The Oven Ordeal Continues

It was a maddening conversation. 

"I know you received an email saying the appointment was confirmed, but that was only tentative," said the operator on the call I had made to avoid a cancellation of my oven service appointment. I had hastily contacted her company after checking my home phone messages, even though I had updated my contact information twice to my mobile number and explicitly stated that the home number was not monitored.

"But tentative and confirmed are opposites," I pointed out with irritation.

"You confirmed with X company," she answered, "but we are Y company," she finished, as if that was obvious and therefore explanation enough.

In the end, I really just wanted my stove fixed, and even though I postured by asking her if the call was being recorded, and later, her name, I accepted the appointment she "confirmed" even though it was 5 days after my other confirmed appointment.

"What if they cancel the appointment?" I asked.

"They won't," she replied, "because it's confirmed."

"But it was confirmed before," I pointed out, "and it was canceled."

"It's confirmed," she insisted.

"What if it's not?" I repeated.

"It is, because I confirmed it," she told me.

"But that's what they said before," I replied petulantly.

"That was Company X," she answered impatiently.

And so I let it go.

Over the next 10 days I received many communications reminding me of the service appointment scheduled for today betwee there, tooen 1 and 5, and I organized my workload to be able to book home and meet the technician. By 2:30, I hadn't heard a word, and so I packed my things and prepared to leave school. 

Before I did, though, I thought to check the home phone. Sure enough, there was a message from someone at 10:30 a.m. saying that they would be at my home in 20 minutes. Fuming, I called the number back, but it went straight to voicemail. In essence, I said that I expected someone at my house before five, and then I headed out to my car.

I hadn't gone three blocks when the phone rang. "This is your technician," said a voice way too friendly to have received my last message. "I'll be at your house in about 20 minutes."

"I'll be there, too," I said skeptically. "See you then."