Oven Repair Part Deux
Dear That’s Life,
File Under: Oven Status Update
I had only left one semi-frantic voicemail for the oven repair service, although it did not stop me from leaving another and then calling the emergency number they have on their message. This was not an emergency like “I just shot the staple gun in my hand – again” kind of thing, but it was a “Pesach is in a week and I need my oven to work” emergency. That warranted a call on the special number. I would have sent up a bat-signal if I thought that would help, too.
I’ve used this service before when the oven has needed repair – or to be replaced (but that is another story for another time.) Actually, I even called them last year when the same issue with my oven occurred and it needed immediate attention. I thought they would not remember, but they did and made sure to remind me of it. “Didn’t we come to your house last year, around the same time (i.e. Pesach)?” I confirmed that they had, and that I was calling them again, for the same reason. I had used the self-clean on the oven and it had blown the electrical panel which enables the oven to work. When the panel was inoperative, it shut down completely leaving me to look longingly at a George Foreman grill, as if we were the last two things on earth.
Luckily, the lovely repair man was able to make it to my home within five hours of receiving the call and the entire matter took him less than ten minutes. He was familiar with my kitchen and noted that when he walked in, as he had been here before. “Didn’t I tell you last year not to use the self clean on your oven because this could happen, again?” I told him that, yes: he had, but I had done it anyway. He smiled. “Do it for less time,” he explained, his English good but his accent very heavy. “If you do it for three hours or even only for two hours but more frequently than this,” he explained, “you should be fine.”
I thanked him for the tip, then politely asked him if he could just show me how to fix it on my own and what tools I needed to buy – it would just save all of us a lot of time, aggravation and $150. He laughed as he walked out of the house. “Okay!” I yelled after him. “See you again next year!”
MLW
