Among Friends

[GingerPeach]

I was supposed to have new carpet installed yesterday.  It did not happen.  I had to send the installer away.

The first time I heard the guy's voice when he called to give me an arrival time it was like he sucked all the energy out of the room, and that was just over the phone.

Then when he showed up it was worse.  He whined about there being no space to cut the carpet.  Sorry, guy, the company rep who came out to measure for the estimate should have clued you in on the conditions of the installation location.  That is not on the homeowner.  The company knows what's needed and should have advised whoever needed to know.  Or, you should be professional and figure it out yourself and not whine to the homeowner about it.  

(Previous carpet installers never mentioned anything like that to me, and always figured out what they needed to do on their own.  No whining.)

I later called the supervisor and trust he will send someone more professional and who maybe has a smidgen of people skills.  I just could not allow all that negativity to infest the carpet forever after.  There was so much negativity it was palpable.  Not to mention creepy.

Only once before did I allow some installers whose boss was the most negative person I'd ever had in my home to finish a job.  Every question was met with, "We can't do that."  Needless to say, the installation was just OK, but not finished well.   I vowed to never let that happen again.  (BTW, that company went out of business shortly thereafter, so it wasn't just me.)

I would imagine some of you have had similar experiences.

[Kachina624]

@GingerPeach.   So I'm dying to know, what happened to cause you to banish him?  Did he say something else and what did you tell him?

[Shanus]

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@GingerPeach wrote:

I was supposed to have new carpet installed yesterday.  It did not happen.  I had to send the installer away.

The first time I heard the guy's voice when he called to give me an arrival time it was like he sucked all the energy out of the room, and that was just over the phone.

Then when he showed up it was worse.  He whined about there being no space to cut the carpet.  Sorry, guy, the company rep who came out to measure for the estimate should have clued you in on the conditions of the installation location.  That is not on the homeowner.  The company knows what's needed and should have advised whoever needed to know.  Or, you should be professional and figure it out yourself and not whine to the homeowner about it.  

(Previous carpet installers never mentioned anything like that to me, and always figured out what they needed to do on their own.  No whining.)

I later called the supervisor and trust he will send someone more professional and who maybe has a smidgen of people skills.  I just could not allow all that negativity to infest the carpet forever after.  There was so much negativity it was palpable.  Not to mention creepy.

Only once before did I allow some installers whose boss was the most negative person I'd ever had in my home to finish a job.  Every question was met with, "We can't do that."  Needless to say, the installation was just OK, but not finished well.   I vowed to never let that happen again.  (BTW, that company went out of business shortly thereafter, so it wasn't just me.)

I would imagine some of you have had similar experiences.

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@GingerPeach  It never bothers me if people I never have to see again are negative or not. What bothers me is negativity in “one on one” encounters with those I see regularly....relatives, friends, facialists, a person doing mani/pedi, housekeepers, etc. 

[GingerPeach]

@Kachina624Each time I pointed out where he could put carpet to lay out, he was very sour.  It just didn't seem to me that he was capable of figuring out anything on his own.

It was his demeanor and I didn't trust him.

That's what I mean by negativity.  He came in with it.  It surrounded him like a cloud.  

@Shanus

He was going to be in the house all day.  He was expected to do a professional job while he was there.  His attitude showed me he was not capable. 

I don't care if someone I meet casually is negative.  THis was not casual.  It was something I am paying for, someone in my home, and not someone I run into on the street or at the supermarket.

I'm sorry if people aren't getting what I mean.  Either you feel it or you don't.  I don't want to belabor this or explain any further.  That would just be increasing the downturn.  I'm focused now on expecting a good outcome when the new installation date arrives.

[GSPgirl]

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@GingerPeach wrote:

I was supposed to have new carpet installed yesterday.  It did not happen.  I had to send the installer away.

The first time I heard the guy's voice when he called to give me an arrival time it was like he sucked all the energy out of the room, and that was just over the phone.

