I really despise calling maintenance workers at anytime. It makes my stomach hurt. When I had to call a plumber on Mother's Day this past Sunday, I just wanted to whine AND cry and throw a tantrum.
So at 5:00 pm I went online and searched for a plumber that knew manufactured homes because my dad lives in one and their parts and machinery are different. James at Rakeman Plumbling answered the phone immediately. I cringed when I asked the price because I knew it would be ridiculous. He said $112 an hour plus parts. Not too bad, but I did start to sweat a little. Two things were wrong: the water heater had a leak, and the sink in the master bath had a leak. James says he'll be there in a few. And he was. And let me add that the website was honkin and he came loaded with every part in a very big impressive truck. Their motto, "A flush beats a full house". My marketing ears were perked.
He looks at the water heater and tells me what's wrong and I was thinking how happy I was that my ex-husband was an engineer with a degree in piping who builds refineries at Chevron. Yup. I am in the know. Well actually, my ex-husband is German and has three degrees in engineering but who's counting....
At the same time James checks out the master bath and tries to repair the leak but that is fruitless. I know because I replaced everything I could but it needed a whole new faucet and hardware and he had tools that would rival my fathers antiquated ones.
Well, he fixed the water heater and said it would be cheaper for us to buy the new faucet and he would come back the next day and install it. We said yes please! So my dad and I hightail it to Home Depot before they close because now it is 8:00 pm. We get the faucet and we're back in time for The Good Wife. That's right. You heard me. SEASON FINALE and I'm not gonna miss it. Leak or no leak.
Next day as promised, I get a call asking if James could come by to finish the job. Not to mention he hasn't been paid yet.
He arrives as promised and installs the faucet. I get a call from my dad wanting to know if the amount was right and should he pay. He tells me $360. $112 per hour (2 hours) plus $120 in parts and tax. I said pay the man. It was worth every penny. And toke him too... that's tip in Vegasese....
BTW my dad is 86 and the last time that faucet was changed was over 22 years ago when my ex-husband changed it out. We had been visiting from the bay area and my dad couldn't go gamble with him until the faucet was done. My ex changed it in less than 30 minutes and off they went.
Good times..... ; )