We needed some work done on the gutters on the new house. We got in touch with a local company and their rep came out to evaluate our needs. We decided to get some leaf guards installed, if for no other reason than we just planted several maples and in a few years they’ll be dropping leaves everywhere. Also, there’s a giant oak that is likely to drop a lot of leaves each year. (It is also growing a limb that will smash out one of the upstairs windows soon if we don’t do something about it.)
We made arrangements to have the work done today. We were up early anyway, as the wife wanted to visit a local flea market. It opens at 6:00 AM. That’s way too early to be up in my opinion, even though Sirocco usually gets me up before then. We got up and headed out to the flea market so we’d be back in time for the gutter guys.
After we got back home we settled in to wait for the crew to arrive to do the work on the gutters. They were scheduled to arrive between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM. On the far outside they were supposed to arrive no later 10:30 AM.
10:00 AM rolled around with no sign of the workers.
10:30 AM came and went. Still no sign of the workers.
Just before 11:00 AM I decided to give the company a call. I’m patient that way. The rep that gave us the estimate left a card and said to call with any questions or concerns. I called the number. It turns out it was the number for the regional operations manager. He listened to my concerns about the crew not yet showing up and said he’d check on it and call me back.
He did indeed call back a few minutes later. It seems their sales director was out for a week because he and his wife were having a baby. He told me the guy handling our area would call me within half an hour. Sure enough, I had a call for the area director before 11:30 AM.
He apologized for the inconvenience. He didn’t know what happened to the crew that was supposed to be at our house, though he thought they were probably on another job. He rescheduled for Wednesday and said a different crew would be handling the changes to our gutters.
Okay, points off for the crew not showing up, or the company not letting us know that they weren’t showing up. We would have been here all day waiting for them to come.
They do get props for actually handling the problem rather than dodging it. They had the lines of communication working once I reported the problem. They got back to me when they said they would. I’m sure they had advanced notice that their employee would be taking time off when the baby came so they could have handled that better rather than using it for an excuse.
We’ll see how things go on Wednesday. I’m hoping they go smoothly. I’m hopeful that they will given that the company owned their mistake and tried to make good on it.
If you’d like to support my efforts, why not buy me a chocolate chip cookie through my Ko-Fi page? https://ko-fi.com/jhusum
OK, rather off topic, but about your comment about the tree limb headed toward your window.
I am starting a new organization called People for the Ethical Treatment of Flora (PETF). I just want to inform you that, from the viewpoint of PETF, if you use the abominable and barbaric solution that is currently common, of amputating the limb in question in order to save your precious window, as far too many people do, that will be cruel, inhumane and uncivilized, and will demonstrate that you are a pathetic person without any care for any other creature beside yourself. You need to find a better solution. Have you thought about moving the house?
ok, I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist. (-;
Not helping.