being on time

[Zoe Girl]

I have had issues with people being on time, people that I have (or the landlord) paid to do something. I had a horrific experience with the delivery service with Ikea being 3 hours late on top of the 4 hour window of delivery time. Ikea was wonderful and refunded things and apologized, I can't imagine that company is still working with them. Still was a royal pain and very inconsiderate.

Today it is the plumber, I told the landlord the sink was not draining and she said she would call someone. After a few days I contacted her again and she was shocked that the plumber had not contacted me about coming over, she assumed the sink was working. So I did talk to him and I have so many camp obligations that I could not arrange to meet him until this morning (we talked Monday) and now he is a no-show, no answer, no nothing. I think the landlord needs to get better repair people but she certainly knows that now. I have kept her updated.

My sister had her own issue where someone was supposed to call for a lunch meet up so all their kids could hang out but the person was so late in communicating that my sister just turned her down basically. Being a gentle soul my sis felt bad but also was not going to ruin her day waiting.

So I am NOT going to sit here all day, I took the morning off to meet the plumber and I have other things to do with my time off. I am going to ask the landlord to get a company that can come evenings or weekends this time. I did get most of the yard cleaned up but dang it I am pissed off. In these cases, like with the delivery service, you are in limbo and really don't know if you can leave or not which to me is a reminder of a type of taking power from another. Best answer is to take my shower and drop the broken microwave off at the recyclers and just move on.

[razz]

Life can be frustrating and service people do run into challenges that they cannot foresee. Hard to deal with though on a limited free time schedule.

[SteveinMN]

Life can be frustrating and service people do run into challenges that they cannot foresee.
That is true, and I would hate for a tradesperson to leave my job in the middle so they could be on time elsewhere.

That said, there are some things that could be done to make life easier. ZG, I don't remember how close you work to your home or what your transportation options are. But I have had success in having tradespeople call me or send me a text at an agreed-upon time (when they finish their previous job, when they estimate they're 20 minutes to done [20 minutes being the time I needed to get home]).

Another option -- if the situation isn't critical -- might be to ask the provider for an appointment at a time they're more likely to be on-time. Maybe that would be their first call in the morning. Or when they can schedule their previous or their next call somewhere near yours, to cut down on travel delays. You may have to schedule out further, but better further out and once than really late or waiting twice?

Finally, ask if you can speak directly with whoever is in charge of who is where: the plumber (or his/her dispatcher), the company contracting with IKEA for delivery, etc. You're not taking business away from them; you just need to set up a time that works for both of you. Tradespeople don't want to show up at an empty house either. No work usually means no pay. My experience is that most of them want to find a way that works for everyone.

[iris lilies]

My DH is one of those people who service things in houses and get behind due to unexpected issues.

Anyway--I suppose it isn't possible fo rthe landlord to come over and house sit, waiting for a plumber? Maybe you don't want the landlord in your house all that long, but this is potentially another option.

I would imagine that the vacation hours away from your work are precious; they are not easy to use.

Also, I h ave to ask: where in the H*ll are your chldren at this point? There are 3 of them. Surely one of them can be in the hosue to let a plumber in.

[Zoe Girl]

I just expect a call honestly, not to the minute on-time or anything unreasonable but a call so I can adjust after all. With the delivery driver for Ikea I could have ran to get my groceries for the week instead of sitting another hour or more, in the end I went running a couple blocks from the house and had my son call me as soon as they came because I was getting too mad, I never got any call at all from the driver. The paperwork I signed said that he was required to call 30 minutes before the visit.

So today i did hear from the repair person and he had written down Friday, and I knew that was not possible that I agreed to that because I will be on a field trip with 60 kids in the morning, and it is hard to predict how field trip days will go. I had an appointment between 8 and 9 am and did not have to be at work until 1 just because I know that things happen, he may need to run out for a part, etc. When the stove went and the electricity had issues as well it took 4 visits as he kept on finding new stuff that needed to be fixed, and sometimes he had to change times, but he just called me and it was fine.

Oh my kids are usually available, one was at work and one is under 18. But I really wanted to be here because we keep on having issues with older home plumbing so I want to be here myself and walk through all the issues that may or may not be related. He is coming after work tomorrow,

[puglogic]

I agree, ZG. In your case you were stuck with this guy because you weren't the one hiring him, but I will not use a contractor who is significantly late (or doesn't show at all) and doesn't even have the courtesy to phone. I don't care what the circumstances are, unless they've had a heart attack enroute (that would be permitted :) ). If someone shows me by their actions that they don't value my time as much as I value theirs, I don't feel obligated to support their business. I also don't take clients who are similarly disrespectful.

I phoned a fence contractor to get an estimate in mid-May. He just returned my call three days ago, two weeks after somebody else completed the job for me. I used to have a carpet cleaning guy that would routinely call an hour after he had arranged to come, to tell me he would be another hour......and I was always the first appointment in the morning!! An entire work morning shot. Who on earth has time for this kind of thing?

I suppose that's why, when someone says to me that "business is slow" or "this darned recession, nobody's calling me," I always take that with a grain of salt.

[goldensmom]

I can understand service persons being late as some have stayed on the job at my house to finish which then made them late for their next appointment. That's why, if possible, I make appointments to be their first of the day (I'm up and ready by 6AM) and barring an emergency, there would be no reason for them to be late. When I go somewhere for an appointment, I always ask for the first appointment of the day, am always early and sometimes still have to wait 30-40 minutes most times with no explanation (car broke down, emergency at home, overslept, whatever). Can be frustrating, can be understandable.

