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Most exasperated
Jan. 26th, 2022 03:59 pmThe only source of heat in our house, aside from electric space heaters, is a propane gas fireplace (not stove) in the living room. This has been failing mysteriously all fall. We had the fireplace guy out twice; the second time, my husband had noticed that the fireplace seemed to fail more often in windy, wet weather. No, this was not a plus.
The fireplace guy, who is awesome, spent about a half an hour poking, and refused to charge us for the second visit because he determined that the problem was with the chimney, not with the fireplace itself. Scheduled a visit in early January for the chimney people to come out.
The chimney people did not come out; they called after 5 to explain they'd run behind on their previous job, so I'd have to schedule, and their office lady would be reaching out. She didn't, so I called to reschedule. She gave me a date another two weeks out. I pointed out that the original date was rescheduled through no fault of our own, and that we'd been without heat since late December. She snarled that she had had people waiting without heat for months. I grimly accepted the new date.
Reader, that date was today. An hour after the people were supposed to show up, I called the office. The office lady (their term, not mine) answered the phone with "Hello?", not giving the business name. I explained that nobody had been there for the appointment. She said she'd call the roofers and call me back.
Half an hour after that call, the roofers called me.
"Well, the problem was that our office lady forgot to give me the paperwork. It's just as well, though, because I just talked to [Fireplace Guy] and it turns out we need two people anyway, and I've only got one. So it all worked out for the best. Anyway, she'll reach out to you to reschedule."
Me, remembering the last time she'd "reached out", said, "Will she reach out, or do I need to call her?" Him: "She'll call you tomorrow morning. She's out for the day." That was at 3:45 local; the original appointment had been for two.
Rural living, ladies and gentlebeings. No matter how disorganized and incompetent the chimney people are, they're the only ones in the area.
The fireplace guy, who is awesome, spent about a half an hour poking, and refused to charge us for the second visit because he determined that the problem was with the chimney, not with the fireplace itself. Scheduled a visit in early January for the chimney people to come out.
The chimney people did not come out; they called after 5 to explain they'd run behind on their previous job, so I'd have to schedule, and their office lady would be reaching out. She didn't, so I called to reschedule. She gave me a date another two weeks out. I pointed out that the original date was rescheduled through no fault of our own, and that we'd been without heat since late December. She snarled that she had had people waiting without heat for months. I grimly accepted the new date.
Reader, that date was today. An hour after the people were supposed to show up, I called the office. The office lady (their term, not mine) answered the phone with "Hello?", not giving the business name. I explained that nobody had been there for the appointment. She said she'd call the roofers and call me back.
Half an hour after that call, the roofers called me.
"Well, the problem was that our office lady forgot to give me the paperwork. It's just as well, though, because I just talked to [Fireplace Guy] and it turns out we need two people anyway, and I've only got one. So it all worked out for the best. Anyway, she'll reach out to you to reschedule."
Me, remembering the last time she'd "reached out", said, "Will she reach out, or do I need to call her?" Him: "She'll call you tomorrow morning. She's out for the day." That was at 3:45 local; the original appointment had been for two.
Rural living, ladies and gentlebeings. No matter how disorganized and incompetent the chimney people are, they're the only ones in the area.
