topic Re: How long do you wait ? in Among Friends

How long do you wait ?

SeaMaiden — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 19:00:31 GMT

I had a person coming out this morning at to give me a bid on some tree removal. We agreed on the appointment for today at 10 AM. It is now an hour past the appointment time... no show... no text or call that he either was running late or could not come.

Should I text him and ask where he is now that is just about an hour past the designated time? Should I just call it a day and not give him the time of day? What would you do?

If HE came out at the time we decided on and I WAS NOT HERE... I would think he would be upset; I would never do that to anyone or I would at least call and tell them that I could not be here in advance.

I call it rude. If you are a business person you just do not forget an appointment and not at least call? It really ticks me off.

Re: How long do you wait ?

qvcfreak — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 19:03:29 GMT

I wouldn’t hire him unless he had a very good reason.

Re: How long do you wait ?

sunshine45 — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 19:05:04 GMT

if you have his cell number you should just call or text him to find out what is going on and to let him know you will not be available much longer.

i know that the tree people have been VERY busy around here for the past six months or more. so much rain has really caused quite a lot of problems. they often cannot come and even give you an estimate for a week or more.....or they cannot do the work anytime soon.

recently had two old trees removed. it was a production and quite expensive. earlier last year i had a tree fall so i am trying to keep on top of the trees that need to be trimmed or gotten rid of.

Re: How long do you wait ?

Catty2 — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 19:05:52 GMT

I would probably call or text one time to ask if/when he's coming out. I've had so many businesses not call me back - from a local Avon rep to needing yard work done.

Re: How long do you wait ?

Mistic — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 19:08:59 GMT

Sounds like he missed his Mom's "Common Courtesy Class" as a Child.

Your time is as important as his is.

Re: How long do you wait ?

SeaMaiden — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 19:09:53 GMT

Well, he finally text me that he would be here in 15 minutes. I never did call him.... So there it is.

@sunshine45 Yes, living here in the PNW tree people are always busy. And I like you try to stay ahead of things as I have had several trees fall over the years. Pruning and removing trees that might fall in an ice or wind storm.

So, I will just overlook the lateness and hope I get a good fair price.

Re: How long do you wait ?

queendiva — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 19:14:55 GMT

@SeaMaiden: if I was treated that way as a prospect, I can't imagine how I would be treated as a client.

A professional acts the part at all times and must work as hard for my money as I do.

I can't imagine that he would get my business. I wish you well.

Re: How long do you wait ?

dex — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 19:14:59 GMT

@SeaMaideni would remind him that you are also busy and he needs to let you know if he is running late.If you hire him he probably won’t get the job done when he promised.He sounds busy but who who knows maybe he just slept in after a late night.

Re: How long do you wait ?

Carol Diane — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 19:15:17 GMT

Geez, he could have texted you an hour ago that he was going to be late.

Re: How long do you wait ?

Sooner — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 19:18:29 GMT

He just told you how much he values your business and respects you as a client. So what else do you need to know?

Re: How long do you wait ?

chiclet — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 19:20:10 GMT

If you want to make me mad be late....unless in a car wreck or some medical emergency there is no excuse. No way I would hire him.

Re: How long do you wait ?

GCR18 — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 19:41:13 GMT

It would depend on how badly I needed it done and if I had a list of others to call. I would have called him after an hour. When he comes, I would definitely comment about his lateness. I know how frustrating it is. when I moved to my current house, I hired a landscaper to put in a lawn and flower beds. He was days or weeks late for every appt he made. He came highly recommended. I wasn't too happy, but there was no hurry either. I chose to let it go because I didn't need to be there when He worked. He did a good job.

Re: How long do you wait ?

Azcowgirl — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 22:04:22 GMT

That happens far too often in my area and when someone actually keeps an appointment or at least keeps you posted, it’s almost shocking! 😳

eta....also I think they pick the easy money or big money jobs first, leaving the more labor intensive or difficult jobs for someone else to bid on.

Re: How long do you wait ?

Perkup — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 19:51:40 GMT

I'm sure there is a reason he is late. You can make a big deal out of it, or realize that we all have issues that come up that delay us in doing the things we plan. To me, it's no big deal - but you can certainly make it one. I would not, however, hire him if you're going to blow it out of proportion. It won't go well no matter what a good job he might do.

