I finally have hot water again, although it didn't happen until yesterday. The old heater was sitting on a concrete slab a foot off the basement floor. The guys that came out Tuesday (contracted through Home Depot) didn't have a heater that would sit on top of the slab and allow clearance for all the plumbing on top. The soonest they could come back would have been tomorrow. Dreading the thought of waiting until Friday for a hot shower, I got a local plumber to come out Tuesday night.
He checked everything out and told me he'd check inventory back at the shop Wednesday morning and if he had a heater I'd have hot water by Wednesday night. Then he said if he didn't have the heater, he'd go out and get one and I'd have hot water by... Wednesday night.
When I told him that the dynamic duo Home Depot had sent wouldn't have been back until Friday he looked at me and explained that, being a local company (in the area for decades) they make it a point to look out for their customers and work hard to restore the comfort level that people are used to - or something along those lines. The point being that the customer and their satisfaction is top priority to them.
I'll be honest - I didn't know that there were still places out there that valued their customers. Pleasantly surprised would be one way I'd describe my feelings on the whole conversation.
Yesterday a crew came out with the heater, had it installed in about an hour and a half, and I took the greatest hour long shower in the world. And then I took another hour long shower this morning.
Because I could.
