Money, anyone?

Houses are money pits; I knew that going in. They're also time pits, but that is not the topic of today's post. I am not here to complain about how I'm hemorrhaging money, although that is, as they say, a true statement, and to set the context for what I am here to say, I do need to establish that there is substantial migration--an exodus, if you will-- of money from my books to those of the home repair/improvement industry. It follows that, if you are a part of that industry, there is a substantial amount of money to be made from my home repair needs.

So you'd think, particularly in this day in age when money is especially hard to come by, that you would want to increase your chances of being on the receiving end of the exodus. You'd think that this would not be the time to exhibit atrocious customer service.

Well, you're wrong. You'd be AMAZED.

Now, there is amazing customer service out there, and I'm actually in homeowner heaven because I've found a polite, responsive, skilled and reasonable electrician, which is like winning the lottery, but in the search process, I ran into some real duds, and I've been able to compile some tips for positioning yourself to capture homeowner dollars:

-For f*'s sake, be able to provide some kind of estimate or range without seeing the house.
-Answer phone calls promptly.
-Do not f* with me.

That last one is a bit all-encompassing. Here's one example: don't try to rip me off.

Have you ever been in a situation where you'd be willing to pay a little bit more to just get something done or because the hassle of finding an alternative is just not worth it? But then the potential doer of whatever you need done overplays his or her hand and quotes you a price that is just obscene?

Don't do that.

For the example that defines "don't f* with me"-- and this should come as a shock to no one-- allow me to describe my experience with BestBuy.

Now, I've never liked BestBuy, but between a great sale they were having on over-the-range microwaves and the BestBuy giftcard in my possession, I decided to go for it. Although BestBuy was charging more than the price of the microwave for installation, I was so fed up with house stuff that I was ready to just by the rate of extortion and let it go. But BestBuy was obnoxious enough to make giving them even more of my money not an option.

First of all, when I called to arrange for the installation, they transferred me around three times and then finally hung up on me. Twice. So I went over there.

BB: So, what day would you be available?
A.: I could be available on Friday afternoon. What time slots do you have?
BB: They'll call you the day before and tell you the time.
A.: They'll tell me the time? I have no say in the time?
BB: No. You can pick the day. They'll call you the day before and give you the time.
A.: I just can't plan to be around at any time during the day.
BB: You can't pick the time.
A.: Well, then, someone else will have to install the microwave.

Are they f*ing kidding me? Is anyone able to sit around all day or prepared to be home at a given time of day as specified by BestBuy on a day's notice?

Un-f*ing-believable.

***
I can go on, I have other stories. I'm in a good place, though-- an electrician just put in a dedicated line for my (leaky, soon-to-be-replaced) washing machine and also installed overhead lighting in my office/guestroom for less than the cost of Gracie's annual checkup/weigh-in/rabies shot. And the electrician doesn't poop on my carpet but I digress into apples to oranges. Apples to apples, he charged one-third the estimate I got two weeks ago from another electrician. So he's coming back to do two more rooms and the wiring part of the microwave (which, by the way, still hasn't make it to the BestBuy store even though they told me it would be in yesterday), and maybe even these elusive outlets. Perhaps that other electrician didn't find working for what I consider to be a reasonable price to be worth his time; that's his choice-- if he can find people willing to pay that much, good for him. There's lots of homeowner money out there for the earning. Mine is going to the reasonable, polite, professional, responsive guy.