| Written by Ed Lamaze,
on 09-11-2008
|
Views : 433  |
 What has become of the service industry? Any service. You know, where a person might provide something of need (service) to someone who might need it? I seem to recall a time when people cared, customers mattered. It's been a while.
Three years ago, we did a bit of remodeling in our home. One of the rooms redone was our bedroom. Layer upon layer of wallpaper was removed--our goal to expose the plaster beneath, repair any cracks or holes and paint the walls. Each newly exposed layer was like opening a time capsule to the stylish decor of the past ninety years. Flowers were very popular. And puke green. When I finally made it to the bare wall I was shocked at what I found.
The men who had so painstakingly placed that first layer of paper on the wall were apparently very proud of the work they did. The work they would leave behind for generations to build upon and cover up. They signed and dated the wall.
It made me wonder if the craftsmen of today felt that same sense of
pride--ownership--in a job well done. A job done so well that they
were not ashamed to leave their name as a calling card for generations
to follow. William Gerard was proud of the wallpaper he hung in my
bedroom in 1913. He should have been, he did good work. (For the
record--his name was not William Gerard. I made that up. And it may
not have been 1913. It may have been 1908 or 1918. I can't remember
exactly. I had a very nice picture of it but I'll be damned if I can
find it now. Not that you care but I just didn't want anyone
attempting to locate descendants of the Gerard family of fine wall
paper hangers assuming that once found they would be able to provide
superior wall paper hanging services. Not that there may be a Gerard
family that does fine wall paper hanging work, there may be. I
reiterate, I made it up so I don't really know.)
As usual, I seem to have lost my way. Where was I going? Oh. This
past week I encountered a bit of electrical trouble. There was a
breaker that would not stay on and I thought it had gone bad. It's an
old breaker. It's an old house. I just mentioned a wallpaper hanger
having worked in the house in the early 1900's. Until 2005, that was
the last time our house had any major remodeling work. The house was
built in 1827. It's old! Very old.
My fears were confirmed on a quick trip to Lowe's. The breaker I
needed has been declared officially obsolete as of last year. I was
going to need professional help. I actually do need professional help
but that's another story altogether. There is an electrician that
keeps shop just down the road from us, I pass him almost daily. I see
his truck all over town. I rang him up to explain my situation and not
surprisingly, got his recorder.
I left a message.
And another.
And another.
Always polite, always explaining the relatively simple problem I had
encountered, always with an impassioned plea to please return my call.
I'm fairly certain I left my number. The call was never returned.
Apparently Mr. Amstutz, or is it Mr. Hedges? (I have no way of knowing
for certain for as I just mentioned, my calls were never returned.)
has no need for the money I was so willing to give him/them. Easy
money it turns out.
A call to another electrician was immediately answered and the job
eagerly accepted. "I'll be there at 3 o'clock," he said. At 3 he
called to inform me he was running behind but would be here at 4. He
arrived at 3:45. By 4:00 pm he had my problem solved, shook my hand
and hopped back into his van $40 richer.
Forty dollars I was more than happy to part with, for not only did he
solve my problem but he did it with careful detail to providing
excellent customer service. I took his business card. I'm writing his
name on the breaker box should I, as I am prone to do, lose his card.
Because Adam with CRT gave me what I expected--good service.
The sad reality of my experience has been that rather than being able
to provide an exhaustive list of people I would recommend to do a job,
I have a pretty extensive list of who not to call. Maybe I can cross
electrician off of the list. Now, for a plumber...
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