[iris lilies]

ugh. I answer the phone here for people wanting DH. He does not return calls to people wanting jobs done or wanting estimates, or he returns them late. It makes me crazy because these are people in this neighborhood. I know who they are, usually. He only works within the neighborhood. While it is true that he doesn't need more business, he could at least call back and say "sorry, I won't take this job." But I guess that is the industry standard, if you don't call back, you don't want the job.

Just this week someone called about him doing a small job and it had a deadline. I just told her since I know who she is "look, he's not taking new customers. I'll give him the message but I doubt that he'll call you back and since you have a deadline, try calling John W------ in the neighborhood for this job."

DH has a regular customer list who furnish him with 75% of his business. He will work for other people if he can fit them in.

But then there are the people --unlike goldensmom--who want first appointment of the day BUT they won't open their house until after 9 am. Ummm, he is up and out of the house by 7 AM, people! don't ask to be first in line if you want to control when the line opens.

DH has continued to be successful (in a small way--this is a modest business) while others like him have fallen by the wayside because he is focused on one particular geographic area--this immediate neighborhood, he works like crazy (10 hours days) he is likeable and reliable and competent. He has little overhead.

Oh yeah, and living in the neighborhood, we know who is crazy difficult. Every once in a while one of the crazies difficult people will call him for work and I always assure him: you don't have to take that job, it won't be worth it.

[puglogic]

DH has continued to be successful (in a small way--this is a modest business) while others like him have fallen by the wayside because he is focused on one particular geographic area--this immediate neighborhood, he works like crazy (10 hours days) he is likeable and reliable and competent.

Wish we had more like him where I live. I'm always willing to wait and to pay the extra for good, competent, responsive people.

[rodeosweetheart]

I second asking the landlord to meet the plumber. It is, after all, her property, and that is one of the pleasures of home ownership.

[Zoe Girl]

Iris, I know we can't force our family to do things huh, my oldest daughter and I have this issue. She really needed to call the dentist after breaking an appointment and just never did, beyond frustrating.

The plumber came, I hate that this is during the weeks I work camp and other times of the year I am more flexible. In any case he needs something from the plumber store and that is not open until Monday morning. I assumed he would need something so that is exactly why I scheduled this on Thursday early. So a weekend without a sink again. I sucked it up and did dishes the camping way.

Honestly the landlord is the one who hires these repair people that I am not that impressed with, I am not letting her be the one to supervise the job. There was one guy she hired to paint the trim and he looked so sketchy that my next door neighbor got worried and asked him to leave. He was someone she was trying to help out, well I have children here. She pretty much is focused on saving money the entire time. This plumber wanted to do something more last time to possibly prevent further problems but she refused that, here we are a year later. Yesterday he remembered all about my children but could not remember the work he did. My plans are to live here 2-5 more years while I repair my credit and since I have been putting in more and more garden space, I want this done right.

I would like either a repair person like Iris' hubby that is local and available (and knows I am not a pain) or a larger company that has people taking calls and scheduling so the repair people can just do the work and have access to supplies and tools at all times

[SteveinMN]

I would like either a repair person like Iris' hubby that is local and available (and knows I am not a pain) or a larger company that has people taking calls and scheduling so the repair people can just do the work and have access to supplies and tools at all times
As the landlord for my mom's place, I can empathize with both you and your landlord.

From her side, I'll just say that her interest is in maintaining the property cost-effectively. Her concern is not whether a tradesperson is ultimately on time (it's sort of not her house) or creeps out tenants (though, of course, I would draw a line at, say, a convicted sex offender working in a house with children alone if the landlord knows the history). The cash flow on all of her properties may not allow a better selection. And some people value friendship over business relationships. None of that is good for you, but I can understand it.

From your side, I would suggest that, next time you have one of these "are the visits never going to end" problems or the guy/gal just fails to show up, that you let your landlord know of the problem and suggest someone whom you know can do the job (you'll have to do some homework for this ahead of time). Ask if you can hire this person instead of the landlord's choice and to have her foot the bill. She's already proved with the landscaping "allowance" that she may be open to that kind of thing.

She may say no -- I have a stable of tradespeople I like to use for my property because they have proved to be skilled, courteous (that includes being communicative), and fairly-priced and I like to give them all my business because 1) that gives me at least a little clout with them; and 2) they know if they walk into a repeat problem, there's no one they can blame for the previous fix but them. But try it.

The other option may be hiring your own repair person on your own dime. The agreement my mom and I have struck is that I pay for the stuff that stays with the house; she pays for temporary stuff like flowers, paint when it's not needed, etc. So I'd have a problem with her hiring someone I didn't know for, say, plumbing. And it may not be economically feasible to pay for it yourself. But (s)he who pays the piper gets to call the tune. Maybe there's some middle ground on which you can meet with your landlord.

[Miss Cellane]

This is sort of a last resort thing, because it can negatively affect your relationship with your landlord.

If something basic in your house isn't functioning, like the heat or a sink or a toilet, look up the landlord laws in your state. Many states have time limits for how long a landlord can let something this like go without getting it fixed. One state I lived in, if the heat was out for more than 48 hours, they could put the landlord in jail. So there's frequently an incentive for the landlord to fix things in a timely fashion.

Check what the laws are in your state. Find out if the broken sink falls under any of them. Then, as Steve suggests, research a good plumber. Then call the landlord, tell him/her that you've checked the law and they are in violation of it. You have the name and phone number of a plumber who can fix it, or the landlord can get their plumber on it. But the landlord has 48 hours to get the sink working. Because if it isn't, your next phone call will not be to the landlord, but to the agency in charge of rental housing in your state.

I've had to use this twice--once for a broken window (in the winter, in Boston, and broken by the landlord's handyman while he was fixing something else) and once for the heat not working at all (in Connecticut, in January). The first one got me labeled as a problem tenant, the second one did not.