Montreal City Weblog

Kate 11:23 on 2020-03-21 Permalink Reply  

• JaneyB 11:35 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  The new face of social solidarity. Pretty amazing.

• Alison Cummins 11:43 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  Crowdsourcing opinions:

  Our fridge has chosen this week to give up the ghost. I have puffy eyes and my partner has a little cough.

  We need to buy a fridge. How do we do this ethically? Do we put masks on, glove up and go to the dinged-fridge store? Do we get someone to shop in our stead? Or do we have to place a call and get a full-price fridge from the new-fridge store?

• Ephraim 11:55 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  Order from the new fridge store. The old fridges aren’t energy efficient and you will pay more in the end to run an old fridge than you would in the cost of being a low cost energy efficient fridge. Hardest part is… you need to measure the space, height, width and depth and look for a fridge that will fit. In the last few years they have changed the dimensions of some fridges, so you need to make sure that it isn’t too tall.

  Stay in. Get better.

• Alison Cummins 12:14 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  Ephraim, we usually go with new-but-dinged. We’ve gotten used dishwashers but not used fridges. (We have tenants. We buy a lot of appliances.)

• Kate 12:31 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  There are 2 used appliance stores on Laurier East. I bought my used fridge from one of them, a couple of Christmases ago. It was clean as new and has been fine ever since (and my electricity bill went down, too). The shop I went to was called Ameublement Laurier. I’m looking at it on Streetview and the number is 514-598-8838. They delivered, and the fridge had a one-year guarantee. It was $400, as I recall.

  The other store is called Appareils R.V. and is on the same block, between Fabre and Marquette. It has slightly lower Google reviews than the previous.

  I don’t know how you shop ethically right now if you’re both feeling icky. Picking out an appliance is not something I’d feel sure of doing for someone else.

• Meezly 12:38 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  Also if you order new, they will take the old fridge away for you, just confirm that they will take it to a recycling depot (maybe an additional fee).

• Alison Cummins 12:41 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  Kate, yeah, the issue is not so much where to get a good deal — we have our favourites — but whether it’s possible to do so ethically.

  If I want the latest model of a fancy brand I don’t have to go in person but I do have to go in debt.

• Dhomas 12:47 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  I went to the new-but-dinged store out here in the East (Bon Prix
  https://maps.app.goo.gl/oFBujtSiCmVEomAi9) before the pandemic was officially declared to buy a freezer (they’d did about 10 already that day, so I wasn’t the only one with that idea). The prices seemed to have increased, but not quite gouging territory since the appliances were still cheaper than new, though I still feel like a good sale could get me a new appliance for the same or similar price. In any case, if you know what you want, you can call them and they’ll deliver to you for an extra 40$. Not sure if they’ll take away the old appliance as mine was not replacing anything.

• Kate 12:52 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  Should’ve mentioned that the Ameublement Laurier guys also took my old fridge away. I didn’t ask any questions, as I have no room to store an extra fridge had I not liked the answer.

• JaneyB 13:19 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  Alison, you could ask a friend to do the proxy shopping but they could take photos of options, phone or videoconference moments of decision-making etc. Also, in a pinch, we are still in the Big Fridge Season for a few more weeks so…a hard box outside in the shade? Your broken fridge is still as good as a styrofoam cooler so stuff frozen at night outside can be moved into the fridge by day to keep the lettuce cool.

• Alison Cummins 14:26 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  We have gone with the “cover, but disclose” option. Mask, scarf, gloves; a store unlikely to be crowded with shoppers; keeping a safe distance from personnel; using a tap credit card and disinfecting it before and after use; and “careful, I might be contagious.”

  Probably not the most ethical choice—Big Fridge for another couple of weeks would probably be better—but for various reasons the one we are capable of.

  +++ +++ +++

  Yesterday a young man came by to install our Fibre To The Home, now that local use of telecom infrastructure has slowed our Netflix access to barely-useable. Partner warned him to be careful, assured him that we had cleaned, wore gloves and face scarf, kept a distance etc. Technician was very upset at not having been warned by dispatch but went ahead with the job anyway.

