Contractors: Does begging work?

The conversation with the carpet installer was not what I had expected. I have remodeled many houses, built houses, dealt with construction workers and much much more. I have also been inside contractors offices and sheds. But, for some strange reason, I just assume that they will be more organized. What is wrong with me?

Living room full.

It had been exactly 2 weeks since we ordered the carpet and we were promises 10 working day so the carpet must be in....right? A call to the construction company that does that sort of thing revealed that the installation scheduler did not know if she had the carpet in the warehouse or not. Yes...no....yes! Oh my gosh... it was a miracle. The paper work had just been put on her desk as we were talking! How long would it have taken my file to make it to the top of the pile if I hadn't called? It turns out the average time between delivery and a call to schedule is 4 days.

I am not a proud woman and have been know to beg to get the service I need. When we began to schedule the work, she told me it would be 2 weeks before they could come. OH NO...2 WEEK????? PLEASE TELL ME IT CAN BE SOONER.

This room was cleared 2 weeks ago.

Then a ray of sunshine peeked out and she said she could put me on a list (the top of it I assumed) and she would call if there were a cancellation. Did that ever happen? Well, evidently, yes, because the carpet was installed yesterday, a whole week early.

 I am so good...I'm just saying!

b+

Note: I am still a little confused. Why would any company be working with out a computer system in this day and age? But I was sure I heard paper shuffling around.

The carpet installer was excellent and did a wonderful job. That is a very hard way to make a living.

The secretary was very nice and was doing a good job considering she was working for a company that installs carpets for Home Depot in the area. She was almost as excited as I was to get the job done for me. This was not an unpleasant experience at all. This is just the reality of getting things done during the summer. If you want to hear about unpleasant, just let me know.

The lesson here is that you need to be proactive if you want your job to get done in a timely manner.  Every time you call your file comes to the top of the pile or, if you are dealing with a more modern set-up, onto the computer screen.

Laundry Room Full