Sally Breslin: My Life: A WEEK OF REALLY RUDE CUSTOMER SERVICE

I've had such a bad week dealing with customer-service personnel, I have vowed never to contact another one, even if one of my appliances is in the process of exploding.

First of all, I live out in the middle of nowhere, where cell-phone reception is touch and go, so I have to rely on a landline. For the past two months, however, my phone has been working only whenever the mood strikes. Whether it dies right in the middle of a call or in the middle of the night, once it decides to die, it remains dead.

Every time I call the phone company's repair service, I get the same instructions - take a phone outside to the box on the side of the house, plug it in there and see if there is a dial tone. If there isn't one, then the problem is outside, so it's their responsibility, and the service call will be free. But if there is a dial tone, then the problem is in my house and they'll essentially charge me a bundle to repair it.

Plugging a phone into the outside box, however, is not easy. The box not only is located in an area where spiders gather with their buddies to party, every time I go out there, the screws on the box seem to magically tighten themselves until even Hercules wouldn't be able to remove them. There is never a dial tone once I finally do manage to get into the darned box, so the service technician comes out, free of charge, fixes the problem and I get my phone service back...for a while. Then it happens all over again.

Last week, my phone decided to die in the middle of an important call. I grabbed my cell phone and practically had to climb a tree and hang by my ankles before I got a signal, then I called customer service. Right away, I was asked if I had plugged a phone into the outside box to test it. I said I had.

"We'll send a repairman over there on Monday then," the lady responded with all of the enthusiasm of someone on the verge of lapsing into a coma.

"But today's only Wednesday!" I said. "That's five days from now! I can't go five days without a phone!"

"There are other people with the same problem as yours and they are ahead of you," she said coldly. "You'll just have to wait your turn."

"But why is it going to take so long?" I asked.

"No comment."

"Can I talk to a supervisor?"

"No."

"Then I can't get any further information?"

"Doesn't look that way."

"So when I write about this in my column, I can pretty much say whatever I want?"

"No comment."

I hung up, upset. Five days without a phone was unacceptable to me. What was I supposed to do if I suddenly felt ill with something like chest pains and had to call for help? Go outside with my cell phone and hike to the top of a hill in an attempt to get a signal?

The next morning, to my shock, my phone service was back. Amazing how all of the service techs who were busy until Monday suddenly found the time to repair my phone...after I mentioned I was going to write about it in my column.

But there's no guarantee my phone won't cough and die again next week.

And then there was the dishwasher I bought at a big-box store last week. I also paid an extra $25 to have my old leaky dishwasher hauled away.

The dishwasher was delivered on schedule by a guy who hoisted it on his shoulder and set it down in my garage. He then had me sign for it and started to leave.

"Wait!" I said. "You're supposed to haul away the old dishwasher!"

"Is it disconnected?"

I just stared at him for a moment. "No...I don't know how to disconnect a dishwasher."

He shrugged. "Then I can't take it. Oh, and you have only three days to report any damages on the new washer."

"Can you take it out of the box for me so I can check it?"

"No, that's extra."

And with that, he was gone. Once again, I guessed I was expected to have the strength of Hercules and uncrate a dishwasher.

I went inside and immediately called customer service. I was connected with a woman in the Philippines. Not only was the phone connection bad, I had even further trouble understanding her because of her accent.

"I paid for my old dishwasher to be taken away," I told her, "and it's still here."

"You have 30 days for them to come back and get it," she said.

"Do I have to pay the $69 fee for them to come to my house again?"

She sighed, indicating I'd asked a dumb question. "No - that's a delivery fee...and they aren't delivering anything, so why would you have to pay the $69?"

"Someone should have told me in advance that the dishwasher had to be disconnected before they could haul it away," I said. "I was under the impression they were going to handle that part, too."

I didn't understand her reply, so I asked her to repeat it.

She did, and I still didn't understand her. So I asked her to repeat it again.

She snapped at me, "Well, if you'd just be quiet for a minute and listen, then maybe you'd understand me!"

That did it.

"I want my $25 refunded," I said to her.

At that point, I was so frustrated, I was ready to keep the old dishwasher and put a tablecloth and a flower arrangement on top of it, rather than pay to have the store haul it away. She refunded my money.

So there I was, stuck with a new dishwasher still crated out in the garage, and an old dishwasher still hooked up in my kitchen. Not knowing what else to do, I called the manufacturer of my new dishwasher and asked if they could recommend someone in my area to remove my old one and install my new one. They referred me to Dylan Chase at On Point Appliance Repair. I called him and he actually sounded friendly (which was an entirely new experience for me) and said he'd be over in two hours.

Dylan did everything - removed the old dishwasher, uncrated the new one, installed it, tested it, and even bought all new hardware (hoses, etc.) for it. He said he'd learned at a young age that good customer service is extremely important. He also said he tries very hard never to keep his customers waiting.

Fortunately, he single-handedly restored my rapidly dwindling faith in customer service.

DYLAN AND MY NEW DISHWASHER

Unfortunately, my new dishwasher is pretty cheaply made and the quality of the wash is about one step above taking my dishes down to the river and washing them there.

Still, I'm going to keep it...forever.