Don't be a "Patsy" ! Part 1

I'm still reeling emotionally from my experience in the last couple of days.

In a post that I wrote last week about unscrupulous customers I mentioned a woman that I ran into at Home Depot. For those who haven't read it (click the link above) I'll give a quick run down of the events of that day............

As I was walking past the appliance department, I slowed to acknowledge the salesman that I recently purchased my washer and dryer from. He was talking to a woman who was telling him about three contractors that she had a horrible experience with. I, being the outspoken person that I am, decided to input my opinion. I felt really bad for this woman, who was a 60ish, small-built Italian woman. She was very outspoken herself....must have something to do with Italians....and we hit it off right from the start. I was going to prove to her that not all contractors are untrustworthy, so I gave her my card and told her that she finally met an honest person who wasn't going to beef up her bill with made-up items.
She called the following night, and I set up an appointment to meet with her on the following Saturday. Saturday came, I went to see her.....and that's where my story begins.......

Her name is Patsy....but she said that I could call her Pat.

 

I listened to my GPS, and turned into the house marked #70, Patsy's driveway. I stepped out of my truck and went to the front door and rang the doorbell. I was anxious to meet with Patsy because I was on a mission to redeem the construction industry. I rang the doorbell again, and I hear a voice calling me to the door on the driveway side. I turned to go towards the driveway, with a bit of a spring in my step, and there at the side door was Patsy.

This is NOT Patsy....just kinda looks like her...

She smiled and said to me in a somewhat high pitched voice....."Oh, I see you showed up on time....that's a good start. Can you move your truck to the spot in the front of my yard, where the stone is?"

The funny thing is that I did notice the stone driveway, but I also noticed a BIG sign that said NO PARKING....so I replied, "Do you mean the parking area that has a no parking sign?"
 
"Yes, Mister funny man, I don't want your truck damaging my driveway"

I thought this was a bit weird, but I got in my pickup truck, and moved it. I greeted her at the door on the side of the house and she seemed genuinely happy to see me. She started by telling me how lucky she felt because the nice man at Home Depot said I was a really good and trustworthy contractor. This was a good start, and I was feeling confident that we were going to make Patsy really happy.

Like all Italians do, she went off subject a number of times, telling me about her four daughters, and how many grandchildren she had, and the town she was born in. I was being polite, and encouraged her even more by asking questions. I think that having a good dialog with a potential customer is a good thing because they get a feel for the kind of person that I am.

She showed me around the house and explained to me the things that she wanted. 

 

It was a nice list, with things like: repair the hole in the kitchen ceiling that the last contractor left her, and fix a running toilet and a leaky shut off valve, replace the faucet and handles in the shower (and she absolutely did not want "clear" handles because you can see all the crud through them), spread 12 tons of stone that she was going to have delivered, and a few other things. After looking at all the things that she wanted, that's when she started to tell me about how hard it is to live alone on a fixed income and she is supporting her daughter who can't find a job and who has a three-year old child, and how the father of the child doesn't want to acknowledge him...

...and her most frequently spoken words..."You know, I didn't hit the lottery."

I do understand how hard it is to survive in the great state of New Jersey, and I assured Patsy that I would be completely fair and I was planning on giving her really affordable prices to help her out. She smiled at me and made sure to let me know one more time that she had not hit the lottery. When I got back to my office, I got started immediately on figuring out Patsy's proposal.

I figured out all of the pricing and since I wanted to help Patsy out, I shaved a nice 10% off of the final price. On the following Monday I hand-delivered the proposal to Patsy's house and I made sure not to park in the driveway. There was no answer at the door, and I left the proposal in the door.

That night I get a call from Patsy who was happy to get the proposal so fast, but there were things that she wanted to remove from the list as she explained to me that she hadn't hit the lottery over the weekend. I tried to explain to her that I had given her the best possible price and there was nothing else I could do before I started losing money.

Patsy is a shrewd person and she kept trying to get me to give her a break on the prices.  For example, I charged her $350.00 to spread and level the 12 tons of stone in the driveway.....she was willing to pay $50.00 and after I listened to her (over and over) how she could get one of the neighborhood kids to do it for $25.00....I told her to go ahead and get the neighbor's kid to do it.

Then, in a concerned tone she asked "You DO have insurance, because I'm looking at your card and I don't see that you have insurance?" I assured her that I did in fact have insurance. She went on about the insurance for twenty minutes.

We agreed on about half the list, and I set up a time the following week to get started. 

 

A few nights before we were to start, Patsy called me to ask if I would paint the walls in the kitchen.  I told her that was fine, and she told me that she would be buying the paint herself.
I was about to tell her how much that would be, and she said "well, since you'll already have the stuff there, you could do it for me?"

I was a bit surprised and replied, " C'mon Patsy, I'm gonna have to charge you.  After all you got me to paint the ceiling for nothing and I need to make money to pay for my men." She replied, "Geez, you're gonna be there anyway, and what's the big deal?" She went on about this for another fifteen minutes until I finally agreed to paint the entire kitchen for $125.00 SUPER DISCOUNT!

