Day 1 of "Refrigeratorgate": Mr. S's father was kind enough to wait at our house for the repairman. Repairman Joe came out,  looked at the fridge, and acknowledged that there was indeed an issue. He could see and feel the condensation that we were having issues with.  He then called LG and told them he did not know how to fix it. They insisted that he pull out the water/ice dispenser.  He had extreme difficulty getting it out and in the process he scratched and dented the fridge.  Nothing was repaired so he left a claim #. 

When I got home from work,  I called LG, they stated that they thought it was the humidity causing the condensation to form. I point out to them that's it's only in one corner of the outside of the dispenser, not to mention I live in Sacramento where it's 40% humidity! They seemed not to believe me that Sacramento does not have heavy humidity.  After much arguing, they stated they would send another repair guy out.

Day 2 of Refrigeratorgate: Mr. S stayed home from work and waited for the repairman.  LG told us he would show up between 8-12.  The repairman showed up at around 1:30pm. And guess what? It's Repairman Joe again.  The same guy. Poor Joe. He was confused like, "What the hell am I doing back here?"  He calls LG and tells them AGAIN that he does not know what's wrong with the fridge and yes, he damaged it...and no, he did not think it was a humidity issue. Again nothing got fixed, so he left another claim number.

When I got home from work, I called LG again.  First they tried to tell me that the issue was resolved. Ummm, no. I told them it wasn't and that there was still condensation on the fridge and water running off it.  I got the run around again (no big surprise) and a bunch of scripted answers again. I was getting frustrated at this point, so I called Home Depot's Protection Plan Department again. I complained to Chad, who was empathetic but stated that there was nothing he could do and that we would have to deal with LG. He also stated during the first 48 hours we should have called the Home Depot store we bought it from.  WTF? I point out to him that Megan in HIS Department was the one who told me to call LG.  He stated he couldn't find a record of that phone conversation.  I pointed out to him that she was the one who registered my warranty for me over the phone and they had a record of that, right? His response was a prolonged uncomfortable silence.  By then I was hopping mad.  I tried calling the Home Depot store where we purchased the fridge.  I got put on hold with bad music...for what felt like eternity. So, as a Hail Mary, I drove down there. 

So here's something I learned.  Nothing makes a bunch of middle-aged male Home Depot workers and shoppers more uncomfortable than a woman about to lose her sh*t at the customer service counter. I tried explaining to the associate the situation but as I was explaining I found my voice getting louder and louder.  Not screaming, just louder---like super frustrated loud.  One of the guys that worked there suggested that we go over to the appliance section and talk with the manager.  In hindsight, I think he was trying to diffuse the situation by having me move out of the front of the store, where the customer service counter was located, and over to the appliance section which is in the back of the store.  What he wasn't counting on was me talking very loudly about the lemon refrigerator and the run around I was getting from Home Depot and LG while their customers were shopping for fridges. Epic fail on his part.  People who were shopping for fridges were stopping and listening to our conversation.  I demanded that I just wanted what I paid for, was that too much to ask? The poor appliance guy that was saddled with this kerfuffle decided in a last ditch effort to try and appease me by calling the store's direct LG rep. The rep had the Home Depot associate take my fridge and contact info and said he'd look into it.  I also shot off an angry email to LG when I got home.

Day 3-ish of Refrigeratorgate:  I got an email response from LG.  No sorry for all the frustration or inconvenience, just basically a statement that they'll replace the fridge. (Maybe they got tired of me complaining...maybe the LG rep came through...I dunno.) They also stuck a note in there that they still thought it was a humidity issue and if the 2nd fridge had the same issue they wouldn't replace it. Like they were doing me a favor.  Way to stand behind your product guys.

So on Tuesday, Cesar Chavez Day, I was off work and I stayed at home and waited for the delivery of the replacement fridge. It was delivered on time, hooked up, and...by nightfall the &^%$#@!* thing had condensation on it and was dripping down the front again. This time I called Home Depot immediately and spoke with the appliance guy and then a manager. I demanded that they remove this craptastic lemon out of my house. We wanted to return it for a full refund and purchase a different brand...no LGs.  The manager agreed...honestly, he might have been a little scared of me at that point.  I wasn't yelling but I had that tone going...you know that tone---that "I'm going to rip your head off and jam it down your neckhole" tone. Let me tell you, it takes a lot to get me to that point.  The next day their Return Expeditor called and got it all set up.

Saturday (yesterday), the last day of Refrigeratorgate (hopefully): They came and got the LG fridge out of our house and the new fridge, a GE, was delivered at the same time.  So far, so good...knock on wood.  We even saved $649 on this one!  I made Home Depot price match theirs to the price at Lowe's. ☺

Now that the fridge issue is resolved, I'll start posting some of the recipes that we've been cooking and eating. I promise!