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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Day 2 Paint Choices

Day two of final colour choices. I could use the excuse that it is too cold to paint but the tile guy is coming Friday. The looming deadline provided inspiration for me to brave this cold day. I knew I could delay the inevitable because I had a meeting at the office. (I am a real estate agent with Prudential Clear Water Realty.) Decisions are final and I was in no hurry to buy the paint. Jumped in the truck to take off and she (my truck is a girl) was not excited to see me. Instead of her usual good morning "Room-Voom-Voom" she greeted me with an unenthusiastic "Re .. Re . . Re . .  Re". Understanding the importance of my impending meeting and the need to get paint, she turned over. (I am sure my loving words of encouragement helped.) Five minutes later we made it to work. Reflection is a wonderful luxury. This morning I was faced with a choice "to go to work" or "not go to work", but that never crossed my mind. I knew that the Dodge would get me there but I am not delusional: I knew it was time for a new battery. I stopped this afternoon at the Advanced Auto Parts store in James City. I pulled the hood before I went in to take my spot in line. Being the first in line did not mean much - I was the last customer waited on. Being used to bad customer service experiences I figured this was par for the course. I was not happy about it but I figured there was nothing to do but grin and bear it. Peggy tested my battery and confirmed the diagnosis, Everett installed the new battery and Mac/Mat? rang-in the sale. Peggy makes a point of apologizing to me profusely and insisted it should not have happened. Mac/Mat then discounted my bill $20. All the while I am standing there thinking that the whole experience was better than my average customer service experience before the discount and apology. Now I am thinking it was FANTASTIC! For everyone out there driving an experienced vehicle remember the folks at Advanced Auto in James City. Colder weather means slow/no starts for weak batteries. Stop in and have your battery checked for FREE! Normally it only takes a few minutes and it beats starting your day with a no-go morning.

After a brief stop at the office I forced myself to go to Lowes for the non-existent customer experience. I needed four more colour samples. The price is right at $2.94 even if the customer service is non-existent. The old adage "You get what you pay for certainly applies." The actual paint purchase happens at my local Pittsburgh Paint Centre, which happens to East Carolina Paint Centre. I am a huge fan of the ceramic wall hide. Great finish, excellent one coat coverage, and washes great with the magic eraser. The best part is touch-up jobs match the existing paint. This also means it is user friendly during application. Have you ever been painting and had to stop for an interruption? (Someone always calls when I am painting.) After you manage to put out the impending fire you discover the wet edge you were maintaining as you roll is not exactly wet anymore. No worries, I have continued where I left off with seamless results. Ideally I would not recommend trying this but as we all know "stuff" happens. Honestly I would buy paint from Gary even if it wasn't the BEST paint because the customer service is worth it. Fast friendly service with expert advice, offered by someone with years of experience, operating his own business speaks volumes to my checkbook. Don't take my word for it go for a visit. When he is carrying your paint out and putting it in your car for you - please remember to tell him your heard about it from me.

Today's mission was paint choices. Did I succeed? Happy to report that all the colours that had to be decided (this week) have been decided and purchased. Even managed to select some of the other colours that were not on this deadline. Yeah for me! Look for future colour choice dilemmas because there are still 5 rooms to decide.

It was a great day. Thanks for checking in. Be sure to check the project page for my tip of the day, Colour Coding Your Keys.

Ciao

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