Here's a copy/paste of an email to my sis...
So, I went to the Home Show last week, right? Talked to a few businesses about our Bathroom Woes, yada-yada. Need to get a bid on a job to rip-out (to the studs) and replace the tub and tile enclosure. Replace it with a slightly-updated version of the same thing... Probably tackle the vanity countertop at the same time. Then -budget permitting - possibly consider additional upgrades...
"Well, we'd love to meet with you about your job" yayaya
"Fine, here's my cell# - Call me next week and we can schedule a time for you to scope out the work and give me an estimate," blah-blah
"Will your husband be there?"
"No." (you already know this part of the story - and if you don't, refer to yesterday's rant!)
(Ahh... But when will I learn to simply turn and walk away the MINUTE they ask me that question?!!)
Okay, so today, I get a call from "Huey" from Yaya-reno's. "Hi yes, we met at the Home Show last week and I understand you were interested in a bathroom remodel..." (very slick and salesman-like - except he must've shuffled his notes b/c he mis-spoke about certain aspects of the job... What-EVAHS...)
"Well, I'd like to schedule a time to come and look at the job."
"Okay, I am available after 3:00pm today."
"Oh, great, let me transfer you to Suzi, our dispatcher, to schedule that. Will your husband be there, too?"
"No. I already explained that *I* am in charge of gathering bids."
"Oh, well we really prefer to meet with both...." (OH JESUS CHRIST NOT AGAIN)
"Yes, but my husband travels 50-75% of the time. *I* am the one gathering bids and making the aesthetic decisions. My husband doesn't get involved until it's time to finalize everything and sign the contract."
"Oh, yes - that's right. Okay, let me transfer you to Suzi and she'll set something up."
Hold-Hold-Hold
Perky Voice: "Good morning, this is Suzi. I understand you have availability this afternoon for one of our Sales Reps to come out and bid your bathroom job."
"Yes, anytime after 3:00 works for me."
"Great! And will your husband be there?"
(OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
"No. He won't be. He travels 75% of the time and he won't be involved in this phase of the project. I am just gathering the preliminary bids. He'll get involved when it's time to sign the contract."
"Oh. Umm. Can you hold for a moment please? I need to ask my manager something."
(ARE YOU F**KING KIDDING ME?????)
Hold-Hold-Hold-Hold-Hold
I'm halfway expecting her manager to get on the phone, but no... I get Ms. Slightly-Less-Perky-Sounding Suzi back again.
"Okay, well, we're going to be sending Louie over this afternoon to review the job with you. And you say 3:00 is good?"
"Yes."
"Well, his presentation usually takes approximately 90 minutes - will you be able to meet for that long?"
"Yeah. Sure" (90 MINUTES?! JEEEEZUS)
So... I got back to work, and did some laundry and yada yada, then called Kathie at the end of my work day... Kvetched to her about the "Will my husband be here" crap-ola from the Bathroom Job Folks.
2:55pm, Louie shows up. All young and sales-man-looky. All Mr. Firm Handshake and "I look forward to going over your job" and "First I'm gonna do this and get some measurements, and then I'm gonna go back to my car and get some samples... and blah-dee-blah-dee-blah... And is your husband here?"
(OH-FER-GAWDS-SAKE-HOW-MANY-TIMES-DO-I-HAVE-TO-KEEP-TELLING-YOU-PEOPLE-NO-MY-HUSBAND-ISN'T-HERE!!!!)
"No. I am in the process of gathering bids on the job. Yours is the first bid that I am obtaining. We *just* went through a Kitchen Re-face job and this is *exactly* how it worked." (repeat the process again!)
"Okay, umm. Well, let's see your bathroom."
So I led him to the South Wing of the house.............
I explained what we'd gone through before - with the botched repairs - and how we want it done right this time. Ya-Ya. Take it back to the studs, fix the leak. Replace the tub with something similar and newer, more-updated tile.
"Yes, tile is good. But you know there are other materials. I mean, tile is kind of a nuisance to clean..."
"I don't clean. We have a maid."
