{"id":3059,"date":"2015-07-15T18:53:06","date_gmt":"2015-07-16T04:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grumpyseniors.com\/?p=3059"},"modified":"2015-07-15T22:55:33","modified_gmt":"2015-07-16T08:55:33","slug":"the-day-that-the-rains-came-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/grumpyseniors.com\/?p=3059","title":{"rendered":"The day that the rains came down"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s how my week started…<\/p>\n

Sunday afternoon the air conditioning in the house decided to barf.<\/p>\n

When whole house A\/C barfs, it’s a big mess.<\/p>\n

\"Ceiling<\/a>Lots and lots of barf water visited the ceiling in the hallway and part of the master bedroom.<\/p>\n

Uninvited guests can be quite unwelcome.<\/p>\n

Our insurance company handled the arrangements to dry everything out in a professional way.<\/p>\n

They’ll pay for all the repair work.<\/p>\n

Except the air conditioning.
\nThat’s up to me.<\/p>\n

This isn’t about the destruction.
\nStuff happens.<\/p>\n

This is about how companies do business today.<\/p>\n

About the only way to find a company for any repair work is ask a friend or check Yelp.<\/p>\n

Since my friends are unreliable – Yelp it was.<\/p>\n

I looked for A\/C repair companies with 5-star ratings and started dialing.<\/p>\n

I should be able to hire some folks, spend a bunch of money and move on with my life.<\/p>\n

Everybody wins.<\/p>\n

Guess what?
\nIt appears just about everyone is working out of the back of their truck these days.<\/p>\n

Most of my carefully placed calls went to someone’s cell phone voicemail with a promise to return the call real fast.
\nDidn’t happen.<\/p>\n

\"Giiggle<\/a>Those that didn’t go to voicemail were usually answered with someone saying, “Hello?”<\/p>\n

Hello? I have to ask if this is the company I’m trying to reach?<\/p>\n

Unless the number listed is your teenage daughter’s phone and you’re working out of your truck.<\/p>\n

Not for me, thanks.<\/p>\n

Oops, “Wrong number”.
\nHang up.
\nMove on.<\/p>\n

And while I’m ranting – have you noticed the shape of many business trucks on the road these days?<\/p>\n

They are supposed to be rolling billboards for the company.
\nThe phone number is usually plastered on there somewhere too.<\/p>\n

It’s far too common for the truck to be beat up, dirty and the being driven by some kid like a maniac.<\/p>\n

You think I’m going to call you?
\nFergetit.<\/p>\n

Then – when I finally lined up the various “companies” needed to repair the A\/C and the ceiling…
\nNobody shows up on time for the inspections.<\/p>\n

One was 3 1\/2 hours late and never called.<\/p>\n

When he finally arrived, he was politely fired.<\/p>\n

Another was an hour early and dug me out of the shower.
\nI should have answered the door naked except that would have scared even me.<\/p>\n

\"drippy<\/a>Some people are forgetting business is competitive.<\/p>\n

If I don’t have confidence in you I’m going somewhere else.<\/p>\n

So I did.<\/p>\n

It doesn’t take much to judge the potential quality of someone’s work by how they respond to an initial contact.<\/p>\n

Being unprofessional is the first step my moving on.<\/p>\n

It’s things like this that make me grumpy.<\/p>\n

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