Newfie2000
<font color=green>Doesn't anyone make split pea so
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2006
- Messages
- 1,244
Hi everyone! Unfortunately... we are home!
I just wanted to share a little bit of our refridgerator adventures with you all and hopefully prep the next person on the list!
We had arranged a hand off with Penguin Waiter for the day after we arrived hoping to leave luggage services out of the transaction. We arrived to POP very late at night on the 9th and had previously agreed to meet Penguin Waiter at about 10:00pm on the 10th to hand off the fridge. Imagine my surprise when we returned to our room at about 7:00pm on the 10th and were greeted by a HUGE, heavy box which was almost as tall as I am! In the box were many many things including a lot of misc. bags, a coffee pot and a white fridge. I realized something was wrong when I saw the color of the fridge and immediately called Penguin Waiter on her cell phone to see if she still had possession of the fridge, she confirmed she did. So we went down got a cart and returned the box to luggage services. To this day I have no idea why this was delivered to our room or whoi it actually belonged to as there were no labels on it! I am so thankful that I had Penguin Waiters cell phone number because without it I would of been completely lost at this point, assumed this was what I was suppose to have and not met up with her at the agreed on time... just a side note to let everyone know how important it is to exchange contact information before leaving!!
Anyway we then met up with her and did the hand off without any further complications! But... as I am sure she will agree the box was in horrible shape and I immediately thought I will be sooo embarrasssed to take this down to luggage services like this... what am I going to do? She also told me that there were no wipes with the fridge and she only had baby wipes so she left a baggie of those for me also and there was no tape! Okay so things are getting a little bit more complex - I have a box which will not even hold its shape while empty and is actually growing black mold on the bottom, no tape, baby wipes, this is so not looking good. In addition there were two different labels showing on the box with two different names on them so it is easy to see why a mix-up could occur. When I tried to remove the old labels from the box the box just started falling apart on me.
Perhaps in the future we should all try to cut off the labels from the box rather than just rip and pull as this does weaken the box significantly - or make sure we have completely and neatly covered ALL the pre-existing labels so that only one name is showing no matter which angle the box is viewed. I really am surprised the box and fridge made it this far in the condition it was in - if I were working in luggage services there is no way I would of accepted possession of this box!
I wound up searching high and low for a new box during our stay but could find nothing so we ended up taking a unexpected side trip and went to the UPS store and bought a new $10.00 packing box for the fridge. The box is slightly larger than the original but much stronger and obviously in better shape. I was worried about the fridge shifting around in the box so I stuffed a towel on each side of the fridge to secure it better in the box...in hindsite I wish I had shoved a towel or two on top also as there is extra room and if they do attempt to stack something on top of it it might collapse a little. The next person should definitely grab some extra towels and do this! I also found a little trial size package of Clorox wipes and left those in the box...but we definitely need some wipes...soon as there is only nine wipes in the pack! I also bought a roll of packing tape but could not leave it in the box as it was small and I used a majority of it reinforcing the sides, corners and seams of the box and had to finish it sealing the top... so the next person definitely needs to bring a roll of packing tape!
That being said I was slightly concerned about leaving the box at luggage services because it is a little larger... but when I took it down they actually praised me for having packaged it so well and labeling all of the sides and the top! They seemed more than happy to accept it and I do have a claim number for it, but I have not unpacked it yet.
A friendly gentle reminder to all...please make sure you completely thaw and dry out the fridge before packing it up... the mold in the bottom of the box was just a bit yucky! And I am sure the moisture contributed to the deterioration of the box. I unplugged the fridge the day before left the door open and dried it out completely so the next person should have no problems. If we all spend a little extra time taking care of it, it should be around for quite a while for everyone to use! I must admit it was great having the fridge, but having to run and find and buy a box, wipes, and tape was just a tad aggravating!
Had I of known about all of this beforehand I would of brought tape and a large container of wipes along with us but to the best of my knowledge noone posted any concerns previous to our leaving!
Carrie did a great job of having the labels there for us to leave the fridge for the next person...thanks! But we all need to do our part in order to keep a supply of wipes and tape if one person brings wipes and the next tape as our contribution for using the fridge we should be kept in good supply! Then there would always be enough tape to reinforce any problem spots on the box and carefully package and label the fridge! The box should last for a while if the fridge is packed dry and perhaps every so often someone can make a run for a replacement box if necessary - it sure would help to know this ahead of time though so one is not caught surprised!
Okay... I will get off of the soap box now... I just wanted to let you all know how the progress was - let you know what was needed and what I tried to do to help the situation! Thanks once again for organizing and maintaining this swap - it is a fantastic idea and came in so handy!
