Ace

Quick and easy lamp repair at Ace Hardware in the Pearl.

It's such a pleasure when chores go well: when it's clear who to turn to, when the helpers are helpful, when the price is right, when there's not a long wait, when the fix works. Total time: 10 minutes. Total cost: $5.99.

Just the opposite of trying to get a copy of a lab report from Kaiser Permanente—yesterday (one in a number of attempts) a phone call, suggested by my doctor, that lasted 36 minutes and had me speaking to eight different departments, the last of which was on the opposite coast of the U.S, having to reveal my name and birthdate to eight different strangers "for my privacy." 

Kaiser's motto is THRIVE ... so why does my blood pressure spike whenever I have to deal with them? Why couldn't they be an ace, like Ace?