Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Theo, my dog walker, shows up a few minutes late. When he arrives, he once again, has a question for me, which has a financial aspect.
"A question: 'Would the dog chew electric wires?'"
"Yes, Beau is always putting things in his mouth. You have to watch him so he doesn't."
"Well, I have some things that would be expensive to replace."
"You have to watch him."
Theo returns with Beau a few minutes late, although I have told him that I have to leave promptly for an appointment in Carcassonne.
I explain to him that I wonder why each of the last two times he has come by, he suggests something that involves money.
"Oh, no --it's just that I have borrowed some things from a friend and if he chewed them, it would be expensive to replace them."
"Well, you have to watch him. Beau will chew the corners of chairs right in front of me. It's the way he is. By the way, did you take him to the soccer field today?"
"No, I just walked him around the village."
"Do you still want to work on Thursday?"
"Oh, yes. For sure."
As Theo did not give Beau a chance to run in the stadium, when he comes home, he relieves himself on one of the rugs. Theo is fourteen and a half and six feet tall and very much a kid. If it were not that I know I need to get out and cycle with the club for my own well-being, I wouldn't continue to use him. Also, I know he is counting on the extra money he can make before school starts the first week in September.
***
My experiences with two other service-providers --Michel at FunSport, the cycling mega-store; and Jacques Chabbert, the appliance distributor, are quite different.
A colleague made an appointment with Michel for me two weeks ago and I wasn't sure what to expect. I have a thirty-year old TREK touring cycle I want to keep using: I have a sentimental attachment to it, as it is the bicycle I rode while studying for the New York bar. I have also started to have aches and pains --which could be related to a lack of proper fit of the bicycle to my body. That is just the thing that Michel can diagnose and treat. I was told that Michel would tell me honestly whether it was worth trying to renovate the bicycle, or whether I would honestly do better to invest in a new bicycle.
I tell Michel the story of my bicycle and my hope I can keep using it rather than spend what is to me a lot of money on a new bicycle. He puts the bicycle on a platform and asks me to mount it and start pedaling. It turns out that my seat height is fine, my pedaling style, too. However, wrap around handlebars on a bicycle that is slightly too big for me are causing me to have to stretch my lower back, hands and arms in ways that may be bringing on some of my aches. Listening closely, I am mid-way through Michel's diagnosis when I begin wondering when he will try to sell me a new bicycle, when he surprises me:
"What is needed is that the wrap-aroundhandlebars and the brakes be replaced with a 'hybrid' bicycle's handlebars and brakes. You will ride upright and the strain will be eased."
The cost of replacing the handlebars and brakes? Less than one hundred euros. I need to replace a few other small parts, but again, Michel only recommends replacing what needs replacing, not an entire set of brake pads, for instance.
I am astonished that in this world, where everything is rapidly disposable, I have come across someone who fully appreciates my desire to keep my bicycle working for as long as possible and wants to help me in that pursuit.
***
The tiny refrigerator I was lent needs to be returned and replaced. Rather than buy from one of the big appliance distributors, I go to a nearby village, Trausse, to see Jacques Chabbert.
Chabbert et Fils is a four-generation family of electricians and appliance distributors. They are the "go-to" guys for repairs and any kind of appliance --from televisions to digital alarm clocks. The Chabbert style of selling is to be completely honest about the merits of the items they carry, and to honor the guarantees on the products absolutely. Word-of-mouth has made them as successful as they are, so successful that the joke in Caunes is'We have to keep Chabbert in business1'
I explain to Jacques Chabbert that I need a new refrigerator, not to wide and not too fancy. He points out a model with a German name.
This one is a Chinese brand made in China that uses a German sort of name to market to those for whom that's appealing. But honestly, I have European brands that are actually made in China, and among them, at 300 Euros, this one is a good refrigerator with respect to value-for-money. It's a two-door, so you won't have the problem of having to defrost it, except when you close the house. And it has a two year guarantee.
I want to know whether they can deliver it this afternoon. Jacques makes a phone call, and confirms he and another employee will be at my home within a half an hour. Indeed, they arrive within the specified time. They move my old refrigerator in to the basement and set up my new refrigerator, being careful to remove all the packaging and setting up all the shelves properly before handing me the instruction booklet and guarantee.
If only the rest of France worked as well as Michel of Funsport and Jacques Chabbert!
No comments:
Post a Comment