Curses, Foiled Again!

This morning (Wednesday) is when the part from MCD was promised (once again).  I called Motorhomes of Texas (MOT from here on) at 10:43 AM (according to my iPhone) and the FedEx delivery had not yet come.  According to the tracking number, the part was “on the truck for delivery”.  I called MOT back at 12:58 PM.  Still no FedEx delivery.  I asked MOT to please call FedEx and find out where the truck was and when the delivery would be made.  I shouldn't have had to tell them this.  MOT called me back a short while later and told Carol Ann, who answered, that the FedEx truck had broken down.  Probably the only time the truck had ever broken down and it had to be today with MY package!  Now, by this time Carol Ann and I were both very aggravated, upset, mad, and angry, in other words, WE WERE PISSED OFF!  But I am the gentle one.  You don’t want to get on Carol Ann’s bad side.  So while I curled up in the fetal position and moaned, Carol Ann went to pick up a prescription and, without my knowledge, drove over to MOT and more or less asked them to find out where the FedEx truck had broken down and she would go get the package herself.  MOT did make the call, but volunteered to go find the truck and get the package themselves (smart thinking).  By now it was around 2:00 PM and she told them we would be back to get our motorhome at 2:45 PM, shades or no shades. 

As we were at home piling the last ton of “stuff” and three cats into our car, I received a call from MOT’s service manager (he must have drawn the short straw).  He told me that he actually had the package!  BUT….here it comes (again)…..it was the WRONG #%$@ING part!  MCD had once again stepped on their privates, even though MOT had sent them pictures of exactly what part was needed.  How stupid can they be?  As if it would make a difference at this time, the service manager told me that they would have the correct piece tomorrow, for sure.  I told him to please have the coach ready for us to pick up in 15 minutes.  We had 800 miles to drive by Friday afternoon and, as Carol Ann told them, we were too old to drive 800 miles in 2 days!

When we arrived at MOT we discovered that they had taken the needed part from another coach and were in the process of installing our last shade.  While they finished the installation Carol Ann transported the perishables from the car to the fridge and I went inside to pay for the “service”.  I’m embarrassed to tell you how much it cost, but it did include changing a burned out brake light bulb.  I have never heard the two words “I’m sorry” as many times as I heard them while paying my bill.  There were at least 4 or 5 people trying to out-apologize one  another.  It was appreciated, but was just too late.  They had spent two weeks attempting to obtain one little piece of plastic from MCD while MCD apparently spent the two weeks with their thumbs up their….noses.

By 3:30 PM we were finally on the road.  We decided to drive about 200 miles and spend the night in Monroe, LA.  We called and got reservations at an RV park on I-20 at Exit 120.  When we reached the 114-mile marker at about 6:35 PM the traffic came to a standstill in both lanes.   We learned from listening to the truckers on the CB that there had been a very bad accident involving a truck, two cars, and a fire blocking all lanes at the 117-mile marker. It took us 45 minutes to drive from the 114- to the 117-mile marker.  We didn't get to see anything because all of the vehicles had been towed away by the time we reached the 117-mile marker.  

It was 7:30 PM when we finally arrived at the RV Park.  After I connected the power, water, and sewer I decided to lower our new MCD privacy shades.  There are two motorized shades that lower and cover the front windshield.  I pressed the switch and the passenger-side windshield shade came down about a foot and stopped.  It would go no further.  The driver’s-side windshield shade was supposed to be remote controlled.  I could not find, and still have not found, the remote to lower the driver’s-side shade and it cannot be lowered manually!  We were in such a hurry to get out of Dodge that we didn’t even think to check them out before leaving MOT.  I’ll have to call MOT tomorrow and ask how I am supposed to get the shades down, and then hopefully, back up.  And as soon as I have time I will be writing a letter to MCD to let them know just how I feel and what I think of their company's service.  Life can be a real bitch.   I wish I didn’t love this RV lifestyle so much!