Two Brazilian guys showed up on my porch yesterday morning. They proceeded to crawl all over my house, make a huge racket, and throw stuff into the yard. They were supposed to do that. They also broke one of my windows, which they were not supposed to do. It was totally an accident, I get it. I’m sure it happens from time to time. I wasn’t really mad. When the foreman called me to let me know that not only was the window broken, but that the roofing company (A Better Roofing) had already contacted a a glass guy to make the fix, I told him that I appreciated that they were taking care of it, that I knew they would make it right, and I went back to my project.
Later that evening when the estimator stopped by just to check in, apologize for the hassle, and confirm that the glass guy was on his way, I was still not mad. The roofing company had shown good follow-up and intent to make things right. But by the time 8pm arrived and there was still no glass guy, I was pissed. I was even more cranky when I was up on a ladder putting the storm window back on to cover the broken pane – though I was glad I’d done so when I heard the rain early this morning.
I was a bit short with the foreman when we talked. Yes, I know you’re sorry, I said, and yes, I totally get that this was an accident. But you need to get the glass guy on the line, set a time, and have him contact me to confirm. I have places-to-be-things-to-do-work-to-manage and I can’t be sitting around my house waiting for some imaginary guy to fix something that’s your responsibility to take care of. Sorry is all fine and well but my window is still broken.
In spite of the fact that what I thought was to be a one day job is taking two days, the crew seems to be doing a good job. However, things have shifted such that my satisfaction with their work in the short term is going to revolve not around the roof, but around the repair to my window. This is risky for a roofing company. The foreman told me that he was going to send someone to the glass guy’s house to find out what the hell happened to him. If they don’t send me a glass guy today, I am going to get my own repairman and deduct it from the roofing bill – plus hourly costs for my time to arrange the repair.
Grrr. Homeownership is a joy.