Better late than never.

Logically speaking, you would think that if someone advertises a service that they would perform said service when asked to. If you advertise in the phone book, newspaper (yes they still have those) or on the Interwebz, it would follow that you were ready to do business. So why has it been my experience the past year or so that you can call people to perform a service for you and then they simply never get around to doing it?

We have just moved to the Nation's Capital into a very nice new home. Since it is slightly older, there are certain things that need to be done around it to make it nicer and more comfortable to live in. So I have spent most of my time here calling various repair and installation services to try and get these things done. My success rate has not been the greatest in the world.

On at least a half dozen occasions, I have made arrangements with plumbers/electricians/ general handymen to come out to the house to perform services for me and on more than 50% of those occasions, the people who promised they would be out to do the work simply never showed up. Keep in mind that they didn't refuse the work. They made appointments with me over the phone to come and just never bothered to show up or call.

Today is a great example. I called two different general handymen yesterday to come out and give me estimates on how much it would cost to do a few projects around the new house. Both said that they would come out today (One at 9am and the other at 1pm) to look over the projects and give me estimates on how much it would cost to do them. The 9am guy finally showed up around 11 after ignoring my calls to find out where he was and the 1pm guy just never showed up or called. Calls to his phone go straight to voicemail.

So I am left wondering a simple question. WTF? Why the fugg do you agree to do something then just not do it. Hells, I'd be okay if Mr. X called me and told me that he couldn't make it or even if he had decided to just not do the jobs. That'd be okay. I could have called other people who might be more amiable to actually earning some money and I certainly wouldn't have wasted hours out of my day waiting for someone who never shows up.

I guess what it boils down to is common courtesy. Shift happens. Crap comes up that keeps people from doing things. Hells, some days you just wake and decide “The Hell with this, I'm taking a day off.” I get that, I really do. However, when you are in the business of serving other people then there are consequences to your decisions that you have to take into account. You tell someone that you will be out on Day Y at X time and they actually expect you to be there. If you can't make it, then it is your responsibility to make sure that they know it.

Most of these people would be peeved as Hell if someone were to waste their time in the same way that they waste other peoples' time. They should learn to have the same considerations for other people and their time. What goes around comes around and Karma is truly a bitch so people should always keep in mind that it might be them one day.

End of Rant

Postscript: Like I mention sometimes, my readership both here and in the Ordinary Joe: Coffee Wisdom blog is truly mind blowing at times. A huge number of people in dozens of different countries “listen” to my words every day. I would love to hear from more of you in the comments section to see what you think and hear what you like. Please take a moment or two to make a comment. Thanks!