For the last week we haven’t had heat in the house, the heater one night decided to make an explosive banging noise, and being that it was a gas heater I didn’t want to take any chances so I turned it off, turned off the pilot light and the fan once it had cooled down.
I rang first thing the next morning to organize getting it fixed. The earliest time was yesterday (Thursday) Okay if that is the earliest it looks like I have to take that time. Great we will book you in. So they gave me a time that the service man was going to arrive 1 pm. Hence I have made sure that I had nothing on that afternoon and stayed home waiting. The house was so cold when we talked little steam clouds came out of our mouths; you know the ones that happen when it is so cold it could even be snowing. At night we would pile on the winter woolly’s and keep the doona’s close by to wrap ourselves in just to keep warm.
So back to Thursday. 1 pm came and went, as did 1.30, ohh and so did 1.45 by 2 pm I was a little annoyed. I calculated the time I needed to go and pick up the kids from school and worked out that I wasn’t going to have enough time if they arrived now. Finally really annoyed I rang them up. I told them who I was where I lived and what the problem was only to be told, no we don’t have a ticket for that job. Then I go through when I rang who I spoke with what time they said someone would be here, ohhh but wait; NOOOOO we didn’t give you a time, we don’t give times we give you from when onwards they would be there but not when. Well I just hate that, you are questioning me on what I have been told. I don’t lie; I don’t make something up so that I can jump the cue. I wait in line just like anyone else, but don’t tell me when I am told one thing that I am told something else. Okay so fine you don’t give the actually time, but is someone coming I have to pick up my children from school and as I don’t live in the area they go to school I have a 30 min drive to pick them up and a 30 min drive home. Can I go, or am I going to loose my place in the cue of ticket jobs that need to be done. Yes. Okay so if that happens when will someone be able to coming? Not till next week. Well no way that isn’t good enough. Alright I will make other arrangements and I will be here waiting.
So after ringing around trying to see if someone could grab my kids for me, I couldn’t find any one who was able to. I then ring the school can the kids wait around at the office for me, explain why, no sorry you can’t, nor can you put them in after school care as it is full. So my finally option was to ring hubby and see if he can leave work early to pick them up, He rings back no he can’t., boss wont let him. So I tell him to go past the school at pick up time. Tell the kids to wait at the bus shelter at school and one of us will get there as soon as we can, then run across the road to the work mate who is filling in at the school crossing and ask him to keep an eye out for them. GRRR “NOT HAPPY JAN”.
Ohhh the joys of service men. Finally he shows up, and you would think that he thought it was the last day of the week, he moved so slowly. I asked him how long it was going to take, after he had pulled off the cover, pulled off this and that, got each individual screw driver out of the van one at a time, and then his touch, and then back again for his blanket to sit on, then a lighter, and then he tells me it is cold in my house, you think do you, well isn’t that why you are here. Then he takes a bit of time looking at it, not touching it but looking at it, as if the answer to the problem is going to jump out and bite him on the nose. He sits there for about 10 mins minutes till he gets up to get a paint brush out of the van, not once but twice, two different size brushes, then he goes back and gets his tool box. A tool box, I shake my head thinking has he just spent all this time getting everything out of the tool box in the first place. If so why not just bring it in the first time. Ohhh I am so not a service man. Might get work done, compared to this guy.
So finally he does a few things brushes the heaters with his brushes a few times, presses this button then the other, brushes again, blows through this thingy, tightens this thingy uses only one screw driver and then puts it all back together again. Ohhhh great he is finished. But wait there is more. He takes his tool box out to the van, then comes back in while everything else is sitting on my clean waxed floor not on anything just on the wood (grrrr again). Then one by one he takes everything back out again.
By now not only is there steam coming out of my mouth because I am cold, but I now have steam coming out of my ears with frustrations and madness. Finally he packs up and goes. I grab my phone check to see if hubby has got the kids, yes great, seems boss had some heart after all and let him go 10 mins earlier, which meant the kids only had to wait 15 mins longer than normally. So we are all happy now, we have heat.
So what did I learn for all this? Well some service men are damm slow. If the heater breaks down just go and buy some portable heaters so the house doesn’t get so cold. And never agree for a service man to come in the afternoon. If I arrange for the morning then they might get there after lunch.
Ohhh and the funniest thing was the service man was complaining he had another job to go to that was going to take him two hours. Make that four with the pace you go at.
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