An American in Provence

Alain's parents received a flyer from a store that sells household appliances, such as TVs, refrigerators, etc. for prices lower than normal, but only to certain people, such as those who had worked in the refineries, such as Alain's father.

They came with us, just in case we were asked to show a proof of employment at one of these places.

We decided on a model for 2100€, plus an extra insurance in case it breaks for five years. They came the following Friday, Friday the 13th go figure, and installed it. They did a great job of installing it. Only problem- it didn't actually cool. When the guy tested it after installing it, it blew air in from outside, but he didn't wait around long enough to see whether it was actually air conditioning. When I came home, Alain kept telling me that it wasn't working- the air felt fresh to me, so I didn't believe him at first. After a day or two, I realized that he was right, but I thought that perhaps we just weren't setting it on the right settings. But after re-reading the instructions and fiddling around with it, it was obvious that it was not working.

When we called the company said- Are you sure you have it on cool? Yes, we are sure.

I am not sure that they believed us, but they stopped by one morning and tested everything out- to see whether the gas had leaked, the electrical connection was good, etc. It turns out that the exterieur unit is not working. They would have to replace it with a new one.

It took them about a week to set up another date to come back and install the new one, by which time I was hot and bothered. I told Alain "Call them up and tell them that they HAVE TO COME AND FIX IT! AND BE MEAN!"

They came on the day that we went to the prefecture. It took them about an hour to install the new exterieur unit, but now it is working well. The interieur unit is installed above the door to the smallest bedroom, and the air blows towards the living room and our bedroom. The other two bedrooms and not quite as cool. Oh well. We already have enough pipes running all over the place, we didn't want a second unit.

Next step in the renovations: Calling an electrician. When the guy was installing our air conditioner, he said "Do you know that you don't have the electrical system grounded?" Hmm. Interesting. Gotta love these old apartments!