The little plastic thingy housing the cord that makes my blinds go up and down — the “tilt wand” (thanks, Google!) — snapped off.
It’s one of those annoying malfunctions that people from an earlier generation could probably have fixed in an instant, but that I’m helpless to do.
Broken piece.
Clueless about what type of serviceperson to call — I really am helpless — I went to “Angi” (formerly “Angie’s List”). The online service that connects helpless people with the right pro in minutes provided a quick list of folks to call.
The price for their services, they said, ranged from $329 to $481.
Gulp.
Immediately, Angi and a few of the handypersons followed up, by email and text. They were relentless: Did I want them now? Why wasn’t I responding? Didn’t I still want my blinds fixed?
Ugh.
My next move was what I should have done originally: “Westport Front Porch,” on Facebook.
Several people quickly offered the same idea: Stanton Miles.
My previous encounters with the Post Road store had been to buy vacuum cleaner bags. Who knew they did blinds too?
Apparently, everyone. There it was, right on their website (and storefront): “Vacuum Cleaners/Window Treatments.”
Dave called right back. He asked me to text a photo of the broken piece.
I was in luck. He had it in stock.
Unfortunately, Dave was going in for rotator cuff surgery in a few days.
Fortunately, he said he could stop by the next time he was in my area.
A couple of days later, he did.
He brought the piece. He worked his magic, stringing the string through the thingy. His eyes were open, but I figured he could do it with them closed. (They’re “blinds” — get it?)
We chatted a bit. I learned he started working at Stanton Miles when he was still a student at Roger Ludlowe High School. Now he owns it.
“How much?” I asked when he was finished, a few minutes later.
“20 bucks,” he replied.
“Come on! You deserve more than that,” I said.
“Nope. It was easy. 20 bucks will do it.”
Thanks, Dave. My blinds now work flawlessly.
I hope your shoulder surgery went well. I’ll be back to Stanton Miles for all my vacuum cleaner and window treatment needs.
And the next time I have a question like this, I’ll go to Westport Front Porch — not Angi — first.
The little thing on the upper left now works. Thanks, Dave!
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