I'M STARTING A NEW "ME TOO" MOVEMENT IN PROTEST OF ALL WORKMEN..... SERVICE TECHNICIANS.... APPLIANCE REPAIR MEN....MECHANICS AND IN TODAYS CASE.... THE POOL REPAIR GUY..... I KNOW THIS IS LONG BUT FOR MY REALTOR ANET....SHE KNOWS TO READ ALL THE WAY TO THE END FOR THE PUNCH LINE... AND TODAY THIS ONE IS A REAL DOOZY....
NOW THIS MIGHT NOT APPLY TO MANY READING THIS BUT I'M SURE YOU HAVE ALL BEEN THERE....IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER... THIS COULD HAVE BEEN JUST A SIMPLE FACEBOOK POST BUT WHAT HAPPENED WAS SO RIDICULOUS IN THE MEN VS. WOMEN CATEGORY THAT IT DESERVES IT'S OWN BLOG POST...
WE HAD A BAD WINTER THIS YEAR AND WE DO HAVE THE FOUR SEASONS HERE IN GEORGIA....BUT WE STILL ARE ABLE TO KEEP THE POOL OPEN ALL YEAR...WHICH ONLY MEANS IT DOESN'T GET COVERED. IT'S SALT WATER SO COME SPRING WE JUST CRANK UP THE HEAT AND IT'S GOOD TO GO.... BUT IT GETS A LITTLE BATHTUB LOOKING RING AROUND THE TILES SO EVERY FEW YEARS WE NEED TO GET THEM CLEANED....
OUR USUAL COMPANY NO LONGER OFFERS THIS SERVICE SO I CALLED TO GET A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE FOLKS WHO PUT THE POOL IN....... I CALLED "POOL GUY #1" AND LEFT A MESSAGE BUT MADE THE MISTAKE OF SAYING...."IT'S NOT A BIG JOB THE POOL IS ONLY 4 FEET DEEP".... OF COURSE I NEVER HEARD FROM THE GUY....
WHICH LED ME TO "POOL GUY #2"..... I LEAVE A MESSAGE FOR "HENRY" AND SURE ENOUGH HE CALLS BACK... OF COURSE HE DID....BECAUSE HENRY PROBABLY HASN'T HAD WORK IN YEARS.... WHEN I RETURN HIS CALL HE ANSWERS THE PHONE WITH A DIFFERENT NAME... HE CALLS HIMSELF "CHRIS" BUT WHEN I ASK FOR HENRY HE SAYS IT'S HIM... IT SEEMS CHRIS IS HIS NICKNAME.....OKAY...BUT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A CLUE...
HE TELLS ME HE WILL CALL ME SUNDAY NIGHT AND COME OUT THIS WEEK EITHER TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY....I TELL HIM IN DETAIL....LET ME REPEAT THAT.... I TELL HIM IN DETAIL WHAT I NEED DONE... TILE CLEANED IN BOTH POOL AND SPA AND IT'S REALLY A ONE MAN JOB BECUASE IT'S ONLY 4 FEET DEEP (I'M AFRAID OF WATER, IT'S A THERAPY POOL) I ADDED IT SHOULD NOT TAKE ONE MAN MORE THEN A COUPLE OF HOURS TO DO... HE TELLS ME IT WILL BE HIM AND HIS ASSISTANT...HE SHOULD HAVE LEFT OFF THE "ISTANT" PART OF THAT WORD....IN ANY CASE...HE NEVER CALLS SUNDAY... I CALL HIM TUESDAY AND HE TELLS ME HIS SISTER IS DYING....HE'S SORRY HE DIDN'T CALL..... CLUE #2..... I ONCE AGAIN REPEAT MYSELF ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE POOL EVEN INCLUDING THAT IT'S ONLY 10,000 GALLONS AND 4 FEET DEEP...I NEED THE TILES CLEANED. HE QUOTES ME BETWEEN $150 AND $250 TO BE DETERMINED WHEN HE GETS TO THE HOUSE...IT IS A SMALL JOB SO THE PRICE DID NOT ALERT ME...
HE IS SUPPOSE TO SHOW TODAY BETWEEN ONE AND THREE... I GO OFF TO ART CLASS LEAVING THE BOSS TO PAY HIM BUT I TELL THE BOSS I HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS GUY... THE BOSS TELLS ME.... "THEN WHY AREN'T YOU STAYING HOME TO DEAL WITH HIM"..... WELL.....GOOD POINT...BUT I HAVE ART CLASS... NOW I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO TELL OFF A MAN FOR MONTHS NOW... I HAVE JUST REACHED THE POINT WHERE I HAVE HAD IT.... YOU HAVE ALL BEEN THERE...
THE CAR DEALER WHO TELLS YOU HE DOESN'T HEAR ANY NOISE.... THE WASHING MACHINE REPAIR GUY WHO TELLS YOU... "I DON'T SEE ANYTHING WRONG".... HOW ABOUT THAT CABLE GUY...YOU KNOW THE ONE WITH THE BUTT CRACK THAT TELLS YOU..... "IT'S WORKING FINE FOR ME....MAYBE IT'S SOMETHING "YOUR" DOING WRONG".... HOW ABOUT AT CHRISTMAS WHEN THE SEWER BACKED UP IN OUR LAUNDRY ROOM AND THE GUY HAD TO COME BACK THREE TIMES IN TWO DAYS BECAUSE HE DIDN'T BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAID I STILL HEARD GURGLING....
