ListWise

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Yes with an “If’ and No with a “But”

Yes, I could say the dining room is completely finished IF I had the drapes. No, the dining room is not finished, BUT it would be if I had the drapes.

I drove the last nail and dipped the last paint brush this weekend. The only thing lacking is the drapes. The woman I hired through Craig’s List said I would get them tomorrow, but I’m a little nervous. Originally she said they would take her about a week to do and I gave her the material more than 3 weeks ago.

On Tuesday she said she would have them finished by Thursday. Then on Friday she said Monday. She was supposed to email me today to tell me when and where I could pick them up. It is 3:30 and still nothing.

On Tuesday she explained that her husband has cancer and she has been dealing with that the past few weeks. While I do empathize, I want my drapes. I’ve been working on this room for more than a year. If she postpones again I think I’ll just get what she has and find someone else to finish them. It is nothing personal. I just feel that if she needs to deal with her family then that is what she should be doing. If I were in her situation I’m sure someone else’s drapes would not even be on the radar screen.

So as soon as the drapes are done I’ll post pictures of the finished room. And please, for the love of God, don’t anyone post a comment telling me how easy drapes are to make and if they were here they could whip them up in a week. To me this is “Contractor Speak”. Every job to a contractor seems simple and quick. They tell you it will be finished in a week and it never is.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have to agree, three weeks, you should have gotten a heads up on the situation. Might want to pin her down politely as to why, what, and when, but have a feeling you will be taking that work elsewhere. Probably too much on her plate.

Wonder if you did anything about that bullet hole in that stained glass window?

Greg said...

I just heard from her. She is going to finish a little hand stitching tonight and bring them in to my work tomorrow.

Whew!

As for the bullet hole: it is still there in the parlor....along with the bad plaster, missing casing, unfinished floor, filthy vinyl mini-blinds, etc, etc, etc...

It's all on the list.

Kathy from NJ said...

Eight years (or more) ago we ripped up the lr carpet, drapes were then too short. I lengthened the two sheers and one drape and then got tired of looking at them. Approx 6 months ago I finally finished the second drape.

Greg said...

Yep, that's the way it works, more often than not.