death to local locksmith
Jan. 14th, 2010 10:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deadlightsgirlSo Gracie locked us out of the downstairs bathroom last night -- used the potty, locked the door from the inside, then shut it behind her. I tried to pick it, but my thieving skills apparently suck.
Not a huge deal, as we have another bathroom. So this morning, I called "15-minute locksmith". They said the guy would call within 15 minutes. Took him 40 to call. When he does, he tells me crap about getting a flat tire and he won't be here for at least 40 minutes. So I said, did you tell dispatch? Perhaps I should call them. SUDDENLY his car is fixed and he's on his way. Tells me he's the only guy in the area and it will take him half an hour to get here. I said, the area isn't that big. You're not half an hour away AND in the area. So he switches to "no, I mean it will take me half an hour once I get to you to fix it"
Worst liar EVER. I am definitely going to call dispatch back and narc on him once he leaves.
*edit -- I decided to call dispatch right away. They were very polite and apologised profusely and said they would get someone out to me right away. 10 or so minutes later, I get another call from the same guy. Apparently dispatch called him and yelled at him, so he called to whine at me. "I'm on my way to you, is that all right? You called to scold me, then you call my boss, wah wah". I said dude, your flat is not my problem, and I don't appreciate you giving me a hard time when I call to say I don't appreciate getting crappy service. I called dispatch to see if they had another guy who wasn't having car trouble. He says "oh, do you still want me to come?" I said yes, let's just do this and get it over with.
My complaining to dispatch is FAR from over, but I want this taken care of already and I'm afraid if Poor Baby gets yelled at again he will have to pull over to cry about it (or call me back to whine more), and I'll never get my fucking door opened. Do you believe this shit?
Special thanks goes out to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lastwordy_mcgee , for being on FB chat with me during this saga and getting the incredulous rage firsthand.
*edit the second -- guy has come and gone, finally. He got here, started to drill (and watching, I believe my mother could have opened this gorram door, if only she'd answer her phone), and then informed me it would cost $90 plus a $30 service fee. I said whoa, this is NOT okay. Called dispatch back, who said they could knock off the service fee. I agreed, since the service was the part here that sucked, but then we got cut off. The guy (who was wearing bunches of cologne and had bloodshot eyes, and was way older than I had expected -- from the whinger he was on the phone, I had been expecting a 20 year old, this guy had to be my age) opens the door, which is now broken and can't be locked again, a thing with which I am fine. He says, so what did dispatch say? I said, does it matter? He says no, writes out a receipt and only charges me $60 for the whole thing as long as I paid him in cash, which thanks to my brother, I had in the house.
Thus endeth the Saga of the Locksmith, and all I can figure the moral to be is this -- making service guys afraid of you isn't really a bad thing (I was very friendly in my complainery all the way through). Also, beware children once they realise they have thumbs.
*edit the final, presumably -- I went for a walk after all this fei-hua was over, and when I got home I realised that this mess with the locksmith was (also) the 'verse giving me a message about a totally unrelated area of my life which has been cause for ponderation the past couple of days, and I got the message. It was to remain friendly and go through proper channels, but at the same to not roll over and allow myself to be treated badly. I wouldn't have gotten the big discount if I hadn't stood up for myself (nor, probably, if I hadn't been as smiley as possible about it), and at the same time, I did express justified frustration and not pretend everything was okay when it wasn't. I also had some realisations about me, inspiration, elements, and motion...for me, insight and creativity don't come if I sleep on it or meditate; they come when I put myself out in the air or in moving water (like the shower, though it also works when I wash dishes), and am moving. A good learning day, even with the aggravation. Makes it worthwhile.
Not a huge deal, as we have another bathroom. So this morning, I called "15-minute locksmith". They said the guy would call within 15 minutes. Took him 40 to call. When he does, he tells me crap about getting a flat tire and he won't be here for at least 40 minutes. So I said, did you tell dispatch? Perhaps I should call them. SUDDENLY his car is fixed and he's on his way. Tells me he's the only guy in the area and it will take him half an hour to get here. I said, the area isn't that big. You're not half an hour away AND in the area. So he switches to "no, I mean it will take me half an hour once I get to you to fix it"
Worst liar EVER. I am definitely going to call dispatch back and narc on him once he leaves.
*edit -- I decided to call dispatch right away. They were very polite and apologised profusely and said they would get someone out to me right away. 10 or so minutes later, I get another call from the same guy. Apparently dispatch called him and yelled at him, so he called to whine at me. "I'm on my way to you, is that all right? You called to scold me, then you call my boss, wah wah". I said dude, your flat is not my problem, and I don't appreciate you giving me a hard time when I call to say I don't appreciate getting crappy service. I called dispatch to see if they had another guy who wasn't having car trouble. He says "oh, do you still want me to come?" I said yes, let's just do this and get it over with.
My complaining to dispatch is FAR from over, but I want this taken care of already and I'm afraid if Poor Baby gets yelled at again he will have to pull over to cry about it (or call me back to whine more), and I'll never get my fucking door opened. Do you believe this shit?
Special thanks goes out to
lastwordy_mcgee , for being on FB chat with me during this saga and getting the incredulous rage firsthand.*edit the second -- guy has come and gone, finally. He got here, started to drill (and watching, I believe my mother could have opened this gorram door, if only she'd answer her phone), and then informed me it would cost $90 plus a $30 service fee. I said whoa, this is NOT okay. Called dispatch back, who said they could knock off the service fee. I agreed, since the service was the part here that sucked, but then we got cut off. The guy (who was wearing bunches of cologne and had bloodshot eyes, and was way older than I had expected -- from the whinger he was on the phone, I had been expecting a 20 year old, this guy had to be my age) opens the door, which is now broken and can't be locked again, a thing with which I am fine. He says, so what did dispatch say? I said, does it matter? He says no, writes out a receipt and only charges me $60 for the whole thing as long as I paid him in cash, which thanks to my brother, I had in the house.
Thus endeth the Saga of the Locksmith, and all I can figure the moral to be is this -- making service guys afraid of you isn't really a bad thing (I was very friendly in my complainery all the way through). Also, beware children once they realise they have thumbs.
*edit the final, presumably -- I went for a walk after all this fei-hua was over, and when I got home I realised that this mess with the locksmith was (also) the 'verse giving me a message about a totally unrelated area of my life which has been cause for ponderation the past couple of days, and I got the message. It was to remain friendly and go through proper channels, but at the same to not roll over and allow myself to be treated badly. I wouldn't have gotten the big discount if I hadn't stood up for myself (nor, probably, if I hadn't been as smiley as possible about it), and at the same time, I did express justified frustration and not pretend everything was okay when it wasn't. I also had some realisations about me, inspiration, elements, and motion...for me, insight and creativity don't come if I sleep on it or meditate; they come when I put myself out in the air or in moving water (like the shower, though it also works when I wash dishes), and am moving. A good learning day, even with the aggravation. Makes it worthwhile.