WELL TODAY WAS THE DAY I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR FOR MONTHS... THE DAY THE BOSS WALKED AWAY LEAVING ME TO MY OWN DEVICES.... TO INSULT.... BE RUDE... AND SAY EVERYTHING SHORT OF CALLING "THE POOL GUY" AN A$$....HOLE HE SHOWS UP WITH HIS ASSISTANT AND A DOG THAT HE LEAVES IN THE TRUCK... THE DOG...NOT THE ASSISTANT....NOW IT WAS PROBABLY IN THE 80'S HERE TODAY AND THIS POOR LITTLE DOG WAS NOT HAPPY.... HE TELLS THE BOSS HE CAN DO THE JOB FOR $150.00 THEN PROCEEDS TO GET INTO THE POOL AND START THROWING ACID ON THE STONE UNDER THE WATERFALL... HE CLAIMS TO HIS ASSISTANT (WHO WAS SITTING ON A LOUNGE CHAIR) THAT HE GOT SOME IN HIS EYES AND ON HIS SKIN.... OKAY.....IT'S ACID... HE MAKES A LOT OF NOISE SPLASHING WATER ON HIMSELF AS I KEEP AN EYE OUT THE KITCHEN WINDOW WHILE I'M COOKING.... 15 MINUTES LATER THE ASSISTANT COMES TO THE BACK DOOR TO SAY THEY WERE DONE AND WOULD LIKE TO BE PAID... HOW DID I KNOW WHAT WAS COMING....
I GO OUT AND THIS BIG FAT SLOB WITH TWO PIRATE EARRINGS IS GETTING OUT OF THE POOL.....I ASK "WHAT ABOUT THE TILE????" TO WHICH I GET THIS....
"WHAT TILE? I WAS HERE TO CLEAN OFF THE WHITE RESIDUE ON JUST WHAT YOU TOLD ME ON THE. PHONE....YOU SAID YOU HAD A 3FT X 4FT AREA THAT NEEDED TO BE CLEANED....THAT'S WHAT I DID".....PLUS THAT TILE CAN'T BE CLEANED...THE WHOLE POOL NEEDS TO BE DRAINED" "YOU ALSO TOLD ME THE POOL WAS ABOUT TEN YEARS OLD AND I TOLD YOU I COULD DO IT BUT NOT TODAY"....
THAT DID IT.....AT THAT POINT THE BOSS WHO WAS LISTENING FROM THE SIDELINES EXITS THE PATIO AND GOES IN TO THE HOUSE.... I WENT NUTS...AND SUE NEVER GOES NUTS... I LOOKED AT THAT GUY AND SAID "WHAT ARE YOU NUTS...I NEVER SAID ANY OF THOSE THINGS"... "I TOLD YOU MULTIPLE TIMES THE SIZE OF THE POOL...THE GALLONS....THE TILES...YOUR NOT SERIOUS"..... HE LOOKED AT ME WITH THIS HURT SHOCKED LOOK AND SAID... "ARE YOU UPSET ABOUT SOMETHING???? I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE UPSET"
TO WHICH I REPLIED A SIMPLE... "DO YOU THINK"..... WELL...I DIDN'T SEE SUE'S FACE BUT THE BOSS SAID I WAS HOLDING MY OWN IN THIS MAN VS. WOMEN WAR OF WORDS AND HE THOUGHT I WAS DOING JUST FINE ON MY OWN... THE GUY WAS SO "SHOCKED" THAT I WOULD QUESTION HIS INTEGRITY AND THE THOUSANDS OF POOLS HE HAS CLEANED THAT HE SAID HE WOULD NOT CHARGE ME....AS LONG AS I GAVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE.... I OFFERED TO PAY HIM SOMETHING BUT HE REFUSED.... FINE BY ME.... LEAVING ME HIS CARD AND A QUOTE TO DRAIN AND CLEAN THE POOL FOR A MERE $1300.00 PARTS INCLUDED... HE LEFT AND WE PROMPTLY SHUT THE GATE BEHIND HIM... FIRST THING I DID BACK IN THE HOUSE WAS GOOGLE HIM.... I FOUND HIS FACEBOOK PAGE FOR THE COMPANY WHICH HE HAD "REVIEWS" OF HIS SERVICE.... FUNNY THING ONE OF THE REVIEWS WAS WRITTEN BY A MAN NAME "HENRY" WITH THE SAME LAST NAME AS HIS... SO HE'S WRITING AND POSTING HIS OWN REVIEWS AND IS TOO STUPID TO CHANGE HIS NAME....BUT IT EXPLAINS THE NICKNAME CHRIS. SUCH A MORON......
I FINALLY CALM DOWN WITH A GLASS OF TEA....I SIT DOWN NEXT TO THE BOSS ON THE SOFA....AND WE DISCUSS HOW HORRIBLE THIS GUY WAS..... WHEN THE BOSS SAYS.... "I THINK HE WAS DRUNK....." ME....."DID YOU SMELL ANYTHING ON HIS BREATH"..... THE BOSS.... "NO BUT YOU DO REALIZE WHEN HE CAME OUT OF THE POOL AND YOU WERE YELLING AT HIM HE WAS IN HIS UNDERPANTS"......
AND ANET....THERE'S YOUR PUNCHLINE!
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