Good as New

Getting our car’s broken window fixed took a lot longer than we expected.

On the day of the crime, the 24-hour roadside assistance was very helpful.  They connected us with the insurance company and also sent a repair guy to our house to patch up the window temporarily.

Because we don’t have a street address, we had to direct him to the nearest intersection.  Then we went and stood in our driveway so he would see us. 

We happen to live right next to one of the main roads into St-Remy, where drivers exit the D99 and head into town.  While we waited we saw lots of drivers going in and out. 

We decided to wave to the people entering town, welcoming them to St.-Remy. And to the people leaving we would say “Thank you for coming!” and “Come back soon!”  I think I may have a future as a Wal-Mart greeter.

Eventually the fixit guy showed up and made a temporary fix to the broken window.

Then we went to the repair shop.  This was on a Saturday.  They didn’t have a replacement window so they ordered one.  It wouldn’t arrive until Wednesday.  Then Thursday and Friday were holidays so the repair shop was closed.  And then it was the weekend so they were closed again.  This meant we couldn’t have the window repaired until the following Monday.  Ah, the joys of the holiday season!

At this point we began our long and painful discussions with the insurance company, sometimes by phone and sometimes by email.  It seems like no matter what we asked them, they answered a different question.  And they wanted paperwork – lots and lots of it.  And they didn’t follow up on their commitments.  And one person never seemed to know what another person had done.

In other words, we felt right at home!  Insurance companies seem to be the same the world over.

On Monday morning we took the car in for repair.  But when we returned to pick it up, the insurance payment still hadn’t been sorted out.  So Val and the garage guy called the insurance company and argued with them for a while.  I learned some new bad words.

Eventually all the right paperwork made it to all the right places and we could take our car home.  

Let’s hope that’s the end of the crime spree around here!

KVS