I just wanted to share a little bit of our refridgerator adventures with you all and hopefully prep the next person on the list!
We had arranged a hand off with Penguin Waiter for the day after we arrived hoping to leave luggage services out of the transaction. We arrived to POP very late at night on the 9th and had previously agreed to meet Penguin Waiter at about 10:00pm on the 10th to hand off the fridge. Imagine my surprise when we returned to our room at about 7:00pm on the 10th and were greeted by a HUGE, heavy box which was almost as tall as I am! In the box were many many things including a lot of misc. bags, a coffee pot and a white fridge. I realized something was wrong when I saw the color of the fridge and immediately called Penguin Waiter on her cell phone to see if she still had possession of the fridge, she confirmed she did. So we went down got a cart and returned the box to luggage services. To this day I have no idea why this was delivered to our room or whoi it actually belonged to as there were no labels on it! I am so thankful that I had Penguin Waiters cell phone number because without it I would of been completely lost at this point, assumed this was what I was suppose to have and not met up with her at the agreed on time... just a side note to let everyone know how important it is to exchange contact information before leaving!!
Anyway we then met up with her and did the hand off without any further complications! But... as I am sure she will agree the box was in horrible shape and I immediately thought I will be sooo embarrasssed to take this down to luggage services like this... what am I going to do? She also told me that there were no wipes with the fridge and she only had baby wipes so she left a baggie of those for me also and there was no tape! Okay so things are getting a little bit more complex - I have a box which will not even hold its shape while empty and is actually growing black mold on the bottom, no tape, baby wipes, this is so not looking good. In addition there were two different labels showing on the box with two different names on them so it is easy to see why a mix-up could occur. When I tried to remove the old labels from the box the box just started falling apart on me.
Perhaps in the future we should all try to cut off the labels from the box rather than just rip and pull as this does weaken the box significantly - or make sure we have completely and neatly covered ALL the pre-existing labels so that only one name is showing no matter which angle the box is viewed. I really am surprised the box and fridge made it this far in the condition it was in - if I were working in luggage services there is no way I would of accepted possession of this box!
I wound up searching high and low for a new box during our stay but could find nothing so we ended up taking a unexpected side trip and went to the UPS store and bought a new $10.00 packing box for the fridge. The box is slightly larger than the original but much stronger and obviously in better shape. I was worried about the fridge shifting around in the box so I stuffed a towel on each side of the fridge to secure it better in the box...in hindsite I wish I had shoved a towel or two on top also as there is extra room and if they do attempt to stack something on top of it it might collapse a little. The next person should definitely grab some extra towels and do this! I also found a little trial size package of Clorox wipes and left those in the box...but we definitely need some wipes...soon as there is only nine wipes in the pack! I also bought a roll of packing tape but could not leave it in the box as it was small and I used a majority of it reinforcing the sides, corners and seams of the box and had to finish it sealing the top... so the next person definitely needs to bring a roll of packing tape!
That being said I was slightly concerned about leaving the box at luggage services because it is a little larger... but when I took it down they actually praised me for having packaged it so well and labeling all of the sides and the top! They seemed more than happy to accept it and I do have a claim number for it, but I have not unpacked it yet.
A friendly gentle reminder to all...please make sure you completely thaw and dry out the fridge before packing it up... the mold in the bottom of the box was just a bit yucky! And I am sure the moisture contributed to the deterioration of the box. I unplugged the fridge the day before left the door open and dried it out completely so the next person should have no problems. If we all spend a little extra time taking care of it, it should be around for quite a while for everyone to use! I must admit it was great having the fridge, but having to run and find and buy a box, wipes, and tape was just a tad aggravating!
Had I of known about all of this beforehand I would of brought tape and a large container of wipes along with us but to the best of my knowledge noone posted any concerns previous to our leaving!
Carrie did a great job of having the labels there for us to leave the fridge for the next person...thanks! But we all need to do our part in order to keep a supply of wipes and tape if one person brings wipes and the next tape as our contribution for using the fridge we should be kept in good supply! Then there would always be enough tape to reinforce any problem spots on the box and carefully package and label the fridge! The box should last for a while if the fridge is packed dry and perhaps every so often someone can make a run for a replacement box if necessary - it sure would help to know this ahead of time though so one is not caught surprised!
Okay... I will get off of the soap box now... I just wanted to let you all know how the progress was - let you know what was needed and what I tried to do to help the situation! Thanks once again for organizing and maintaining this swap - it is a fantastic idea and came in so handy!
