576 days, I hate LG and more big news...

So...I begin with the big news...ELLIE TOOK HER FIRST STEPS ON SATURDAY! It was really exciting! Mom was at home with me and Ellie took her first steps (Justin is not happy that he missed them!). She turned around from the toy that she was playing with, put her arms out to balance, made a scrunchy face and took off! She took about 3 steps the first time, then 4 steps the second time. As I've been trying to get her to walk more, she really just seems more interested in getting from point A to point B as fast as possible...this obviously does not involve walking! :-) But we're working on it! I don't have a picture of her walking yet, but I thought you might like to see the large mess that she makes when she eats these little crackers. HUGE MESS, but really cute!
576 days....According to my calculations and the precision of modern science, I have been pregnant and/or lactating for 576 days. I only have 50 (approximately) days left of being pregnant and then an undetermined number of days lactating after that (hopefully I'll get to nurse for a year, though). So, I just thought you might like to know that information. In other pregnancy news...I don't have salmonella! Yea! And today, when Ellie was taking her nap, I went to the bathroom FIVE TIMES! Everything is so different the second pregnancy! Sometimes I feel like I'm going to pee my pants, I go to the bathroom and...nothing. Then other times, I don't feel like I have to go at all, but then Lincoln kicks me and Bam! I've just peed my pants! ;-) Oh well...
And now...on to the bad LG service story that I've been promising you....
In case you didn't know this about Justin, he is a Consumer Reports junkie. I mean, EVERYTHING we own has gone through the Consumer Reports test and comes "highly recommended"....all except this microwave. You see, due to an unfortunate burnt popcorn incident, we threw away our last microwave when we moved. We knew we had to purchase a new one, but didn't get to check CR because our internet hadn't been hooked up at our apartment yet and we needed a microwave! So Justin went to the store and purchased the microwave that you see here. That was December. This is February. Kevin and Connie were watching Ellie one night and when we came home they said that the heat was not working on the microwave and they were right! For some unknown reason, it just stopped working. So...frustrated but expecting good service, I contact LG, the makers of the said machine. I speak to a nice girl and she assures me that all we need to do is fax in the receipt and they will mail us out a rebate. Okay, great, I'm ready to go buy a new one and we will just reimburse ourselves when the check arrives. My intelligent husband, however, decides the next day that we should probably call back and see what kind of rebate we will be receiving (is it to a particular store, for a particular product, etc). In calling back, the girl explains that they will mail us a rebate for the particular microwave and it can take up to 21 days to receive the rebate. So, now, we are talking being without a microwave for almost 4 weeks by the time that we have straightened all this out with them and get the rebate back. Well...I am furious by now and talk to the girl who was INCREDIBLY RUDE. Just an example of the many ridiculous and rude things she says...I asked to speak to her supervisor and she says, "Well, no one is available and even if they were, they wouldn't help you. There's nothing anyone can do, that's just our policy." So I am TICKED. She tells me that a supervisor would call me back within 24-48 hours. So I wait. We had this conversation on Thursday and by MONDAY when I had not yet received a call, I call back. I say, "Hi, I need to speak to your supervisor" and immediately this girl says, "Okay, I'll get one right now for you." Now....why is it that on Thursday no one could speak to me and Monday I get one right away, no questions asked?!!? FRUSTRATING! So, a supervisor gets on the phone and I explain the whole situation and would like to know why no one has called me back. She assures me that she is looking in my file and the idiot girl that I talked to on Thursday indicated in her notes that someone was supposed to call me back, but then never notified a supervisor to do so. So, that is stupid thing number 27 that they have done. This supervisor then informs me of the REAL policy that they apparently cannot change for any reason (although this does not match the policy in our manual) that here is the process.
1)We fax in the receipt to LG.
2) Someone processes the receipt and mails out a rebate certificate to us for an LG microwave (this process can take up to 21 days and cannot be rushed for any reason, she assures me)
3) When we get the rebate certificate, we purchase a new microwave and have someone from that store sign the rebate.
4) We mail in the certificate and new receipt to LG.
5) They then mail us a check for the amount of the original microwave that we purchased.
IS THAT NOT THE STUPIDEST POLICY YOU HAVE EVER HEARD IN YOUR LIFE!?!? So now, we are looking at over a month without a microwave. And we could go purchase another one, but then we would have this dumb rebate for a microwave that we would never use and then we would have to pay for a new one all over again. I'm ticked. I asked the supervisor how long she thought she could live without her microwave, especially if she was almost 8 months pregnant with a 10 month old. She told me that she couldn't survive and unfortunately couldn't do anything to help me beside the policy that is already in place. Ridiculous, I know. So, we have faxed in the receipt and now, we wait. So, the moral of the story is that LG has TERRIBLE customer service and policies. I have written the Better Business Bureau and sent a complaint letter LG regarding this ridiculous service and terrible policy. I don't know if it will make a difference or not, but I will encourage everyone I know DO NOT BUY LG!!!!!!
I'm glad that I was able to get that all off my chest now. And I am thankful that Justin checks CR for everything because otherwise, I'm sure that we would have many other stories of bad service, etc. So, I still have no microwave and I feel like I am living in the dark ages. But then again, I only have 50 more days until I get to meet Lincoln, so my dark ages are seeming a lot brighter! :-)