporation. I give up and call its sales department, which picks up immediately, and squeeze some information out of them.
Tuesday, 10:30 a.m.: The small, local appliance dealer picks up our refrigerator and leaves us a free loaner. While repairing our fridge, it saves us $500 by making sure the manufacturer honors its parts warranty.
Today, 10 a.m.: The business returned our refrigerator, working like new. I gave thanks that we still have small businesses near our ecological house.
Philip S. Wenz, who grew up in Durango and Boulder, now lives in Corvallis, Ore., where he teaches and writes about environmental issues. Reach him via e-mail through his website, www.your-ecological-house.com.