"Yes, well ::gulp:::"
He then goes through the motions of measuring stuff, asks if we want a deeper soaking tub. "No. If I want a deep soak, we have a hot-tub out back. Just replace it with the same thing." Starts looking at the toilet. "Nope. Toilet's fine. We don't need a new one."
Then he mutters something about how he needs to call his boss.
(OH JESUS CHRIST!)
So he wanders out the front door, cell-phone to his ear...
Wanders back in a few minutes later and wants to know what time my husband will be home.
"Well, we'd love to meet with you about your job" yayaya
"Fine, here's my cell# - Call me next week and we can schedule a time for you to scope out the work and give me an estimate," blah-blah
"Will your husband be there?"
"No." (you already know this part of the story - and if you don't, refer to yesterday's rant!)
(Ahh... But when will I learn to simply turn and walk away the MINUTE they ask me that question?!!)
Okay, so today, I get a call from "Huey" from Yaya-reno's. "Hi yes, we met at the Home Show last week and I understand you were interested in a bathroom remodel..." (very slick and salesman-like - except he must've shuffled his notes b/c he mis-spoke about certain aspects of the job... What-EVAHS...)
"Well, I'd like to schedule a time to come and look at the job."
"Okay, I am available after 3:00pm today."
"Oh, great, let me transfer you to Suzi, our dispatcher, to schedule that. Will your husband be there, too?"
"No. I already explained that *I* am in charge of gathering bids."
"Oh, well we really prefer to meet with both...." (OH JESUS CHRIST NOT AGAIN)
"Yes, but my husband travels 50-75% of the time. *I* am the one gathering bids and making the aesthetic decisions. My husband doesn't get involved until it's time to finalize everything and sign the contract."
"Oh, yes - that's right. Okay, let me transfer you to Suzi and she'll set something up."
Hold-Hold-Hold
Perky Voice: "Good morning, this is Suzi. I understand you have availability this afternoon for one of our Sales Reps to come out and bid your bathroom job."
"Yes, anytime after 3:00 works for me."
"Great! And will your husband be there?"
(OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
"No. He won't be. He travels 75% of the time and he won't be involved in this phase of the project. I am just gathering the preliminary bids. He'll get involved when it's time to sign the contract."
"Oh. Umm. Can you hold for a moment please? I need to ask my manager something."
(ARE YOU F**KING KIDDING ME?????)
Hold-Hold-Hold-Hold-Hold
I'm halfway expecting her manager to get on the phone, but no... I get Ms. Slightly-Less-Perky-Sounding Suzi back again.
"Okay, well, we're going to be sending Louie over this afternoon to review the job with you. And you say 3:00 is good?"
"Yes."
"Well, his presentation usually takes approximately 90 minutes - will you be able to meet for that long?"
"Yeah. Sure" (90 MINUTES?! JEEEEZUS)
So... I got back to work, and did some laundry and yada yada, then called Kathie at the end of my work day... Kvetched to her about the "Will my husband be here" crap-ola from the Bathroom Job Folks.
2:55pm, Louie shows up. All young and sales-man-looky. All Mr. Firm Handshake and "I look forward to going over your job" and "First I'm gonna do this and get some measurements, and then I'm gonna go back to my car and get some samples... and blah-dee-blah-dee-blah... And is your husband here?"
(
"No. I am in the process of gathering bids on the job. Yours is the first bid that I am obtaining. We *just* went through a Kitchen Re-face job and this is *exactly* how it worked." (repeat the process again!)
"Okay, umm. Well, let's see your bathroom."
So I led him to the South Wing of the house.............
I explained what we'd gone through before - with the botched repairs - and how we want it done right this time. Ya-Ya. Take it back to the studs, fix the leak. Replace the tub with something similar and newer, more-updated tile.
"Yes, tile is good. But you know there are other materials. I mean, tile is kind of a nuisance to clean..."
"I don't clean. We have a maid."
"Yes, well ::gulp:::"
He then goes through the motions of measuring stuff, asks if we want a deeper soaking tub. "No. If I want a deep soak, we have a hot-tub out back. Just replace it with the same thing." Starts looking at the toilet. "Nope. Toilet's fine. We don't need a new one."
