Late on a wintry Saturday, the skin thermometer signaled a change. The hallway thermostat thermometer said yes, skin thermometer, you’re right. The air system is not keeping this place warm. Call for help. I called. The technician said he does not go out on weekends, and his daughter’s sixteenth birthday is on Monday. He will come on Tuesday. B-r-r-r-h.
The sixteen-year-old’s daddy showed up Tuesday morning. Diagnosis: chasing chill away will cost thousands. Daddy left with plans to email prices possibly as early as that same afternoon. That same afternoon, no contact. Wednesday, no contact, Thursday, no contact. Daddy must have had to return sixteen-year-old’s birthday gift multiple times. Friday morning, email arrived with prices.
In a return email, I tried to be tactful in letting the tech know I prefer more business-like communication. In a follow-up email that same morning, I said I would plan to get back not later than Tuesday to update plans for replacing the air system. On Monday, I contacted the technician and ordered a system which the tech said could be installed by the end of the week.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, no contact. Friday, 2:40 p.m., I said in an email that follow-through and communication were not satisfactory. I canceled the installation. At this writing, four days later, still no contact. Double-checking to be sure I was fair about the matter, I printed the emails. My wife and I went over them. We reviewed the phone calls. Consensus: I was fair.
I am still losing heat, but I am keeping my cool. Another company has inspected the job twice. A new system is on order. There will be more than twenty-five-percent savings. Communication and dependability are pluses also. Sometimes when Plan A falls through, Plan B proves to be a better Plan A than Plan A proved to be!
It is always better to keep our cool, even when losing our heat!
Words and People 