Thursday, September 11, 2008

What Recession? Guys Are Too Busy

Flagstone deliveredWe've all been there. Waiting for somebody to show up to do work. According to my own time schedule it indicates people are busy bees up here in the hills. Why? Most don't show up half the time or take the time to let you know they will not be there. And as mentioned in a previous entry, sense of time must be some type of in the hills clock. First thing sometimes becomes near lunchtime.

My recent trip to Mother Nature Stone in Blue Ridge for more flagstone bothers me. Considering I've already spent some good money with them, you'd think they would be more customer oriented, or take some time to treat an existing customer well. I had one simple request.

"Can I get a better batch of stone than you have here?" They had only two and a half crates of the Cherokee Brown flagstone I needed, but it was obvious some of it had been picked through. Others choosing the better or larger stones, while leaving smaller ones. The response was more along the lines of "we can't provide all large stones..." I agreed, but... asked if they could bring in more. I was told a call would have to be made and they would give me a call back. It sounded as though there would be no problem. Besides the rock comes from Fairmont, about 45 miles away. That was Thursday afternoon.

Those guys must be busy! No phone call. Time to look elsewhere.

Edited:

This article was started five days ago and I have since received the next load, but it took some doing to buy the stuff. I don't know why they didn't make it easier. I do have a phone answering machine and I'm not about to sit around waiting for their call.

I asked the guys who brought the stuff how business was. I don't think they could have been more negative. People, follow up on potential sales next time. Leave messages. I was very close to going with someone else in Blue Ridge.

End Editing.

For two weeks now I've been trying to find somebody to set up a home theater system I purchased. My skills at that kind of stuff are horrible and I wasn't about to touch it. I called around and was referred to Radio Shack. Great! Guy said he'd to it for X amount of dollars per hour and I agreed. Good dough for guys up here too. Tentative appointment was set for the day after Labor day. I asked he call that Tuesday morning to let me know if he was going to make it. It didn't seem to be a problem at the time.

He must be too busy! What recession? No phone call. I have better things to do. At this point I make plans to do something else instead of waiting for calls.

Another. Pest control. I discovered a mice problem. Looking through the yellow pages I made the mistake by choosing the biggest advertisement. North Georgia Exterminating who has offices in Ellijay, Jasper, Canton, and Ball Ground. They guy was timely, but did not handle the real problem I wanted taken care of; mice.

"I don't have any mice (control stuff) in my truck..." You'd think he would be prepared after the main concern was mice when the original appointment was set up over the phone. This was after I gave him a check for the initial service set up. I was told someone would be back the following week. Hmmmn, that was before Labor Day.

They must be busy! After all, kids go back to school this time of the year and bugs must the largest single most concern on parents minds. Let's not forget cabin rentals in the area probably skyrocket after Labor day too. Parents send their kids off to school and head for the cabin in the mountains. Bugs are on their minds again.

Maybe my phone was out of order? I checked. Working fine.

A few bright spots.

I had problems with the Direct TV reception after the recent storms. This guy was dead on time. Perfect! My experience with these guys has been exceptional. Yet, they have a monopoly up here (except cable closer to town), so one would think why bother being so good at what they do. Keep up the great work guys.

Ellijay Heating & Air - HVAC system wasn't working. Using these guys was a referral from my handyman Tom. On time and professional. At this time we discovered the system was down because mice were eating away at the wiring in the crawlspace. Oh, he couldn't finish the job because he didn't have the proper relay switch. The fan would continually run if the system was used, but it didn't concern me because cooler weather had arrived.

Two out of five. I suppose that's not bad. Yikes! Hunting season is approaching. Guess I better plan far ahead if I need anything done.

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