Out of Pocket, Still Out of My Mind

Monday, June 7, 2010
Warning: BITCHING AHEAD.

So. After trying to get someone from the plumbing office to call us back and come fix our toilet, I finally made an appointment with our Handyman Service. They were supposed to come Saturday and fix the toilet. So we made sure there was someone home ALL DAY, and we waited and waited.

Along about 3:00 p.m., I called them, wanting to know when they would get here. "Oh," the owner said. "My guy called when he was ready, no one answered, so he knocked off for the day after leaving a message."

You know, I'm not sure who received his message, but our home phone did not ring on Saturday. The handyman did leave a message on my cell (which I had instructed them only to call if no one answered the home number), but that didn't help me much - the toilet was still broken, and anyone who's ever tried to get in touch with me knows that my cell should be your last choice.

I kind of felt sorry for the owner. After being a shit-magnet for crappy customer service for basically a month, I'm afraid I'd had it, and I was a bit...abrupt. Bless his heart, he didn't tell me to get bent, but instead said he'd come Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. to rebuild the toilet himself. Which he did, so now we have a toilet that actually works on the main floor. I'm happy about that, of course, but I have to say - I'm really, really tired of dealing with service (or "non-service," as the case may be) people. Really, really tired. And I'm tired of being mad about it, too. Because I work from home (and the Smart Man doesn't), such chores naturally fall to me, and while I have a full intellectual understanding about why the situation is the way it is, emotionally I still sometimes feel like I'm being taken advantage of.

Yes, I know it's ridiculous. No, that doesn't have any bearing on the way I feel, especially after having people trot in and out of my house like it's Grand Central Station Terminal* for the last several weeks.

So this week, instead of dealing with service people, I get to drive from Parker to Westminster every day to take part in a special project for my company. Another completely reasonable request, but the fact of the matter is that driving in traffic gives me almost as much stress as dealing with non-service people. So I'm afraid my week isn't going to get any better.

Have you had enough of my bitching, yet? I know I have.

The bright side? The Smart Man got me a gift certificate for a massage to help me get my stress under control. Because that's just the way he rolls.

:-)

___________
*Modified to keep Nathan and his Zombie Pancreas from going Postal on my non-service receiving ass.

8 comments:

Nathan said...

Want some useless and unwelcome bitching? You've hit upon one of my pet peeves (which I'll admit is probably obnoxious as hell of me).

Grand Central is a Terminal not a Station. It is the End of the Line where service Terminates!

(And with that, I end my pontificating.)

Janiece said...

Nathan, the error has been rectified.

mom in northern said...

Sending some much needed hugs...

Anne C. said...

Yay, SmartMan! I knew I liked you for some reason. Now I know it's because you know how to treat our dear Janiece the way she ought to be treated -- with love and a healthy dose of sass. :)

The Mechanicky Gal said...

I SO feel your pain. And you know how much I adore having to deal with idiots.
But I do have to say this. I had DirecTV come out on Saturday to install the dish. (Cox, BTW, it out of here. They suck)
I got numerous calls to remind me of the appointment, calls on Saturday morning to check that the installer had been in touch with me, the installer showed up on time and ready to install.
All in all, a very good experience.
I am wondering when the other shoe will drop. Things have been going well with the new TV service, and I was able to disconnect the old service with minimum muss and fuss.
Something will go wrong shortly.

mom in northern said...

OK MG..
The other shoe drops when you try to get through to them if you need service after the install...

Janiece said...

Service? What is this "service" of which you speak?

The Mechanicky Gal said...

Mom, I am already immune IMMUNE I tell you, to service. I shed it like water from a duck's back.
And this is sad. In Reality Land, where I try and reside, I KNOW that any kind of service request will be ignored. DESPITE that fact that my co-worker has had no problems in that area, either.
Sigh.