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Tom, a friend of mine, has a remodeling business, and most of the time he's able to keep up with everything, but occasionally he'll get swamped, but not yet enough to hire a helper. When that happens he'll ask me if I want to earn a little extra money, since we used to work together and he trusts me to do good work. More often than not I'm happy to do it.
A couple of weeks ago he asked me to install a doggy door for one of his customers, and offered me a nice chunk of change to do it since the customer was, in his words, "a miserable ball of sniveling and bitching". However, I figure that since I'm not really Tom's employee I am free to speak as I please, and I have no intention of taking any garbage. I say as much to Tom, who says "I hate dealing with her anyway. I don't care if you tell her to go piss up a rope."
When I arrived at the house, the woman wasn't there, but her boyfriend was, and an electrician was there doing some work. This becomes important later.
Both of them are very nice guys, and the electrician and I knew each other by sight, since we occasionally wind up working in the same house.
Now, it turns out that the house belongs to the boyfriend, not the woman. They're just finishing the construction, and he's moving her in with him. This is a very, very nice house. Very expensive neighborhood, all the flooring, woodwork, cabinetry etc. is the best money can buy. The doggy door is the best and most expensive one on the market. This guy is wealthy. And super nice! He kept chatting with the electrician and me, asking our opinions about various things, listening to our answers, offering us cold sodas or water to drink and so on. Just an awesome customer.
He shows me where he wants the doggy door. He's concerned that it won't work, because there's an electrical outlet in the way, but it's a frame and stucco construction house, and moving an outlet is very easy to do. I tell him that I can move it, and won't charge any extra for it, since it will add maybe five minutes to a 90 minute job. He looks very relieved, and says "Oh, good! My girlfriend insisted that the doggy door has to go right here!"
About the time I've got all the sheetrock cut out, the girlfriend arrives. I can hear her bitching about things before she even gets in the house. She's complaining to her boyfriend about the "stupid weather", "stupid traffic", "stupid neighbors", and blah blah blah. She sees me moving the outlet, and says in the snottiest, most accusational tone of voice I've ever heard:
SC- YOU'RE not Tom! What are YOU doing here!?
Me- Tom couldn't get out here today, so he sent me.
SC- Well, that's unacceptable! I want Tom doing this! Get him on the phone NOW!
Me- No. Tom's at the other end of the state, he will be all week. If you want this now I'll have to do it.
Boyfriend - Honey, Tom wouldn't have sent this guy if he didn't know what he was doing. Leave him alone and let him finish.
SC - (cat butt face) He'd better know what he's doing!
I finish the job, and since I am a perfectionist, it's a very pretty job. Even so, I know that SC will try to find something to bitch about. Predictable as the alphabet. Sure enough, she looks at it from inside. She looks at it from outside. She gets down on her hands and knees and looks inside it. She can't find anything wrong, and is obviously unhappy that she can't.
I tell her boyfriend the total, and give him an invoice. SC snatches it out of his hand and starts whining about the cost.
SC- Why is this so expensive?! This is robbery!
Me- Because you chose the best dog door anyone makes. The best things are expensive.
SC- Well, I've done business with Tom for years! He should be giving me some kind of a break!
Me- If you read the invoice, you'll see that he gave you a discount on the labor.
SC- Big deal! Ten percent! Twenty dollars. Whoop-de-doo! I've sent him a lot of customers. He should be doing a hell of a lot more than that!
(Right then, the electrician came into the room for something.)
Me- He is. He had me move an outlet for you at no cost, instead of charging the one hundred and twenty dollars that an electrician would have.
SC- Electricians don't charge a hundred and twenty dollars to move an outlet!
Electrician- Nope. A hundred and twenty was the rate ten years ago. It's a hundred and fifty now.
SC-
Well, that's just....
Boyfriend- Honey, just shut up. (Hands me a check.)
(FYI, it's a bigger deal for an electrician to move an outlet, because he also has to patch up the hole from the original location, whereas I didn't have to because I was putting the doggy door right there.)
