One November, when my printer kicked the bucket and died, I went to my favorite electronics store, Jabes Sistemas, in Parrita. I bought a new Epson printer, but it only worked for exactly one week. It refused to restart, and it was on the day before I was leaving on vacation. I ran down to the garbage bin at the end of the street, found the trash I had just deposited, and actually found the darn receipt that I had thrown away by mistake. I brought the printer back to the store and explained the problem. They didn't have another one in stock, but said they would get one by the time I got back in two weeks. (Hm....awfully close to that "15-days-we'll keep-telling-you-until-you-give- up" syndrome, so common in Costa Rica when they don't want to tell you no.) But I had faith, the owner is a good guy who worked in the US and actually gets customer service. A rarity here. When I returned from my vacation, I called the store. "Oh yes, could you come in tomorrow at 1 pm to talk about the guarantee?" Oh oh, this might not be good. Returning things in Costa Rica is often an arduous process. To my surprise, I came in at the appointed time and talked to the owner. He made phone call, and then said "Epson is going to honor the warranty. I can have a new printer for you on Tuesday." "Tuesday?" I said, "Oh dear, that really puts me in a bind. My paperwork is so backed up, is there anyway you can get one sooner?" He made a couple of phone calls, and said, "We can have one for you tomorrow. Come on by and pick it up." Yeah! I went to the store Saturday morning, and picked up my brand new printer, no questions asked. Unheard of in this country. When I got back home and unpacked the printer, there was no fucking power cable. And the store had already closed for the weekend. Aaargh