My time isn't the most valuable thing on this good earth, so I am not "too good" to wait a while for someone or something that might be a bit late. The earth is still turning and the sun will set as usual this afternoon.

Re: How long do you wait ?

Allegheny — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 19:57:31 GMT

@Azcowgirl wrote:
That happens far too often in my area and when someone actually keeps an appointment or at least keeps you posted, it’s almost shocking! 😳

Same where we live. So many complain about it. Sometimes you can't even get them to call back for an initial appointment. Once you find someone reliable, you hang on to them.

We been using a landscaper for over two years now. He started off being really reliable . It seemed as his business increased we noticed he's was putting us on the back burner. He was last here in October and was to return in early November to finish up some tree work. We haven't heard from him since. We can't even get him to send us the bill for last fall.

Re: How long do you wait ?

blackhole99 — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 20:00:57 GMT

We have had a lot of work done at our place over the last 5 years and it was very hard to find someone who wanted to do the work.We wanted to hire locally and unfortunately they were the worst to deal with. A project that was supposed to last 4 weeks ended up lasting 6 months and I was afraid they were not going to complete the job. Evidently the people we hired took on too many jobs at once and did not have the workers to send out. Of course, I could have withheld payment, but I knew they would have just walked away. They did complete the job and they did a pretty good job, but I would never hire them for anything again and would not recommend them.

Re: How long do you wait ?

chickenbutt — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 20:06:56 GMT

@queendiva wrote:
@SeaMaiden: if I was treated that way as a prospect, I can't imagine how I would be treated as a client.

A professional acts the part at all times and must work as hard for my money as I do.

I can't imagine that he would get my business. I wish you well.

This is pretty much what I was thinking as well. I also do hope that it goes well, but I have a hard time trusting or wanting to do anything with somebody who treats me disrespectfully.

I get if there is an emergency, but when it's just an 'oops, I'm late', like it's cute or funny or something (which is pretty much what I've seen in my life), or they just disregard it entirely like it doesn't matter, I'm out.

People who are late for no good reason are a big problem with me, just generally. It's so disrespectful.

We had the same cleaning lady for years and one of the things she did was to not be bothered to show up on time. It was agreed upon, up front, what time AND I made a point of being her first appointment of the day (she only did a few hours because I didn't have her cleaning ALL of my house) so there was no reason.

But it would usually be something like 'oh, I just wanted to relax and drink some more coffee before I left' or just 'I didn't get up early enough'. So, you disrespect me because you just don't give a carp. Got it.

While I miss having somebody (like a LOT!!!), as I'm more and more disabled and am doing a poor job, I don't miss her. We let her go when it was just a 'last straw' thing. While it might sound like I ask too much of somebody, I don't. For that job it's basically - show up on time, do a good job, and don't break my stuff. That shouldn't be hard to manage.

Re: How long do you wait ?

chrystaltree — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 20:10:10 GMT

Oh, just call him or text him.....LOL

Re: How long do you wait ?

shortbreadlover — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 20:29:28 GMT

if they can't show up on time then they don't get the job. unless they have a vaild reason and even then they can call or text.

Re: How long do you wait ?

SeaMaiden — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 20:32:20 GMT

@SeaMaiden wrote:
Well, he finally text me that he would be here in 15 minutes. I never did call him.... So there it is.

@sunshine45 Yes, living here in the PNW tree people are always busy. And I like you try to stay ahead of things as I have had several trees fall over the years. Pruning and removing trees that might fall in an ice or wind storm.

So, I will just overlook the lateness and hope I get a good fair price.

UPDATE:

Thanks for everyone's take on this issue. He came out.... we did the walk around and he quoted me a price. It is a pretty large job. Three big trees cut down and pruning on several others. I feel the price was fair for all the work and haul away of all the wood and debri. I know about what I cost for tree work from previous jobs done, and it is not ever inexpensive.

They do have an excellent rating from local people and a good one with the BBB too. I guess because I am an on time person, I just expect others to be the same way. Maybe I should lower my standards....