  Which raises the question: is Bell not giving their technicians training in how to deal with working in clients’ homes in the time of plague? Or are they, but it hasn’t sunk in yet?

  Back in the early ’90s when my sister was paying her way through med school by doing dirty jobs in hospitals, she learned that the operating theatre she had just cleaned had been used for surgery on an HIV+ patient. She was very distressed and stormed off to complain feelingly to her supervisor that she hadn’t been alerted. The supervisor said that’s right, she wasn’t alerted. She didn’t have to be. All patients were assumed to be HIV+, always, and universal precautions were to be in place, always.

  Oh. Yeah. Of course.

  She was a med student working in a known-to-be dirty environment, and she was diligent enough to escort each new date to the local STI clinic for mutual blood testing — often enough that they grew to recognize her — but she didn’t really grasp the implications for her job until confronted with them. It would not be surprising if Bell technicians were being given instructions but not fully grasping the implications until confronted.

  I hope that’s the issue, and not that Bell isn’t training their technicians.

• Uatu 15:20 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  You never know. Maybe the work orders are taken by customer service over in India and relayed via computer to local dispatch. I work in a hospital and in our meeting about covid 19 my boss told us to assume that everything is covered in it so we didn’t get lax about hand washing etc. Extreme, but unfortunately in a pandemic this is the way to think regardless of your job or situation. It’s the new normal.

• jeather 16:02 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  Are there any local places that have senior hours? I keep hearing places that offer senior-only hours the first hour of the day and then a little note saying “except Quebec”. I can’t see any, but perhaps I missed it.

• Michael Black 16:29 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  The Gazette article today said PA has a “senior hour”. Not clear if it’s all stores or just on Park ave. I thought other stores were doing it, but I wasn’t paying attention, so maybe not Montreal.

  I realize some of it is to let people in before the crowds, but 7 or 8am just seems ridiculous. I won’t be going then.

  Then there was a story about SAQ checking ID and keeping people over 70 out. As if older people are pariahs.

  Jean Coutu had plastic up in the actual pharmacy area, and signs on the door saying they only take debit or credit cards. Dollarama looked to be using only the automatic cashes. Pharmaprix had a guard, it looked like they were limiting the numbers. Just skipped it all. A week ago Friday I went to Aux Vivres to get some of their refrigerator stuff, even checking their website to see if they were open (they did have announcement that it was only takeout or delivery) and I had loaded my bag when the cashier said “we don’t take cash”. So out comes the stuff again “I guess I’ll starve” and they’ve lost a customer until things are normal. I wonder if they tossed the items I was buying.

  It’s bad enough the crowds (which have tapered off) and the people wearing masks, but now they don’t want our money?

• JP 21:33 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  I think the not taking cash thing is going a bit too far, especially at Jean Coutu! If it’s Starbucks or Second Cup, which I don’t consider essential, fine. But, a pharmacy!

  I have a credit card and a debit card, but I’ve had sudden lapses, where I’ve forgotten my pin numbers (I’m in my 30s…). I actually carry around some cash, in case that happens again. I also lost my credit card recently and it took a week to replace. What if I had lost my whole wallet? I could probably borrow some cash to get by for the week while cards were being replaced, but if places stopped accepting cash, that would suck

  I realize it’s less “clean” than just tapping, but it’s money and if you’re an essential service (i.e., pharmacy, grocery store, or gas station) you should be accepting it.

• Kevin 23:04 on 2020-03-21 Permalink

  Anyone who refuses cash is a fucking idiot.
  Sigh. People should just shut up and listen to the experts: cash is not dangerous.

  Yes I’m angry. My wife is writing guidelines for doctors because she spent years running infectious disease labs before becoming an MD.
  People panicking over cash is STUPID.

• Uatu 17:38 on 2020-03-22 Permalink

  Actually it might be a good idea to keep some old pennies in your pocket

  https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2013/10/why-coins-are-copper.html