A Short Letter Home

In search of...

To recap the previous post: Our natural source of hot water was no longer available, so I was sent on a quest to purchase a hot water heater. Some neighbors, "the Jodies", had provided me with some vague directions and some information regarding the item for which I was shopping. So I bravely--or is that foolishly?--set off with my wallet and my phrase book to buy a heater.

I hopped a bus downtown and got off near the Tien Shun department store. As I surmised, the only place that fit the guys' description of the appliance store was next to the supermarket we call the Well Market. I entered the appliance store, a grand place filled with TVs, washers and refrigerators. They had mentioned something about "upstairs", so I walked up the flight of stairs and started poking around. Just like in the States, an appliance store is home to some of the most aggressive sales clerks. A young man quickly approached me and asked me... well, I don't know what he asked me. I'm assuming it was something along the lines of, "Can I help you?" Anyway, I exhausted my language ability by explaining that I didn't understand Chinese and I was looking for hot water. By using the phrase book, I was able to explain that I wanted it for a shower, not drinking. The helpful sales dude ushered me back downstairs and handed me off to the appropriate sales person. She showed me a nice selection of heaters, all priced way above what the Jodies told me they had paid. I would have been willing to bite the bullet, of course, but I also noticed that all the heaters were electric. I had seen how a gas set-up would have worked, but I didn't know how feasible it would have been to run wiring into our bathroom. I managed to ask if they had a gas heater, but they didn't. So I decided to leave. They called in a couple of extra sales people to try to talk to me, but since none of them spoke English, they were unable to solve my dilemma. There was a smaller appliance store next door, so I thought I'd try my luck there. If that failed, I would have to decide whether to wander about town on a quest for hot water or just swallow my pride and call Thad.

That was a choice that I didn't have to make. I entered the second store and again began browsing. Again, a sales person was quick to inquire after my intentions. I again deftly explained my language handicap and demonstrated my ability to say "hot water". The sales clerk showed me their selection and I was able to tell her that I wanted a gas heater. This store had one! I was quite pleased, though I was troubled that, unlike the other store, the heaters weren't adorned with price tags. "Duo shou chien?"--"How much money?"--is one of my best spoken phrases, however. She went off to ask and quickly returned with a figure of 920 yuan, a price towards the high end of the expected range. I am nigh incapable of bargaining, so I took it. She took me over to the payment desk where another clerk wrote out my receipt and took my money. He wrote down 900 yuan. Why the price dropped 20 kuai in the space of a couple minutes, I don't know. He probably just didn't want to make change. Anyway, they took my cash, handed me the receipt and then produced a chair which made an impromptu waiting room in the middle of the sales floor. I felt like a buffoon, but in this town folks like you to sit when you cool your heels, so I sat. They were kind enough to seat me facing their display of TCL high definition televisions. Unfortunately, all they were playing was a demonstration vid, which was just a series of slow shots featuring glass and models and colorful, exotic birds. It was beautiful imagery, but boring as all get out. I tried to peer around the corner at a wide-screen TV that was showing a movie, but I couldn't follow it very well. Probably because it was at its end, as the credits started rolling a minute or so after I sat down.

About ten minutes and one cup of tea later, (I should have said that folks like you to sit and drink tea) a lady walked past carrying a box with the same brand name as my heater. I had wondered what was taking them so long. I suspected that they had searched the warehouse for the model I had purchased and now were reduced to taking the sale model. I started making plans for getting the box home and making my phone calls. A minute later, my sales clerk came to fetch me. She took me to the front of the store where my box was handed to a young man. He started walking out of the store and I followed, beginning to wonder if maybe the delay was in rounding up a delivery man. We walked to the curb, where he put the box in the back of a pickup. He said something to another man, who headed around to the driver's side of the vehicle, and then grabbed a handful of tools. I guess the delay was in rounding up a delivery man and and installation service. Sweet. So we all piled into the truck and headed back to the flat. Our problems were solved... or were they? Tune in tomorrow: same bat time, same bat channel.

posted by John @ 4:54 PM