Does everything have to get so f-ed up?

Why is it that most people don't know they are crossing a line until after the damage has been done? And so it goes this week...

I blame this new dryer. Even though it tries to make me happy with ring-tone sounds when it is done.



Our old dryer was costing us a huge amount of money in utilities. It wouldn't shut off at the end of it's cycle. It would just spin for hours. I figured a new dryer would pay for itself within a year. But before replacing the dryer itself, I wanted to redo the laundry room floor. I didn't want to have to haul the new dryer out again later to replace the tile.

So we brought our home-improvement guys back. They have worked for us before at our old house. And frankly, they saved our asses, allowing us to get our old house ready for sale before the housing market got really sour.

The first week I was ecstatic.

On day 6, they brought in an extra guy. No biggy. They were laying tile at that point.

Day 7, I hear the new guy talking non-stop for a few hours. The kind of uninterrupted conversation that is hard to pull off if you are actually doing something. I look in from time to time and I see they had been there four hours and only got a 2 foot by 5 foot area of wall textured. Finally I get pissed and walk out to the garage where they had migrated and were basically sitting around screwing off. I know I am a ballbreaker and all... but hell, it doesn't take 3 guys to texture an area that big. And you certainly don't get to be exhausted by it. The new guy goes back to chatting away.

I flat out say "we've got a problem". They seem surprised, and try to make explanations about how they needed to wait for the texture to dry. I say " I need three guys for a 2x5 foot area"? Why am I paying this third guy when I see that only two of you are working. This new guy is just standing around talking. I remind them I am paying them a lot of money.

They all get to work, and the atmosphere has changed. For the next two days they are doing better, but they still really don't need this third guy.

For some jobs adding more people doesn't produce more results. The room is only 5x10 feet. Mostly you are just getting in the way of each other.

Now, I know I complain about a lot of things... but my husband and I are also very generous to people who do a good job for us. That is our only feedback mechanism. If you treat us well... and do a good job, we reward you.

For instance recently I gave a 50% tip to someone who came in to rip out some trees and shrubbery out of this age consumed house. The quotes I got from other contractors were way above his. So I tipped him 500 dollars because he did a fantastic job, and didn't annoy me. The guy got a big tip and I still felt I got a deal.

So, I feel particularly pissed at this point because I have treated these guys really well. I provide drinks, and buy lunch at least half the time.

Not to mention new guy thinks he can spit in my garage. I'm also off the chart torqued that when they use my bathroom, these men can't aim their wankers, and I have to clean up after them. That shit f-ing pisses me off.

So my guys are gone now. And it sucks, because we really liked them. They do a really good job. But they f-ed it up by taking advantage of my generosity. They were suppose to put in cabinets. I told them to forget it. I still paid them close to what they quoted me because they did a good job on the rest of it. I hope it was worth if for them, because we aren't inviting them back.

This is the computer mock-up my husband did.



This is what it looks like right now.