rebates are evil...(part II)

i lamented earlier on my disdain for submitting rebates. a short recap, i submitted 3 rebate forms for various linksys products the first week of february. i waited the required 6 weeks before i could even check the status of my rebates, checked the linksys rebate submission website, and received the message "there is no rebate submission matching your inquiry" message day after day after day. when i was finally able to talk to a highly skilled rebate center customer service representative, she informed me that my rebate submission were never received. - apparently lost in the mail. "aha!" says i, i was halfway expecting this to be the case, so i had the foresight to make copies of all 3 submissions, including the upc codes. i was told to follow the re-submission process, yes, re-submit all of my forms including copies of the driver and software cd's, and manuals if possible. i would then be required to wait an additional 6 weeks before i could again check the status. yesterday i pulled up the linksys rebate website, plugged in my information and behold, there were my rebates with a status of "in process" (step 2 of the four step process: 1 - mail submission, 2 - processing, 3 - approval, 4 - mailing). i'm on my way (i thought) and began to think of ways i could spend the $35, maybe flowers for the wife, a nice dinner out and a movie - what have you. today i checked the status to see if my submission had cliked over to step # 3, the most important "approval" stage and to my suprise i received the afore mentioned message "there is no rebate submission matching your inquiry". hmmmmm, interesting i thought. i seem to have taken a step backward. after stumbling through linksys's confusing IVR i spoke with stacy who told me my rebate submission had been denied. impossible i say, i followed the submission AND re-submission steps to the "T". i was prepared to offer a DNA sample if required. stacy then asked to put me on hold so she could speak with her supervisor. at this point i picture stacy chatting with her friends about american idol, desperate housewives or the new "pink" cd. after a few minutes stacy came back on the line and as if by magic, all 3 of my submissions had been approved. in fact, i could expect my $35 rebate check to be mailed to me in the next 4-6 weeks! with any luck, i'll be heading to the bank with my check by father's day. if i always had to work this hard for $35 my family would be in big trouble.