Am I Too Picky?
or perhaps that should read "am I too bitchy?"
I am currently on a search for a handyman to refinish our front door. It's a gorgeous red mahogany door that we had put in only about a year ago. The varnish on it took a beating from water and sun and is in desperate need of repair. On the advice of our regular handyman and Home Depot, I attempted to refinish it myself--BAD, BAD, BAD decision!!!!!! I completely ruined it and spent much of Sunday in tears because the house was going on the market on that Monday. We all know that first impressions are the best impressions and that door would not have made a good impression on anyone. I quickly called our realtor and told him to add onto the MLS that the front door would be professionally refinished. Thus began the hunt for someone who could do the job ASAP.
Our regular handyman was is available so I started with the phone book and called nearly every listing I could find. The majority of the people I called would not be able to even get to the job for several weeks. One father and son business said they could do it at the end of the week, but knew I needed someone now so the son gave me the name of another person that might be available (he wasn't). So, Monday I had arranged for two people to give me an estimate. One of those people was so unpersonable on the phone that I actually called back and canceled the estimate, which leads me to today's blog entry. Is it too picky to expect friendly, personable service? This man was so gruff that I could not even begin to imagine having him working at my house for several days. I look at it this way: it is hot outside, you are doing hard work; you might get thirsty and need me to give you a glass of lemonade--you will be much more likely to get that drink if you are nice to me--LOL, otherwise you may not even get to use the toilet if you have to! Is that bad? Marcus would say "we need the work done and the price is right, so put up with it." I don't agree because I am the one that would have to deal with the crotchety (is that spelled right?) old man, not him. I, like most others I know, tend to gravitate toward friendly people. And to be clear, it wasn't like this man was rude; he wasn't. It was just something in his voice that completely turned me off; something made me uncomfortable. It was just a gut feeling.
So anyway, one guy did come out and told me it would be about $250 to refinish the door. Well, he must have smelled the desperation cause he called me back later and said that it would be $940 since the job was so big. Give me a break--it is sanding, staining and varnishing ONE door!! I called back the nice father and son team that I had spoke to on Monday. The son came by today to check the door out and will call me tonight with an estimate. This young man was so personable that I almost was tempted to fix him up with one of my daughters--LOL. In the span of 45 minutes I learned a lot about him--he tried the military but didn't make it past boot camp because he developed asthma, he works fulltime and attends college to become a teacher. I know some people do not want to know about the lives of people who do work for them, but I do. Maybe I am just nosy, but I like knowing about the people who will be working in my home. This young man was so nice that I will hire him even if his estimate is $940!
I am currently on a search for a handyman to refinish our front door. It's a gorgeous red mahogany door that we had put in only about a year ago. The varnish on it took a beating from water and sun and is in desperate need of repair. On the advice of our regular handyman and Home Depot, I attempted to refinish it myself--BAD, BAD, BAD decision!!!!!! I completely ruined it and spent much of Sunday in tears because the house was going on the market on that Monday. We all know that first impressions are the best impressions and that door would not have made a good impression on anyone. I quickly called our realtor and told him to add onto the MLS that the front door would be professionally refinished. Thus began the hunt for someone who could do the job ASAP.
Our regular handyman was is available so I started with the phone book and called nearly every listing I could find. The majority of the people I called would not be able to even get to the job for several weeks. One father and son business said they could do it at the end of the week, but knew I needed someone now so the son gave me the name of another person that might be available (he wasn't). So, Monday I had arranged for two people to give me an estimate. One of those people was so unpersonable on the phone that I actually called back and canceled the estimate, which leads me to today's blog entry. Is it too picky to expect friendly, personable service? This man was so gruff that I could not even begin to imagine having him working at my house for several days. I look at it this way: it is hot outside, you are doing hard work; you might get thirsty and need me to give you a glass of lemonade--you will be much more likely to get that drink if you are nice to me--LOL, otherwise you may not even get to use the toilet if you have to! Is that bad? Marcus would say "we need the work done and the price is right, so put up with it." I don't agree because I am the one that would have to deal with the crotchety (is that spelled right?) old man, not him. I, like most others I know, tend to gravitate toward friendly people. And to be clear, it wasn't like this man was rude; he wasn't. It was just something in his voice that completely turned me off; something made me uncomfortable. It was just a gut feeling.
So anyway, one guy did come out and told me it would be about $250 to refinish the door. Well, he must have smelled the desperation cause he called me back later and said that it would be $940 since the job was so big. Give me a break--it is sanding, staining and varnishing ONE door!! I called back the nice father and son team that I had spoke to on Monday. The son came by today to check the door out and will call me tonight with an estimate. This young man was so personable that I almost was tempted to fix him up with one of my daughters--LOL. In the span of 45 minutes I learned a lot about him--he tried the military but didn't make it past boot camp because he developed asthma, he works fulltime and attends college to become a teacher. I know some people do not want to know about the lives of people who do work for them, but I do. Maybe I am just nosy, but I like knowing about the people who will be working in my home. This young man was so nice that I will hire him even if his estimate is $940!
posted by Dianna | 3:31 PM
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