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Friday, September 3, 2010

Friday Foto - Dishwasher Saga

 

Empty space where our dishwasher should be!

What a strange subject for a Friday Foto I hear you say but really I am just hi-jacking my regular photographic post spot to give you an update! I have a few new readers since this saga started so I am reproducing information from this earlier post.  Our House Renovations - Kitchen

I am repeating a lot of information here that was originally posted on July 21st. I think we are being extremely patient!

However well equipped one's kitchen is it is no good if something goes wrong!   Now I am very lucky to have a wonderfully equipped kitchen which we are enjoying. We have the luxury of a dishwasher which is maybe an extravagance for the two of us certainly, but when we entertain or have guests staying with us it really comes into its own.

So imagine how frustrating it is when only days before our daughter and her boyfriend arrived that the dishwasher decided to play up! This dishwasher has actually had a mind of its own since day one, as soon after it was installed the door panel fell off, it still worked luckily, just took many weeks to get it repaired, it was also rather annoying having it spoiling the look of the kitchen we were so thrilled with.  This time it seems more serious, an electrical fault rather than cosmetic as every time we switch it on, it puts our power off!  Yes, yes I know we only have 3KW of power and this often happens if you overload the system, but this is something we have learnt how to control. Never try and run the dishwasher when you are cooking, washing or ironing and so on. This happens with nothing else in use every single time you switch it on, so definitely a fault within the dishwasher.

The problem now is trying to get an engineer to come and deal with the situation. It is still under guarantee as it is around a year since the kitchen was installed and it is a five year guarantee. We discovered this fault on Friday16th of July and we spent ages on Saturday morning on the phone, a normal working day here, the engineers phone just rings and rings, it is never answered, you can imagine how we feel about this.  We had the same result on Monday afternoon, a lot of shops and businesses are closed Monday am, then again yesterday morning! By yesterday afternoon we had, not surprisingly had enough and a trip to the supplier of our kitchen was required. It turned out someone had given us the wrong phone number when we originally contacted them about our problem!!  You can imagine how we reacted to this, so this time they phoned the engineer on the spot for us and laid it on about the urgency as we have 'gli ospiti' guests arriving. We now have to wait for the engineer to phone us to arrange an appointment. We have been assured that we will have had a visit by the end of the week which will cost us a 25 Euro call out charge as the appliance is over six months old. There is a five year guarantee on the dishwasher but apparently we still have to pay this initial charge.

On Friday July 23rd I posted this brief update.

Update as promised on Dishwasher the engineer arrived at exactly 8.30am having found the house easily, but he was unable to repair as the condenser on the motor has burnt out! We are now patiently awaiting a new part.

Then this one on Friday August 6th.

Update on Dishwasher situation, as already mentioned here the engineer arrived two weeks ago today at exactly 8.30am as promised. That was the last we have seen of him since then, as apparently he is still waiting for the replacement part. Having been told it would be a few days or a week at the most we waited patiently. The date mentioned came and went and a phone call to the engineer has informed us that they are still awaiting delivery of the new part!

Frustrating but we must be patient, nothing much happens quickly in Italy especially in the summer and as it is August now, the factory that makes the parts is probably closed anyway.

So having been told by the engineers office that the dishwasher would not be repaired until sometime after September 6th as the replacement part had not arrived and the factory was not re-opening until then, it was a surprise to get a phone call at 8am last Friday morning from an engineer!  He was on his way to repair the dishwasher was that alright?   Yes, yes of course it was, especially as we have another influx of visitors during September.  The engineer arrived 'subito' 'quickly'  Not the same one as it happens who told us that we had been spun a yarn about the part not being available until after that date! Anyway it had arrived and here he was to fix it for us, terrific all sorted quickly and he even made a few adjustments so that the door functioned correctly.

It was when he came to test the machine that things went horribly wrong again, he switched it on, the electricity blew giving him enough of a shock to throw him off balance!!  

Investigating further he discovers that the condenser had burned out because of faulty wiring within the dishwasher and this is something he cannot repair insitu as it needs special equipment only available back in the workshops.

