Freak Magnet Dave

Life with the new SUV hasn't been all sunshine and bunny farts.
The dealership where I bought this vehicle is about a 40 minute drive from my home. I didn't figure this would be an issue because there is a Honda dealership just down the street from me, and that's where I'd take it for routine service in the future.
A couple of days after picking it up I began to feel some discomfort in my lower back. This was caused by what appears to be a steel bar running horizontally along the base of the backrest. It caused me to shift in my seat constantly trying to find a comfortable position. Not good. I notified the dealership of this and they told me to bring it in for them to take a look at.
My first attempt to bring it in late Wednesday afternoon just prior to a "new owner's workshop" didn't work due to a car fire on the highway which made me nearly an hour late. Oh well, what can you do? We rebooked for Friday. The Squeeze and I drove back there and waited while they pulled the seat out (I assume) and examined it.
Much to my dismay, the girl from the service desk came in to let me know that there is nothing they could do to fix it. I could purchase new seat padding which would not be covered under the extended warranty I purchased. It would cost me $300 and it wouldn't guarantee to solve the problem. The other option would be to "buy a $10 pad from Wal-Mart". So what's the point in having heated leather seats with lumbar support if I'm going to cover it with a chair pad?
I was pissed. We retrieved the keys and left. The Squeeze commented "Someone's writing a letter".
Yep, I did indeed. I described my relationship with Honda and how I now feel screwed over by their dealership. Surely, one should feel some degree of comfort while driving their vehicle.
I sent that letter to the dealership owner, the business manager, the used car manager, and the two salesmen I directly dealt with.
About a week later I received a call from their customer relations rep. He said that he can arrange to have the seat repaired by an upholsterer and that they would need me to bring the SUV in. We made arrangements for Monday at 8:00 am. Yes, 8:00 am. On my day off. Normally I start work at 10:00. So on my day off, I had to leave the house just after 7:00 to drive to the dealership for 8:00.
After squirming around in the seat for the duration of the ride, I arrived at the dealership. I walked in and asked for the rep who was arranging everything. "Oh, he's not in today. He called in sick." Apparently he was the only one who knew what he was arranging and I would need to rebook the appointment. Hell of a way to start my day off.
So I drove back home and got the roast in the crock pot for dinner while I waited for stores to open so I could run my other errands. My first stop was the bank where I had to pay my business taxes. I pulled into the lot and found it rather empty. "Hey, I won't have to wait in line" I thought. Well, turns out that was true. Because they were closed. What the hell? Ah, yes. Closed for Remembrance Day which was actually on Saturday this year. Next I drove to an art supply shop in the neighbouring city to get some supplies for work. The store is going through renovations, so much of their stock is packed up in storage. Naturally, the items I needed were in storage. My day continues.
I managed to find another art store and bought what I needed there. Things are looking up.
I headed back home, stopped at my local polling station to do my civic duty.
When I got home I thought I'd wash the bedding and do some cleaning up. I put the sheets and pillowcases in the washing machine and waited for it to fill up and start working. Good thing, because it didn't! It filled up, sure enough, but when it started to agitate, it would keep making a loud thunking noise and the agitator kept slipping. Then the water would drain. This happened before, but that was when I tried washing a duvet that was probably a bit more than the washer was able to handle at its advanced age. So I drained all the water, gave it a spin (as much as it was able) and headed off to the laundrymat. The benefit of being there was that I actually had a bit of relaxation time where I was able to get a bit further into the book I recently started to read despite Oprah's cheers and laughter blasting through the speakers of the TVs suspended from the ceiling.
Once the laundry was done I slugged it back home and found the time and energy to clean one of my aquariums, much to the delight of the neglected little creatures that had been navigating through layers of furry algae and fecal matter. It wasn't pretty.
This morning, after a lousy sleepless night, I got up, paid my taxes, and headed off to work. I'll be calling the Honda dealership today, and it looks like we might just be going out to buy a washing machine.
Oh ya...and then I'm going to sleep. The good folks at Gravol will see to that.