Old Town Glass came to replace a mirror in the bathroom and a window in the kitchen. It had taken a long time to get the glass to arrive. The two guys--Brian and another one--had an attitude.
The result was: they broke the light fixture in the bathroom, did not apologize, made excuses and left it dangling from two large pieces of red tape.
The mirror--they had the wrong size, so they left the old one, under the newly broken light fixture.
The kitchen window--they had the wrong size. So they turned it upside down, broke it some more, and put it back in, again, covering the mess with a huge red tape design.
I asked when they'd have the right sized ones. They were surly and said they did not know.
After they left, I discovered they'd left a lot of their equipment here, and left a mess where they'd been breaking things. I put the equipment and stuff outside. And when they came a week later to pick it up, they did not even thank me. I could have sold it on CL.
Almost two weeks later, Brian arrived to put the right sized mirror in. I let him in. I was involved with something, and he interrupted me, asking me to come back and look at the space the new mirror was to go.
He asked how the mirror should be installed--drilled into the tile or some other method, using the metal bar from the previous mirror.
I am renting this house and paying a good amount of money to live here. Though I am savvy to renovations and could have answered his delimma, it is not my job, or my house. And I have better things to do with my time. So I told him to ask the homeowner, next door.
Brilliant Brian then told me to "take a picture and send it to him." Well, I'm not his secretary. I told him he needs to take the picture and communicate with the homeowner directly. And I left.
I texted the homeowner, and did not hear back from him. But soon I heard the drill. I walked back to the bathroom and told Brian to not drill into the tile. It would be a huge mistake to drill into the tile. He stopped what he was doing.
I texted the homeowner, again asking him to come over. But Brian wasn't done being rude. So we had words. He denied that he was rude.
Then, I was walking through our hallway to the living room, and Brian came walking from the opposite end, towards me, with a long screwdriver in his hand--and he did not slow or move aside to let me--the older woman, who lives here, pass.
He is so rude. You cannot teach that kind of rude in school. It has to be learned from an arrogant family with no social graces and a barrel of contempt.
In fact, Brian, not only rude and contemptuous, but also being a taller male walking towards me, with a long sharp object in his hand, felt menacing to me. I felt my fight reactions.
I turned and told him that his not stepping aside for me to pass in my narrow hallway was rude. And I told him he'd been rude before, in each instance of my interactions with him, including the previous visit when they broke the light fixture, broke the window, failed to replace them, left us with big swaths of red tape, and had no apologies.
He did not understand. He wanted specifics on how he'd been rude. So I detailed it.
I've worked for decades and owned businesses, and I consult on business practices, including customer service. However, I was put off that he needed my instruction at that moment, without paying for it, and costing me for it and I mentioned how much I charge per hour for a consultation.
Obviously Old Town Glass and he need that help. Brian took off his mask--in my house--and retorted, "You know what IS rude--assuming you're better than other people because you make more money."
Well, that is not what I had said at all. In fact, I am not sure how much Brian makes to come harass people and break things.
In fact, I had said that every business depends on good customer service, and that both the times he was allowed into my house, where I am living and working, he was rude beyond measure, and the customer service was horrible.
All businesses hinge on how they treat people, I said. I gave him that freebie, and he turned it around to a paranoid insult.
But Brian did not let the truth stop him! Nope, he stood in my bedroom vomiting up immature sarcastic responses, when he should have been working in the bathroom to put the mirror in.
So, rather than punch him, I kicked him out. And called the company. The mirror--it is not installed. The window--it is not installed. Brian, he ruined a good day.
I don't believe in having people fired--I believe in people learning how to do their jobs better from constructive criticism or real guidance from the company. But in this case--Brian's skills are not measuring, installing, or working around people. So he needs a different job.
And we will never hire Old Town Glass for anything. read more