Contractors: Does begging work?

The conversation with the carpet installer was not what I had expected. I have remodeled many houses, built houses, dealt with construction workers and much much more. I have also been inside contractors offices and sheds. But, for some strange reason, I just assume that they will be more organized. What is wrong with me?

Living room full.

It had been exactly 2 weeks since we ordered the carpet and we were promises 10 working day so the carpet must be in....right? A call to the construction company that does that sort of thing revealed that the installation scheduler did not know if she had the carpet in the warehouse or not. Yes...no....yes! Oh my gosh... it was a miracle. The paper work had just been put on her desk as we were talking! How long would it have taken my file to make it to the top of the pile if I hadn't called? It turns out the average time between delivery and a call to schedule is 4 days.

I am not a proud woman and have been know to beg to get the service I need. When we began to schedule the work, she told me it would be 2 weeks before they could come. OH NO...2 WEEK????? PLEASE TELL ME IT CAN BE SOONER.

This room was cleared 2 weeks ago.

Then a ray of sunshine peeked out and she said she could put me on a list (the top of it I assumed) and she would call if there were a cancellation. Did that ever happen? Well, evidently, yes, because the carpet was installed yesterday, a whole week early.

 I am so good...I'm just saying!

b+

Note: I am still a little confused. Why would any company be working with out a computer system in this day and age? But I was sure I heard paper shuffling around.

The carpet installer was excellent and did a wonderful job. That is a very hard way to make a living.

The secretary was very nice and was doing a good job considering she was working for a company that installs carpets for Home Depot in the area. She was almost as excited as I was to get the job done for me. This was not an unpleasant experience at all. This is just the reality of getting things done during the summer. If you want to hear about unpleasant, just let me know.

The lesson here is that you need to be proactive if you want your job to get done in a timely manner.  Every time you call your file comes to the top of the pile or, if you are dealing with a more modern set-up, onto the computer screen.

Laundry Room Full

Are you safe? Nothing is "Private" Online

But when I received this Infographic called You Are Not Safe Online I thought it was a good reminder.  If you don't want to let the everyone to know your numbers, pay attention!

I read 1984 back the early 1960's.  It still haunts me.  But only in light of my world then.  The flat earth  was still round and all of my life was private.  No one watched my every move and I could shop without anyone knowing if I used cash and wore a disquise.  Boy have things change.

I have nothing to fear really.  I take the necessary precautions in my online life.  I do that sort of thing much like I lock my front door at night.  Humans are humans and always have been...some are good and some are bad!  But still...is this a good thing?  Here is a "picture" of how your online activities are shared.
Technorati Tags: consumers, data, facebook, NBC, Google, Wireless Information, Smart Phones, Apple, marketing, online safety


Created by: OnlineMarketingDegree.com

How hard would it be to fill your spouses shoes!

Do you remember the children's story about the farmer that thought that his wife had it so easy because she did not have to go out into the fields and work? As I recall, when she called his bluff, and let him stay at home with the baby and the goat, the garden was destroyed and the wife came home to find the goat dangling from a roped down the chimney. I don't remember what happened to the baby.

Well we really do think those things. Husbands have the idea that they could cook just as good as the wife and just the right amount of salt would be on the chicken, there would be bread on the table and he could have gravy every night. The wife thinks that all those "honey do's" are not getting done because the husband is a bit lazy and not because he knows how much work they involve.

So how hard would it be to fill your spouses shoes? Could you do the taxes, hang the new venetian blinds and keep the goat from falling down the chimney?

Why am I thinking about this? WELL, my dear husband has been putting the plumbing in so we can have our very own wash machine here in our park model. I will not have to use the laundry room anymore. And while we were at Home Depot to buy 2 1/2 drain pipe and 1/2 water pipe plus all the fitting necessary to do the job I bought 4 new venetian blinds for the front of our park model. The fact that he even helped me buy the blinds is amazing. The dear man has been trying to fit all these chores into an already busy "winter golfing vacation" schedule. So I offered to shorten the one blind he has installed in spare minutes between digging, plumbing and scratching his head.

My husband always makes these household maintenance jobs look so easy. I was thinking how hard could it be to shorten the blinds. After all there are instructions and everything. I wanted to help him out in some way.  Actually I was beginning to feel a little guilty. And it's not like it is brain surgery. I thought any idiot could do it. It turns out it is hard....just plain hard. Two hand are not enough. There are plugs and strings and slats and ladder strings and a tiny pulley with an axle the size of a needle and 1/4 inch long. It took me all morning to shorten one blind.

The truth is that the longer we are married the more in awe of what this man can do I am. While I know that he would consider it the worst punishment in the world to spend eternity setting toilets and digging for sewer lines, he does it and makes it look easy. To answer my own question, no one could fill his shoes. I know I would not even know where to begin when it comes to doing what he does.

Have a wonderful day.

b+