http://www.frenzieddaddy.com/static/archives/2005/11/12/what-have-i-been-up-to/ It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, that man finds his supreme joys. --- Antoine de Saint-Exupery Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:46:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7-beta1-9513 hourly 1 http://www.frenzieddaddy.com/static/archives/2005/11/12/what-have-i-been-up-to/comment-page-1/#comment-3374 Frenzied Daddy » Local News Recap Mon, 29 Jan 2007 18:17:56 +0000 /?p=695#comment-3374 [...] I’ve had it with John’s Waterproofing. I’ll pay this invoice from them, but no more. Here’s the story. You may remember that we had sunhouses installed by them. When our home was erected in 1942, they poured the basement window wells as part of the basement. The construction crew had to remove those- so they jackhammered them out. Now we have a horizontal crack running between two window wells, and through the rotten wood around one of the craptacular basement windows. I called them to have them come out and see it, they acknowledged that it was a problem. I spoke with Larry and then with John, the owner; Larry wanted his general manager to see it (Robin) but Robin was apparently too busy for me. Honestly, I think this was a misleading tactic; it established a plausible deniability on the part of the next person to come out. And I had to call twice to get someone to come out. When the owner (John) came out, he acknowledged that this crack “was a problem” and sketched out the details, and said they’d send someone out to seal it. He asked about the rotten wood around the window (letting in a lot of water in this weather) and I told him that I was just concerned about the crack. He also “strongly encouraged” us to get a de-humidifier. He was a likeable guy. His minion came out, dug down in the dirt and patched the outside, then came inside and patched it too. He recommended some caulk for the remaining crack bits (which I thought was part of the job). And then we got an invoice for $200. I called them and spoke to John, and his stance was “oh no, the horizontal crack wasn’t the jackhammerring.” So in my book, not only did they break my house, they denied responsibility after the fact; when I was left to believe from Larry’s attitude (”That’s not right. I need my general manager to see this.” ) that they agreed with me on the cause of this crack, and they surprised me with a bill ( especially during the Christmas season, where I have better uses for $200 ). [...] [...] I’ve had it with John’s Waterproofing. I’ll pay this invoice from them, but no more. Here’s the story. You may remember that we had sunhouses installed by them. When our home was erected in 1942, they poured the basement window wells as part of the basement. The construction crew had to remove those- so they jackhammered them out. Now we have a horizontal crack running between two window wells, and through the rotten wood around one of the craptacular basement windows. I called them to have them come out and see it, they acknowledged that it was a problem. I spoke with Larry and then with John, the owner; Larry wanted his general manager to see it (Robin) but Robin was apparently too busy for me. Honestly, I think this was a misleading tactic; it established a plausible deniability on the part of the next person to come out. And I had to call twice to get someone to come out. When the owner (John) came out, he acknowledged that this crack “was a problem” and sketched out the details, and said they’d send someone out to seal it. He asked about the rotten wood around the window (letting in a lot of water in this weather) and I told him that I was just concerned about the crack. He also “strongly encouraged” us to get a de-humidifier. He was a likeable guy. His minion came out, dug down in the dirt and patched the outside, then came inside and patched it too. He recommended some caulk for the remaining crack bits (which I thought was part of the job). And then we got an invoice for $200. I called them and spoke to John, and his stance was “oh no, the horizontal crack wasn’t the jackhammerring.” So in my book, not only did they break my house, they denied responsibility after the fact; when I was left to believe from Larry’s attitude (”That’s not right. I need my general manager to see this.” ) that they agreed with me on the cause of this crack, and they surprised me with a bill ( especially during the Christmas season, where I have better uses for $200 ). [...]

]]> http://www.frenzieddaddy.com/static/archives/2005/11/12/what-have-i-been-up-to/comment-page-1/#comment-1536 Christian Mon, 14 Nov 2005 01:24:01 +0000 /?p=695#comment-1536 Is it a sign of maturity that stuff like this excites us? Nate & I were at Best Buy the other day, ecstatically ooh-ing and aah-ing at all they shiny new refrigerators and other kitchen appliances. When we realized we were going cuckoo for kitchen appliances, we laughed. Then we bee-lined for the electronics area and drooled over all the computer hardware. Oi! Is it a sign of maturity that stuff like this excites us? Nate & I were at Best Buy the other day, ecstatically ooh-ing and aah-ing at all they shiny new refrigerators and other kitchen appliances. When we realized we were going cuckoo for kitchen appliances, we laughed. Then we bee-lined for the electronics area and drooled over all the computer hardware. Oi!

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