Service Math: Good work + Bad Service = Unhappy Customer

So, it has been a while since I blogged here on my complaint board. My absence is not due to life being all roses though, no no no. The list of things that have driven me out of my mind this last year include: Wake County School Head Start Program, Potty Training, Car parts going bad just after warranty expires (batteries, starters, etc), a trip from hell to PA (cold weather, puking Aiden, cleaning puke off a car seat in the bitter cold, though the family was awesome as usual), Work issues, my projector dying (that sucked), and now... The grand prize goes to....

The Play set Contractors

Yes! What a special team of individuals they are. They do excellent work, stick to the design well, and offer creative solutions when problems arise. But that is not the best part. They are also slow, don't call to say when they will show up, don't call when they don't show up, bring their kids to my house where they broke my wind chimes and tried to play with my dogs (blood shot out of my ears on that one), and miss deadlines that they keep updating; all the while offering excuses such as phones died, bad traffic, babysitter issues, crew members not showing up, working long hours, other personal commitments, and even the weather. Well weather I get as they work outside, but there was one day of rain. True, one day was Memorial day, but two did show up, the other three didn't. This project which was quoted to take one to two days, has taken a week and is still not done. Of course my wife is all over them and even I'm past my tolerances. I know that contractors around here are not the most "professional" at least not what I'd consider professional coming from NY, but this is by far the worst contracting experience I've had.

My Silver lining, I ran the numbers; they are loosing money on this deal.