What to Expect

My post today is a bit of a rave and rant, so I apologize in advance for my complaining.

Last week I needed a plumber to fix a leak in our water filtration system. I called a company that I’ve used multiple times, and set up a Friday morning service window. I kind of forgot about the appointment until 11:55am when I got a call from the plumber. He apologized profusely and asked if it was okay for him to come within the next hour. Otherwise if that inconvenienced me he was happy to reschedule for a different day.

I’m actually not irritated about this at all. I really appreciate that: 

1. He called during our original window. 
2. He acknowledged he wouldn’t be able to come within our window.
3. He apologized for the inconvenience. 
4. He offered alternative solutions.

I’ll contrast this with another house project I have going on. It’s a very long story, but the short of it is, I need some stucco repair. Yesterday was our third appointment where the contractor did not show up. No call. No apology. Just doesn’t come. When I ask what happened, there is always a justification for why he couldn’t make it, and we reschedule for another day.

Unfortunately this second story is more of what I typically experience. But it’s not always missing appointments.

I’m a faithful Consumer Reports reader. If we are going to make a big purchase I always research the reviews from Consumer Reports. A few years ago I needed to get new tires for Kaimey’s car. Since that car carries my family around every day, I wanted to have the best tires on it. I researched and found the exact tire I wanted. I called around different tire stores and finally found one that said they could order the tire.

Really, this should be an uneventful story. I went and got the tires put on, right? Maybe it took longer than expected? Nope. When I picked up her car, it had completely different tires on it! I told the store, and they just said, “These are comparable.” Needless to say, I made them order the tires I originally wanted and install those. But this required another appointment, more schedule coordinating, switching cars with Kaimey, more hassle.

One more story. I’m going somewhere with this, so keep reading.

We built our house almost 3 years ago on a one-acre piece of land we’ve owned for a long time. I wanted to fence in the yard, so I interviewed several fence companies. I found one who does a lot of work in this area and seemed to know his stuff. Now, he actually showed up when he said he would, and he built the kind of fence that we agreed on. However, I have one complaint. Each support post for our fence has a small metal cap on it. I must have 100 of those posts. And every single metal cap is a little crooked.

It’s not a big deal, but it really bugs me. I don’t understand why someone wouldn’t take a little extra time to just do the job right to make it look great instead of rushing through it sloppily.

Am I asking too much?

Really I think it’s pretty easy. At the very least, I expect three things from people:

1. Show up when you say you’re going to show up.
2. Do what you say you’re going to do.
3. Take pride in your work.

It’s amazing to me that actually doing all three of these will put you way ahead of any competitors. In any line of work. There are just so many people that can’t be bothered to actually do all three.

As I talk to potential clients I unfortunately hear lots of these stories. My current advisor never calls me back. She always talks about the planning she is going to do for me but never actually follows through. He filled out the paperwork incorrectly and it created tax penalties for me.

I’m meticulous about each of these. Probably because it bothers me so much when other people don’t do them. Also because I just believe it’s the right thing to do. The Bible tells us to let our “yes” mean “yes,” and to work hard at everything like you are doing it for God.

If you want to lament about someone not doing their best work, give me a call! I’ve still got more stories!