A couple of weeks ago he asked me to install a doggy door for one of his customers, and offered me a nice chunk of change to do it since the customer was, in his words, "a miserable ball of sniveling and bitching". However, I figure that since I'm not really Tom's employee I am free to speak as I please, and I have no intention of taking any garbage. I say as much to Tom, who says "I hate dealing with her anyway. I don't care if you tell her to go piss up a rope."
When I arrived at the house, the woman wasn't there, but her boyfriend was, and an electrician was there doing some work. This becomes important later.
Both of them are very nice guys, and the electrician and I knew each other by sight, since we occasionally wind up working in the same house.
Now, it turns out that the house belongs to the boyfriend, not the woman. They're just finishing the construction, and he's moving her in with him. This is a very, very nice house. Very expensive neighborhood, all the flooring, woodwork, cabinetry etc. is the best money can buy. The doggy door is the best and most expensive one on the market. This guy is wealthy. And super nice! He kept chatting with the electrician and me, asking our opinions about various things, listening to our answers, offering us cold sodas or water to drink and so on. Just an awesome customer.
He shows me where he wants the doggy door. He's concerned that it won't work, because there's an electrical outlet in the way, but it's a frame and stucco construction house, and moving an outlet is very easy to do. I tell him that I can move it, and won't charge any extra for it, since it will add maybe five minutes to a 90 minute job. He looks very relieved, and says "Oh, good! My girlfriend insisted that the doggy door has to go right here!"
About the time I've got all the sheetrock cut out, the girlfriend arrives. I can hear her bitching about things before she even gets in the house. She's complaining to her boyfriend about the "stupid weather", "stupid traffic", "stupid neighbors", and blah blah blah. She sees me moving the outlet, and says in the snottiest, most accusational tone of voice I've ever heard:
SC- YOU'RE not Tom! What are YOU doing here!?
Me- Tom couldn't get out here today, so he sent me.
SC- Well, that's unacceptable! I want Tom doing this! Get him on the phone NOW!
Me- No. Tom's at the other end of the state, he will be all week. If you want this now I'll have to do it.
Boyfriend - Honey, Tom wouldn't have sent this guy if he didn't know what he was doing. Leave him alone and let him finish.
SC - (cat butt face) He'd better know what he's doing!
I finish the job, and since I am a perfectionist, it's a very pretty job. Even so, I know that SC will try to find something to bitch about. Predictable as the alphabet. Sure enough, she looks at it from inside. She looks at it from outside. She gets down on her hands and knees and looks inside it. She can't find anything wrong, and is obviously unhappy that she can't.
I tell her boyfriend the total, and give him an invoice. SC snatches it out of his hand and starts whining about the cost.
SC- Why is this so expensive?! This is robbery!
Me- Because you chose the best dog door anyone makes. The best things are expensive.
SC- Well, I've done business with Tom for years! He should be giving me some kind of a break!
Me- If you read the invoice, you'll see that he gave you a discount on the labor.
SC- Big deal! Ten percent! Twenty dollars. Whoop-de-doo! I've sent him a lot of customers. He should be doing a hell of a lot more than that!
(Right then, the electrician came into the room for something.)
Me- He is. He had me move an outlet for you at no cost, instead of charging the one hundred and twenty dollars that an electrician would have.
SC- Electricians don't charge a hundred and twenty dollars to move an outlet!
Electrician- Nope. A hundred and twenty was the rate ten years ago. It's a hundred and fifty now.
SC-
Well, that's just....Boyfriend- Honey, just shut up. (Hands me a check.)
(FYI, it's a bigger deal for an electrician to move an outlet, because he also has to patch up the hole from the original location, whereas I didn't have to because I was putting the doggy door right there.)
. Grumpy, why was an electrical outlet in the way? Wasn't the doggy door going on an actual door? Confused Cat is confused.
for the bf
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