Guess what the dishwasher was taken away a week ago today with reassurances that it would be returned as soon as it was repaired and of course it would be only a few days at the most!   Well, no surprise we have not heard a word, so guess what we are going to be doing this morning, trying to make contact on the telephone.

Have a good weekend everyone.

 

15 comments:

  1. Lindy Lou, this is quite unbelievable isn't it! I remember reading about this saga in July. That poor electrician getting a, electric shock too..you know,I have seen TV shows and movies about these sorts of things happening in Italy but I never thought it happened in "real life"...you poor things! I hope that it is returned soon and that when it returns it actually works!

    Take care and happy Friday! See you on Sunday for our regular Sunday Song catch up. Can't wait!

    Best wishes,
    Natasha.

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  2. I have to say I am not surprised especially over the holiday period:-) Nothing normally ever happens here in July and August. I was more than impressed my gates were installed in August even it was a month later than promised!! Diane

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  3. Linda, did somebody check the plug and the socket before they decided it is the dishwasher itself with the issue?

    Have you tired plugging something else into that socket since ?

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  4. Oh my! Unbelievable... I think your shock was as big as the one the engineer had! I guess every place is different, and Italy is known for being slow in such things. Good luck to you, dear.

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  5. Natasha - Yes it was unfortunate, poor man. No sign of it yet but summer was not a good time of the year for this to happen! See you Sunday with my Lorenzo Jovanotti post.
    Diane - No neither are we Diane, just unfortunate!
    Sarah - We had thought of that but as the D/W wiring is black and charred inside the machine it is apparently definitely an internal fault.
    Simony - Thanks, I have certainly learnt to be much more patient since living here.

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  6. Oh my , this is not good..The man getting a shock is bad enough..Hope it all works out soon.

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  7. I feel so ashamed of being Italian when I read your post! August is the worst month ever for having faulty appliances fixed! I sell air conditioners and I know well the problem!
    Hope you can get your dishwasher asap!
    Happy weekend..well, doing the washing up it's certainly not a happy job :)

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  8. Rosebud Collection - I hope so as we have more house guests arriving soon and it does make entertaining so much easier if you are lucky enough to have a D/W!

    Greenthumb - Please do not feel that way, it is not your fault, one must learn patience in Italy and long holidays in the summer why not :) Thanks for taking the time to comment it is appreciated and I hope you will call by again.

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  9. Linda, With Alan's help, here I am ! (Alan is my no. 2 son )Your problems are very trying , but we have similar problems here on the island at times . We enjoy reading your blogs, talk to you soon ,and I do love your photos . Congratulations no your awards . Love , Joyce .

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  10. Since the diswasher has internal electrical problems, and a dangerously bad temper, I think that the seller should contact the maker and that you should be presented with an apologetic note, and a new dishwasher - pronto.

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  11. What a pain!! I hope you get it back American "soon" and not Italian "soon"!! The lack of customer service is probably the one thing I'm having the most difficulty with here!

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  12. Oh boy - this is one to be treasured (if that is quite the right word!). Your patience does you credit. Mind you, not a lot else to be done except be patient. I imagine that your washing-up-by-hand skills are by now second to none! Keep smiling and who knows - one day when you are least expecting it, a dishwasher will arrive and be installed and will work and all will be well once again. Just don't hold your breath - and I hope that today's phone calls bear some fruit.

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  13. Joyce - I am pleased your son has been able to help you, I certainly miss the girls being on hand when I have technical difficulties. Thankyou for your kind comments.

    Mya - Some hope, but at least we have the five year guarantee

    Jeannie - I do not find it is a lack of customer service just service is at Italian pace :)

    Maggie - We did get hold of them finally this am, but office was unable to tell us anything they had to speak to engineers, waiting for that call to be returned now.

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  14. Travelingsuep - Ah unfortunately not! Having got hold of the office finally yesterday am, we were told they did not know and would have to speak to the engineers. The promise was to ring back yesterday afternoon, but you will not be surprised to hear that we have still had no word :(

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