Then when he showed up it was worse.  He whined about there being no space to cut the carpet.  Sorry, guy, the company rep who came out to measure for the estimate should have clued you in on the conditions of the installation location.  That is not on the homeowner.  The company knows what's needed and should have advised whoever needed to know.  Or, you should be professional and figure it out yourself and not whine to the homeowner about it.  

(Previous carpet installers never mentioned anything like that to me, and always figured out what they needed to do on their own.  No whining.)

I later called the supervisor and trust he will send someone more professional and who maybe has a smidgen of people skills.  I just could not allow all that negativity to infest the carpet forever after.  There was so much negativity it was palpable.  Not to mention creepy.

Only once before did I allow some installers whose boss was the most negative person I'd ever had in my home to finish a job.  Every question was met with, "We can't do that."  Needless to say, the installation was just OK, but not finished well.   I vowed to never let that happen again.  (BTW, that company went out of business shortly thereafter, so it wasn't just me.)

I would imagine some of you have had similar experiences.

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I agree with you 100%. I jumped off an exam table at Kaiser Hosptial because the Nurse practitioner was horrible to her staff and to me.  I told her if she didn’t want to examine me, then get someone else to do it.  She apologized and the staff thanked me after I left the room.  You DO NOT have to take that kind of behavior.  They gave me back my copay.   I think if they are negative, they come off as unprofessional.  You wonder if your carpet is going to be installed properly anyway. 

[CANDLEQUEEN]

I agree 100% with you HomeGirl.......I would have done the same thing. Hopefully you have shown him, and his employer that they need to make some changes. A lot of people would tolerate that, but there are some like you and me, that would not.......A lot of people are like well let them just get the job done, but it leaves me with a bad taste with people like that.

Please send me a professional next time!

[GingerPeach]

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@GSPgirl wrote:

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I agree with you 100%. I jumped off an exam table at Kaiser Hosptial because the Nurse practitioner was horrible to her staff and to me.  I told her if she didn’t want to examine me, then get someone else to do it.  She apologized and the staff thanked me after I left the room.  You DO NOT have to take that kind of behavior.  They gave me back my copay.   I think if they are negative, they come off as unprofessional.  You wonder if your carpet is going to be installed properly anyway. 

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@GSPgirl  Exactly!

I'm sorry you had that experience, but happy to hear you handled it, and handled it well.  Good for you!

[GingerPeach]

Thank you, @CANDLEQUEEN

His supervisor said to me, "I agree with you completely." 

It made me wonder whether they should send that guy only to model homes where there is no one living there yet.

[libbyannE]

Yes, I had a similar experience and it also was with griping floor people. I just let it roll off, busied myself with other things, and added NO fuel to their fire! A little while later, I offered soda and tea, asked if they needed it cooler in there, and when I told the head guy that I could see how tough their work was and that I appreciated the effort, he changed his tune.  At one point I recall half joking with him, "if I had this job to do on thus hot day, I'd be griping, too."  And I said something about the fact that in my job I had to wrangle people all day and I wasn't sure, come to think of it, if it was harder or not to wrestle with carpet. We both laughed.

[GingerPeach]

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@libbyannE wrote:

Yes, I had a similar experience and it also was with griping floor people. I just let it roll off, busied myself with other things, and added NO fuel to their fire! A little while later, I offered soda and tea, asked if they needed it cooler in there, and when I told the head guy that I could see how tough their work was and that I appreciated the effort, he changed his tune.  At one point I recall half joking with him, "if I had this job to do on thus hot day, I'd be griping, too."  And I said something about the fact that in my job I had to wrangle people all day and I wasn't sure, come to think of it, if it was harder or not to wrestle with carpet. We both laughed.

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This was way beyond having a hard day, @libbyannE

This seemed more part of his character.

He hadn't even begun to work.  

I, too, offer refreshments and words of encouragement.  This wasn't that kind of experience.   He came in with that attitude and that demeanor.