Then he mutters something about how he needs to call his boss.
(OH JESUS CHRIST!)
So he wanders out the front door, cell-phone to his ear...
Wanders back in a few minutes later and wants to know what time my husband will be home.
NO SH*T!!
"Uhhh. He won't be. Not for several days."
Here, let me try repeating myself s-l-o-w-l-y in case it's not quite clear. "MY HUSBAND TRAVELS ON BUSINESS. I WORK FROM HOME. I AM GATHERING BIDS AND MAKING THE DESIGN DECISIONS. YOU DO NOT WANT MY HUSBAND HERE FOR THE INITIAL BIDDING PROCESS. TRUST ME ON THIS. WHEN I WAS GATHERING BIDS FOR THE KITCHEN, MY HUSBAND WALKED IN DURING THE MIDDLE OF A PRESENTATION AND WHEN THE SALES GUY MENTIONED 'GRANITE,' MY HUSBAND JUST-ABOUT HIT THE ROOF. HE WILL NOT GET INVOLVED UNTIL IT IS TIME TO SIGN THE CONTRACT."
This is the point where I probably should have just shown him the door - but I was morbidly curious to see what he was gonna come back with...
"Well, you see," - sh*t, how did he put it? - something along the lines of "Budget and finishes go hand-in-hand" and blah-blah "We like this to be a joint decision with both parties present" and "I can't give you an accurate price-quote without having all of the decisions complete" and something that almost sounded like "what if you chose something your husband won't approve of?" (not quite that blatant - but something close-to that).
Then he tried to slide in a (brace yourself for the punch line) "I could come back this weekend."
"My husband will NOT sit through a Sales Presentation. His time is too valuable. I guess you've just narrowed down the number of bids that I need to obtain. Thank you for your time."
Then I got a little humunuh-humunuh bullsh*t don't-even-remember-what-he-said kinda response.
"No, no no. If that's the way your company wants to do business - I can respect that. Likewise, I am free to spend my money elsewhere." as I showed him to the door.
So. Bid #1. Didn't happen!
@$$hole!
I swear, I can't make this sh*t up!
"Uhhh. He won't be. Not for several days."
Here, let me try repeating myself s-l-o-w-l-y in case it's not quite clear. "MY HUSBAND TRAVELS ON BUSINESS. I WORK FROM HOME. I AM GATHERING BIDS AND MAKING THE DESIGN DECISIONS. YOU DO NOT WANT MY HUSBAND HERE FOR THE INITIAL BIDDING PROCESS. TRUST ME ON THIS. WHEN I WAS GATHERING BIDS FOR THE KITCHEN, MY HUSBAND WALKED IN DURING THE MIDDLE OF A PRESENTATION AND WHEN THE SALES GUY MENTIONED 'GRANITE,' MY HUSBAND JUST-ABOUT HIT THE ROOF. HE WILL NOT GET INVOLVED UNTIL IT IS TIME TO SIGN THE CONTRACT."
This is the point where I probably should have just shown him the door - but I was morbidly curious to see what he was gonna come back with...
"Well, you see," - sh*t, how did he put it? - something along the lines of "Budget and finishes go hand-in-hand" and blah-blah "We like this to be a joint decision with both parties present" and "I can't give you an accurate price-quote without having all of the decisions complete" and something that almost sounded like "what if you chose something your husband won't approve of?" (not quite that blatant - but something close-to that).
Then he tried to slide in a (brace yourself for the punch line) "I could come back this weekend."
"My husband will NOT sit through a Sales Presentation. His time is too valuable. I guess you've just narrowed down the number of bids that I need to obtain. Thank you for your time."
Then I got a little humunuh-humunuh bullsh*t don't-even-remember-what-he-
"No, no no. If that's the way your company wants to do business - I can respect that. Likewise, I am free to spend my money elsewhere." as I showed him to the door.
So. Bid #1. Didn't happen!
@$$hole!
I swear, I can't make this sh*t up!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment