Why are People so Useless

I bought a new car about 1 year ago.  I LOVE my van.  I would buy it again in a second, but a few months ago the passenger side sliding door started making this strange popping sound when I open the door and then as it slides open, right before it gets to the end, there is a strange grinding sound.  Since this is not normal and I spent way too much money on a car to make any grinding/popping sound, I made an appointment to have it looked at.  This appointment was on a Friday a few weeks ago.  The girls and I sat around the house all day, we walked to get Owen from school and then Ben risked being late to a movie to come help me pick it up.  It was at this appointment that they diagnosed my car with needing new parts.  Such parts were ordered and they would call when they arrived. 

Here we are today.  Parts are in and it is time for the fix and in case you thought differently, finding a good time to take a car into the shop with three kids who require car seats and to be driven to school and to speech and to the store and to t-ball and so on and so on is impossible!  I thought Angie and I did quite an amazing job working it out:  I asked my neighbor to watch Owen last night while Greg and I took the car to the shop.  It is much easier to fit two car seats in the 4-Runner than three.  We drove the 20 minutes and dropped it off and came home.  I arranged for Owen to go to the early care for school today for $5.00 at 8:15 rather than 8:50.  I arranged for Greg to arrange to come in to work late and drop Owen off.  I arranged Ivy’s speech to move to Monday rather than today.  I arranged for Angie to come here and pick up Autumn and I and let us ride to the office with her.  And finally, I arranged for Angie to leave work and drive me back to the shop. 

(Here comes the useless part of people)

I went in, got my key, signed the paper that says I got my car and went on out.  I opened the passenger door and what might I hear…yes, a loud popping sound.  I went back inside to tell the man that I think my car still makes a popping sound.  He said that sometimes the doors can do that.  I knew that he wouldn’t be able to hear it when he came out, it doesn’t always do it and further more it is sort of like having a toothache for months only to have it stop hurting the day you finally get in to see the dentist.  Sure enough, we open the door to regular door opening sounds.  I instructed him to make a note in the file. 

I arrived home a little grumpy, went to show Greg that it may still make a popping sound and what do my ears hear….yes, a loud popping sound and a grinding sound as the door gets to the end.  THE SAME SOUNDS THAT I TOOK MY CAR IN FOR TO BEGIN WITH. It would be one thing if they said they were just fixing the problem, but they actually ordered and REPLACED parts. 

So, here I am, I have spent two days without a car, parts were ordered and installed all for nothing.  What in the world did they do all day? Pretend to find the problem, pretend to order parts, pretend to install them, and then pretend that they fixed my car.   I can only assume a few things.  1. There was another problem and they fixed that with the new parts.  2. They installed the parts on the wrong door or 3.  They thought they could tell me it was fixed and I would believe it, sort of like the Emperor’s new clothes story.    I choose 1. cause otherwise I am too mad. 

I already left a message……