A tale of a man, a woman, their plumbing, two countries and Google.
by Frances Leary

I'll be the first to admit that dishing out Google compliments is not something I endeavor to do on a regular basis. In fact, to the contrary, I am typically so perturbed with Google's latest algorithm change that I'm rather on the quick side to voice my disdain for the organization.

Well, this time I'll have to eat my words.

It all began with a late-night kiss goodbye as I bid my husband farewell and he set off on his business trip to Athens, Greece. A few days later, the kiss was followed-up by a well run dry, an overworked water pump and a malfunctioning valve shut-off device.

I'll spare you the plumbing details. Suffice to say that we had no water.

Now, I want to preface this all by saying that I had been well-prepared for every issue that we had anticipated might happen. And I tried everything I knew to try. Obviously we hadn't been prepared for this specific problem.

By process of elimination, it seemed the culprit was likely the snazzy electronic valve control that always seems to cause problems when my husband is away. Go figure.

So, instead of calling a plumber, I Google Hangout-ed (is that a verb?) my husband. Yes, while he was in Greece. And he Google Phoned me back...from Greece...to my cell phone in Canada.

We took care of the first part over the Google phone...only to be interrupted by his trip to the Temple of Poseidon. Poor thing, I know. On his return, we spent nearly an hour on Google Hangout so I could use the camera to show him valves, etc. and so he could listen to the variety of whirring sounds the pump was or wasn't making at any given time.

With the help of a variety of wrenches large and small, we got the water running again. Whew! Thanks to my husband, my coordinated use of hand tools and Google...we had running water again. And at NO cost to us.

So, I'll give Google its due. Google Phone's call reception was clear and had only a bit of a delay, and my husband was able to call my direct phone number. The video quality of Google Hangout was also excellent, and only slightly delayed. What a truly fantastic service...no cost to connect from one side of the world to the other.

And that, my friends, is how Google fixed my plumbing.

The End.