I’m so angry. For over two months, I’ve been trying to get a contractor/handyman to come to my house. The drywall that the husband and his dad started needs to be finished/sanded and I also wanted to see if that person would be willing to paint the small front room and the dining room. It’s a small job but it requires some skill and precision and would probably only take a few hours of a pro’s time. I’ve talked to four different guys and each one has flaked out. They have all agreed to meet me at my house and then just stood me up and not returned my phone calls. One guy did come out here and gave me a price and then never showed up to do the work and never returned my phone calls.
This last guy rescheduled the initial appraisal/assessment and right then I had a bad feeling. But I kept in touch with him and the husband even told him about our troubles. He was supposed to be here at noon today. Noon came and went and no sign of him. I called his cell phone and left a message. Then I called his house hoping that I might get his wife so I could ask her what the fuck is up with her man. I got voicemail there as well and left a snotty message saying, “You never showed up. I am displeased. I sincerely hope nothing catastrophic happened to you.” I’m certainly past being mature about this because I am very pissed. Like I mentioned the other day, my emotions are constantly on 11 so I’m ready to have a cage match with this turd.
I realize that these small jobs do not equal big money, but I don’t understand why it’s so hard to say, “I’m not going to be able to do the job,” or “I don’t want the job,” or even just, “I hate you, never call me.” Instead, I sit around for WEEKS waiting on these assholes during which time I could have become a drywall apprentice and done the shit myself. The rooms have been sitting half-finished for a year and a half because I can not get anyone to give a shit enough to finish them.
My house is a total dump. But all anyone has to do is spare a few hours of their time (with pay!) to help me and it could be a little bit better. I can’t even find that and that is just so depressing.
August 12th, 2007 at 10:32 am
Have you tried going to the library or the supermarket or any of the neighborhood places where people hang up signs with little tear-offs with their phone number (for stuff like babysitting, tutoring, roommates, etc.?) That’s how we found a guy to do a small one-day job replacing a faucet and some tiles in our bathtub. It’s something of a leap of faith to have a guy with a handwritten flyer come into your home, sure, but at least it’s someone who’s actually advertised that they want to do small handyman jobs.
August 13th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Oh, Kelly. That really sucks. The job you describe is totally something my husband could help with. If we lived closer, he’d do it for you for free. Or, like, a few beers and a couple slices of pizza.
Is there a community billboard like the one Cheryl describes at Home Depot? Because that would be rad and probably yield some good results. I guess if all else fails, there are places like the Depot, which offer at-home services, and maybe what you need done is a service they provide. Not that I like throwing more money at that corporation, but at least they’re insured, bonded, and likely to call you back, do the job, and charge you a reasonable sum. That shouldn’t be too much to ask for, but I’ve found that when it comes to handyman/contractor work, it unfortunately is.
August 14th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
hey dudes. thanks for the advice and sympathy. turns out whining on the internet yields helpful tips from friends!