JUBILATION!!! She's Sewing Again!

1927 Ticker Tape Parade for Charles Lindbergh's Transatlantic flight, photo from NPR

Well, I dropped my sickly 750  QE sewing machine off at my Bernina dealer yesterday morning, and told him that she was looping and could not get past the startup screen.  I asked him to go ahead and do the annual cleaning/maintenance and firmware update at the same time, and he indicated that it might be the end of the week before I got my machine back, which sounded more than reasonable to me.

 

Imagine my surprise today when the shop called to tell me that my machine was already finished and ready for pickup!  When I got to the store, my dealer explained that he ended up staying late last night to work on a number of machines and mine was one of them.  He also DID NOT CHARGE ME A DIME -- not even for the routine maintenance and cleaning, which I had been expecting to pay for, because it's the first one for this machine and he said the first "well-baby" visit is always on the house. 

 

I know that he won't always be able to service my machine and get it back to me within 24 hours, and not every service call will be free, but still -- how I feel about that big purchase, and how calmly I'm able to handle it when things go wrong with the machine, has so much to do with what a great dealer I have.  I don't have to panic because I know that whatever it is, he is going to take my problem seriously and resolve it fairly and as quickly as possible.  This dealer is conveniently located about 5 minutes from my home, in a busy upscale shopping center that I know for a fact charges hefty rents (so it costs my dealer more to do business there). 

There is another Bernina dealer located in the middle of nowhere, about 45 minutes away, and I know that her prices are lower than my just-around-the-corner dealer, but that initial purchase price isn't everything.  Some people on the Bernina 7 Series Yahoo users' group have reported that their dealers are charging them $100 or more just to do their firmware updates, which my dealer does at no charge.  Some dealers tell customers that their problems are all "user error," or that they are just too picky, or they are using the "wrong" thread, etc.  Some dealers honestly don't seem to know what they are doing and seem not just unwilling but UNABLE to diagnose and correct the issues that can crop up with high-tech machines.

I would like to remind those who are in the market for a new sewing machine that you should evaluate the dealer as thoroughly as the machine under consideration, whether you're looking at a Bernina or at another brand.  Sewing machine dealerships are independent businesses and they are not all the same.  Some just sell you a machine, while others throw in a tremendous amount of service, education, and knowledge as a value-add.  The difference between an outstanding, knowledgeable dealer with great customer service versus an inexperienced or indifferent dealer can make all the difference in the world in whether you love your new machine for years to come or end up feeling like a fool for getting suckered into buying it.

 

We all have a tendency to tell everyone when we have had unsatisfactory shopping experiences.  I think it's just as important to spread the word and let others know when you receive outstanding customer service.  So, for those of you in the Charlotte, North Carolina area, my wonderful dealer is Berry at Creative Sewing & Vacuum in the Stonecrest shopping center, Ballantyne area.  He also has locations in Shelby and in Hickory.  :-) 

Thanks, Berry, and happy stitching, everyone!

Rebecca and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day: In Which 'Nina is Indisposed

Cartoon Sourced from Pro Sewing Machine Doctor here

Yesterday started off with tripping over Lars's backpack while setting my alarm in the dark as we were heading out to church.  Then later in the day I sustained a blistering burn to my left thumb from my steam iron as I was attempting to straighten the grain of newly washed fabric for my stash, and then after that I twisted my ankle on an uneven sidewalk slab while walking my dogs with my husband.  But worst of all, my Bernina 750 sewbaby would not boot up when it was time for Anders to work on his quilt.  She was working beautifully a few days ago, when I finished up Lars's window seat cushion, but yesterday the startup screen just cycled on and off over and over again and the machine would not start.

Boo hiss!  I know from the message boards that, when others have had this issue, it has taken their techs about 10 minutes to solve it by reloading firmware in most cases, but of course yesterday was Sunday and the shop was closed.  I have had this machine for 13 months now, so I was planning to bring it in for an annual "well baby" cleaning and maintenance soon, anyway, but she picked a lousy day to get sick and refuse to cooperate!  I only had about an hour and a half carved out for one-on-one sewing time with Anders, and it will be two weeks before it's his turn to work in the sewing room again.  He's quilting straight lines on his quilt with the walking foot on the Bernina, and I don't have a walking foot for the Featherweights so we couldn't just use another machine.  If I had known ahead of time that Miss Nina would be indisposed, I could have planned and set up for a new project for Anders to work on.  Instead, he watched episodes of I Love Lucy and The Big Bang Theory on the television while I scalded myself with the iron.  NOT how I had planned my afternoon to go!