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.by Anura Guruge

Yesterday Devanee and I had appointments with the dentist (and that is a whole another story as my dentist charged me $46 for spending all of 2.5 minutes looking at my mouth and saying that all was fine).

Devanee went to take a shower and said there was no hot water. I was just getting ready for my run. Deanna goes and checks the oil tank. We were on empty! Never had that happen before, ever. We had turned the heating off weeks ago and kind of got complacent that there was oil in the tank.

We get our oil from Foley. They deliver to Alton on Tuesdays. This was Wednesday. We thought that we could get by till next Tuesday by getting 5 gallons of diesel at a time. In winter if I think we are running low I get a few 5 gallons just to be on the safe side. So while we went to the dentist Deanna went and got 5 gallons of diesel.

It was past 4pm before I got a chance to pour the diesel into the tank using the external filler outlet. It doesn’t go down quickly because the pipe goes horizontally. So it takes awhile to feed 5 gallons. We went to start the boiler. It wasn’t cooperating, plus I wasn’t 100% convinced that it was the lack of oil. I know that these furnaces have more overrides than the Space Shuttle. Deanna called up Foley and talked to one of the reps there. She told Deanna about having to bleed the line etc. Now it was getting past 4:30.

I called up and asked to speak to ‘Steve Atwood‘. Really not sure what Steve’s function is at Foley. He has always been there. I think of him as Mr. Foley, and he is part of the family (via marriage). He definitely runs the place. He know me. I know him. He came on the line. First thing he says is: ‘here take my cell number in case you have to call after we leave’. That was a great start. Steve listened to what I had to say and explained to me how to disconnect the feeder line so as to bleed it. I did. Nothing. Not even air hissing out. Steve suspected that 5 gallons wasn’t enough to get the oil flowing. At this stage he is talking to Deanna.

As he told her: ‘you have been with us forever‘. And that is the truth. I can’t remember how long I have been with them but it is definitely for more than 12 years. I can’t even remember how I ended up with them.

Steve told Deanna that if we were filling to get the tank filled today, at $3.19/gallon, that he would send a tanker out on Wednesday (out-of-cycle) and that they will also get the furnace started for no cost. Though I had not planned on getting 250++ gallons this month, this seemed a fair deal.

So that is what we did. They were here by the time I got back from my run. The tank took 289 gallons, which is intriguing because I think it is rated at like 275. I could be wrong. The driver bled the line. I didn’t hang around to watch. I gather it took some time. We had hot water soon after. It wasn’t very hot, but it wasn’t as icy cold as the shower I took yesterday. So we are happy.

Foley did us proud.

This house was completed in 2006. Thus it has a ‘new’ boiler. We haven’t, as yet, had any problems with it. That was not the case with our last house on Varney Point in Gilford. The boiler, said to be a good one, was about 40 years old. That required frequent care. Foley always took care of it. Which is why I have stuck with Foley.

When we moved to Alton in 2007, Deanna found some companies, including the local cooperative that were offering cheaper oil — maybe 10 cents less. I told her that there was no way I was switching from Foley for a $70 to a $100 a year saving. Today proved my point. Steve knows this. He knows that I insisted on sticking with Foley because I knew that they would look after me. I am very loyal to companies like Foley. If they look after me, I will stick with them. Ditto GoDaddy.

So that is the story. Foley Oil, family run, from Laconia, NH. If you are in the Lakes Region you should check them out. Their oil prices are competitive. Their service is superlative. Ask for ‘Steve’ and tell him that ‘the brown guy’ recommended them. Steve will take care of you.

Thanks, Steve.