The Andy C entity posted thusly:

Wish I did! I just layer on enough clothing and try to keep any
exposed skin out of the wind. This morning, when I went out, it was
about -32C (about -25F),with winds about 70-80 km/hr.

I put on a pair of longies (thermal underwear with long legs), a pair
of track pants, a pair of wind pants, a T-shirt, a long sleeved
flannel shirt, a down jacket with hood, gauntlet-style mitts, a
balaclava and a toque (a knit cap, for you USAns, like the cap Stan
wears on South Park), and pair of lined rubber boots over ordinary
socks.

With the hood up, I was just comfortable as long as I faced away from
the wind. Turning to face the wind, which was unavoidable, my face
hurt.. Staying that way for long would definitely result in frostbite
on any exposed skin within a few minutes. Whenever I happened to be in
a sheltered spot, with no wind, I was uncomfortably hot and starting
to sweat.

After about 10-15 minutes, my fingers started to get pretty darned
cold, and about 5 minutes after that, my toes started feeling it.

It's usually only a few days at a time, though. They are saying our
high tomorrow will be about -9C  (about +15F).

-8, eh? Yeah, that kind of weather makes me button up my shirt
alright. :-)

Actually -23C is -9.4F  Your facts at the beginning are correct, but your
math is wrong.  -20C is -4F

(C*1.8)+32 = F
(F-32)/1.8 = C

Eric

I get so tired of pampered, all-about-me whinners complaining about the
dealer and how put out they were.  You didn't ask about a courtesey car and
just assumed that you deserved one.  Suddenly it's the dealer's fault for
not advising you?  Why should the dealer provide you a car simply because
you brought yours in to have something installed that isn't even part of the
standard factory equipment?  You bought the car used, right?  Who should
have made sure the block heater was installed?  You.  But now the dealer is
inconveniencing you.  Bull.

Your poor wife had to endure 2.5 hours of service "inconsideration"?  What
do you expect when you bring a car in for service?  Do you expect that they
drop everything and wave their magic wand and fix your  car in the wink of
an eye?  How long have you been on this earth?  You want the car altered but
you don't want to afford the dealer the time to do the  job.

Maybe they bought that car there.  Maybe they've purchases more than one car
there.  Maybe they didn't just come in to get their own goof up corrected
and expect the dealer to fall all over them.

Guess it's just my sweet disposition coming through.

Ok - I will accept that.  I'll take that statement one step further and
blame the dealer for some form of oversight - neglect if one really wants to
be aggressive in casting blame.  That being the case I'd expect the dealer
to do install asap, at no charge to me, since it appears to be something
that virtually every car requires and no reasonable person would expect
otherwise.  I'd bet a tidy sum that one could even leverage that into
something advantageous to them, since as you say, it's a must have option on
all cars.  Once could most likely have turned that into a deal for three or
four free oil changes (complete), or something else of comparable value (to
the customer).  Oversights are a part of human nature and they can be dealt
with in a lot of ways.  One is to jump into slander mode, another is to get
the responsible party to acknowledge the inconvenience to the owner, and
come to some agreeable compensation.  Everybody wins.

From what the OP posted though, it sounded like the dealer accommodated this
pretty well.  He didn't complain about paying for the work, about the car
being tied up for a couple of days (as can often be the case with busy
dealers), or a host of other potential problems.  He got serviced in 2.5
hours on a Saturday.  That's pretty doggoned reasonable for any service
bay - dealer or independent.

What triggered me was the way he went off on the lack of a loaner car for
such a short piece of work and having to wait 2.5 hours for the work.  None
of us likes to wait, but we all have to.  People have to wait on us, and
it's just a reality of life.

But... all of that is just my perspective.

FWIW - heaters were optional until air conditioning became common.
Some states required them but they were broken out as optional
equipment.  It used to be one of the problems with bringing those fine
southern cars up north.  Tires and headlights are univerally
government mandated so they are not an option in the US or Canada.  I
do not know about other parts of the world. :-)  From a little poking
through Google it appears block heaters are common but probably not
legally mandated by State, Federal or Provincial government.  My guess
is that it was a dealer installed option.  I can think of several
reasons why it might not have been installed.  The first is that if
you don't ask the dealer saves the cost as he figures you don't use it
anyway.  

Mike may jump quicker but several other folks would do it if he
didn't.  I'd like to know the rest of the story.  Did fred beat every
last nickle out of the dealer so he got what he deserverved or pay top
buck with no serice in return?  Why didn't his wife do some due
diligence beforehand?  It appears she snoozed and lost.  Why didn't he
go get her in his other car if he was so worried?  My dealer will rent
me a loaner for $10/day to cover gas and insurance.  Did he get that
offer and decline?  Was he promised a quick turnaround or told they
would try to squeeze it in?  Why would anyone expect a salesman to
give them a ride?  He would then have to go get them.  His job is
selling cars not riding around.  if folks want answers we are happy to
try to help.  If they want to whine they should be told to grow up.