In Japan, Woody Allen would need new source material

Not only is there no God, but try finding a plumber on Sunday.Woody Allen

We had the kitchen faucet replaced last year. If I recall correctly, it was on a Sunday.

Anyway, we had called the plumber because the old faucet was leaking, and we hoped he could just replace a bushing or something. But he said the faucet was too worn, and he sold us a new one. He had everything he needed on the spot, and even took a credit card. I thought that was pretty impressive service.

Lately, though, Nana noticed that the faucet was leaking. Thursday was a holiday, so she spent some time digging through the papers to come up with the warranty on the faucet — two years, so we were still covered. She called the plumber.

And he came immediately.

On a holiday.

He had a look at the faucet and decided that it was the manufacturer’s responsibility. So Nana called the manufacturer (again, on a holiday), and scheduled one of their people to come today.

Saturday.

She asked him to arrive before noon as she was going somewhere in the afternoon. (This was a deception. She wanted to watch her drama at 1.)

(Nana says the drama starts at 1:05.)

The plumber from the manufacturer arrived a few minutes before noon, in the pouring rain. He got to work right away. It took some time but he found the culprit: an O-ring that he replaced and then tested to make sure it was sealing properly. He explained to Nana in some detail how the O-ring had failed.

Total bill for two plumbers to visit, one on a national holiday and one on a Saturday: Zip. Nada. Rien. サービス. All under warranty.

Of course, this kind of service doesn’t come cheap. The initial replacement last year was kind of expensive, and it was more for the labor than the faucet.

Newly repaired faucet
Newly repaired faucet

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