We showed up on the day that was promised and got to work right away. Patsy met us outside and was glad to see that I parked in my designated parking area. She informed me that I could carry all of my equipment and materials over to the house......so I would have them all there......it was a two hundred foot walk to the house.

We finished carrying all of the needed supplies across the yard and to the house,

Long walk to Patsy's house

while Patsy  was right behind us going over all of the things that we had agreed upon. She even tried to get me to drop my prices again, saying that if I gave her a break she would be calling me back for other things in the near future. After I declined to give her yet another discount, she asked me if I could fix her kitchen table which would shake from side to side......I finally agreed to look at it.

She reminded me that she didn't receive my insurance certificate and I again assured her that it was sent out and she should have it by the following day. I explained to her (again) that because of state laws I had to have insurance to be licensed. I was surprised that she hadn't received it because my insurance company mails me a copy, and I had received that two days prior.

She then informed me that when I came to look at the work the first time, that I didn't shut off the valve to the toilet hard enough and the valve leaked into the basement and left a spot on the ceiling.
"What are you going to do about that?" she asked with her hands on her hips. I explained to her that it was SHE that had not only turned it on, but also turned it off! She insisted that she had not shut it off, and that I should paint the ceiling in the basement. I told her I would look at it.

I set up my worker in the kitchen. I explained to him that I wanted the work to be perfect. I went to the bathroom to repair the leaky toilet and I could hear Patsy giving my man, who is not a patient person, instructions on how to do his job. I chuckled because I could tell he was becoming flustered by Patsy's instructions and demands.  "Make sure you don't get any paint on my cabinets" and "What kind of brushes are you using?" and "Make sure that you cover everything" and "I want the whole floor covered with plastic" and "Make sure that when your finished, the ceiling is perfect, I don't want to be able to see that it was patched."

I had to go to my truck for a drill and my helper ran out and asked me to tell her to leave him alone, and that if she kept nagging him, he was going to lose his temper. I explained to him that she was just "that kind" of person and compared it to taking a spoonful of nasty tasting medicine.....it's bad at first, but after it goes down, you realize that it wasn't so bad after all. I also told him to be patient and absolutely DO NOT lose your temper........End of part one.......tune in tomorrow for the unbelievably stunning climax....  

TIP OF THE DAY:

FIX A LEAKY TOILET:

Your toilet flushes just fine, and doesn't know when to quit. Sometimes it stops running and then starts up again suddenly or you notice a constant stream into the bowl. Either way, it's wasting a lot of water and making that noise that keeps you up at night. Fortunately, it's usually not difficult or expensive to fix.

Mechanisms vary, but they all work on the same principles. Flush a couple of times while you watch in the tank with the tank lid off and notice the process.

• When you push the handle, the chain lifts a flapper, letting a tankful of water fall through the opening in the bottom, into the bowl. As the water level drops, the flapper drops and closes the opening.
• A plastic float drops as the water drains. The float is connected to a valve that lets water into the tank when the float is down and stops (or should stop) when the float is up.
• In the middle, there's also an overflow tube that drains water out into the bowl if it gets too high.

  If the tank is not full and it is not filling, chances are that the flapper is stuck open.

Reach in and close it with your hand. If it sticks repeatedly, look for the cause. Make any necessary adjustments.

• Is the chain catching on something or is the flapper catching on the chain? Try threading the flapper chain through a plastic soda straw to prevent a long chain from getting stuck on things and preventing the flapper from seating properly. Or, replace the chain completely with a loop made from dental floss that is the same length as the chain.
• Is the flapper wedged open on its hinge?
• Is the flapper aligned with the opening?
• If you have a ball seal instead of a flapper, is the wire that lifts the ball straight and does it move freely?

Don't forget to shut off the water

• The most common cause of slow leaks is a leaky flapper. Over time, this inexpensive rubber part may decay or get old and stiff to the point that it needs replacing, or minerals may build up on it and/or the rim of the flush valve where it seats.
• If the flapper is still in good shape, sometimes all it takes to make it work is to clean it &/or the rim where it seats.
  • Run a finger carefully around the underside of the flapper and the rim where it seats. Remove any uneven buildup of minerals that might cause a leak. Use a sponge with bleach or steel wool or #500 wet-or-dry abrasive paper.
• Cleaning may work to remove mineral buildup, but it's usually best just to replace the whole part. There are a few standard kinds, so take your old one with you to the hardware store for comparison (to ensure you get the right kind). To perform a replacement: 
• Close the water valve and flush the toilet. If the valve is completely closed, the tank will not refill and you will not hear water running after the tank empties.
• Pop the old flapper off its hinges, disconnect it from the chain, and pop the new one into place.
• Don't forget to open the valve all the way when you're ready for water again.

  

  Just one kind of flapper

• Try flushing a few times to make sure the chain is the right length for the new flapper. It should open when you push the handle and then drop closed all the way when the tank empties. You may have to trim and adjust the chain by trial and error. Also, make sure that the flapper aligns properly with the opening.
•  This SHOULD fix your leaky toilet.....and now you can come and help me over at Patsy's house....just DON'T PARK IN THE DRIVEWAY!