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  • #1

    Wut ...

    Wasn't exactly sure where to put this, as it doesn't involve a customer/client, coworker, or management ... so it landed here.

    Last year I spoke to a guy who was cutting the lawn of the elderly woman across the street. I said I was looking for someone to cut the lawn here. It's a corner property and I really can't keep up with it anymore. I'd like to put my energy into the gardens instead.

    So just now he knocked on my door and asked if I still wanted the lawn cut this year. I said yes, just let me clear it with my brother, who is our mother's POA. He got this sour look on his face and said, "So you don't own the property?" I said no.

    "Oh, well, I don't want to get in the middle of any family squabbles."

    There's no "family squabble." I just want to see if brother will OK having "Mom" pay half the cost and I will pay the other half. I think he'll agree (we bought a new lawn mower a few years ago and I will use that to mow the smallest chunk of lawn, just so the mower doesn't sit there and rot).

    All I said was there was no family squabble involved; I just wanted to get brother on board with it, and asked for his phone number. I got a pen and paper and came back and he said, "Well, you know, I don't like these kinds of situations and I'd just as soon step away and not get in the middle."

    By this point I was annoyed and just said "Okay, fine" and shut the door.

    Seriously ... what ... the ... fuck ...
    Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
    ~ Mr Hero
    Tags: None
  • #2
    I can see his issue.
    AkaiKitsune
    Sarcasm dear, sarcasm. I’m well aware that dealing with civilians in any capacity will skin your faith in humanity alive, then pickle anything that remains so as to watch it shrivel up into an immortal husk thus reminding you of how dead inside you now are.

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    • #3
      C'mon, Rosco, don't leave me hanging like that!

      'Cause I can't.
      Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
      ~ Mr Hero

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      • #4
        Kinda odd.

        My best guess: He misinterpreted what you said ("just let me clear it with my brother, who is our mother's POA") and decided to keep his distance juuuust in case. It could also be that he had gotten into legal trouble, or narrowly avoided it, in the past for doing work for someone who was not the actual property owner. A CYOA on his part, perhaps...?
        "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
        "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
        "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
        "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
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        Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
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        • #5
          Okay, valid points.

          I was just dumbfounded because when I went looking for roofing companies, I explained the situation to them in exactly the same way and nobody got all twitchy over imaginary "family squabbles." They said fine, here's our estimate, thank you for consulting us and we hope to hear from you ... and that was the end of it.
          Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
          ~ Mr Hero

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          • #6
            Burnt by the family busybody, only present once a year, saying, "Of course. Petey will pay for it."
            I am not an a**hole. I am a hemorrhoid. I irritate a**holes!
            Procrastination: Forward planning to insure there is something to do tomorrow.
            Derails threads faster than a pocket nuke.

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            • #7
              Given what I read on this site, I can well see that happening.
              Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
              ~ Mr Hero

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              • #8
                At the roofing company we had various issues with proxies and such. Many, many people handle big things like roofs for relatives, especially aging ones who might not even realize they need a new roof, or worse, they could get taken to the cleaners by shady companies. It's not normally a big deal, I can't remember exactly the procedure, but like I said, super common. I can kinda see his issue, but the more diplomatic response would be something like "okay, give me a call when it's all worked out." To be honest, if he's a one man show- small enough not to have a business card- it's doubtful he's worried about his imagine, just about payment. Having someone say they're splitting the payment could be a deal breaker in his mind, right or wrong.
                Replace anger management with stupidity management.

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                • #9
                  Very possibly. Too bad there was no real chance to clarify the matter. If brother doesn't agree, I have 2 choices: pay for it all myself, or just do the work myself. I do have the resources to pay for it myself, and it would only be a bit of a financial burden in early spring and summer when the damn lawn goes nuts (thank goodness we don't fertilize it!) Eventually it gets down to a weekly mow.

                  TBH, that was the response I was expecting ... something similar to the roofers' responses: "Fine, let me know what you decide."

                  As it happened, fate intervened: I drove home from brunch by a different route and there was a pickup with a bunch of lawn-care equipment in the back, parked at the side of the road ... I got the guy's business card and gave him my address; he's going to drive by over the next few days and give me an estimate for rolling AND cutting.

                  And this time I decided to keep the rest of the family out of it.
                  Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
                  ~ Mr Hero

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                  • #10
                    If you do look into the lawn mowing with other people, maybe tell them that you are one of the caretakers and are getting estimates on prices. Once they give you an estimate, behind the scenes you can hash it out with your brother and then get back to them with a yay or nay. That way all they see is that you are the person in charge and that you are paying them, because really... the behind the scenes information about who covers what half and where is more important to you and your brother than them.
                    "Oh, the strawberries don't taste as they used to and the thighs of women have lost their clutch!"

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                    • #11
                      That's a possibility, thanks. At least it avoids raising fears of intra-family battles over $$.
                      Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
                      ~ Mr Hero

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                      • #12
                        I wouldn't even give them that much information. I'd just say "Thank you, I'm going to think about this."

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