We have all of this wonderful technology all around us, and sometimes we just need to think a little outside of the box to use it. A few weeks before Christmas I needed a spare part for our Washing Machine. I knew there was a company in Ringwood that would sell the part, but I didn’t want to drive out there unless I knew they were open and had the part in stock.

I knew exactly where they were located, but I had no idea of the name of the company, or even the street name and could not find the invoice from the last thing I’d purchased there. What to do? I guess I could have tried the yellow pages to see if I could work out what heading they were under and search each item for Ringwood, but instead I turned to technology. In this case: Google Maps with Streetview.

I went to maps.google.com and found the street by looking up a street I knew was in the area and moving around until I found the street I wanted. I had to slide up the street a bit to find the shop I wanted, and then a bit further to get past a tree on the nature strip, but I was presented with a fairly clear view of the shop I wanted. Unfortunately for them, the company name was not exactly legible from the photo, but fortunately the phone number was visible, so I was able to call them up and check if the part was in stock. 3-4 minutes work was all it took and I had the answer I wanted, including opening hours so that I could plan it into my next trip to Ringwood.

Technology saves the day. And by the way, if you need Washing Machine/Dishwasher spares, I highly recommend Save on Spares ph 131 350, though their website needs a bit of work.

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