Let’s talk about a different kind of contractor guilt.

Your Daily Lex.

So earlier this week I talked about how I feel guilty when I have multiple contractors coming and I don’t tell them that I have multiple contractors coming and so I’m obviously comparing and contrasting personalities and plans and rates and all those things, but I feel guilty because every contractor acts like I’m just going to do the deal with them.

In the case of my AV contractors, not one of them has sent me a proposal, so that’s fine.

Let me chase you to spend money with you.

But so months back I had a mini-split installed in my home office because it gets too hot in my home office.

Now it doesn’t.

Now it is like ice cold in my home office and I freaking love it.

But so when they were installing this AC unit, the mini-split in my office, they had to put a drainage line in for it for its condensation, I guess.

And when they were doing so, it goes out through the garage because the wall of my office is also the wall of the garage, and they piped it out and then they had to drill a hole through the garage through the exterior of the house to drain.

But when they did that, they did it in one of our decorative stones and not through the brick like the regular brick brick, which was what they intended to and what they should do.

And so it looked insane.

And then they had to try to fix that hole that they had made in the decorative brick, which they did that day, very wrong.

Like they did not use the right materials and so it looks insane.

So you know, they reached out right away, actually, before I could even call the air conditioning company.

They had called me and were like, hey, we know we screwed that up and we’re going to fix it.

And I said, great.

I look forward to your fixing it.

I can’t wait to see it look better.

Hooray.

And then nothing would happen for weeks at a time.

And so I would call from time to time saying, hey, you know, you said you were going to fix it.

And I go, yeah, can you send us some photos?

I’m like, sure.

I mean, you did it.

Maybe your guys could have taken photos, but here you go.

And I’m like, can you send us some more photos?

Sure.

Then weeks of silence.

And then I call again.

I’m like, hey, we didn’t forget.

We’re just trying to figure out the right person for the job.

And eventually I call again.

I go, we didn’t forget.

And then I’m like, hey, I’m starting to get a little frustrated because it’s been a long time and they were like, oh, we’re sorry.

We’re going to really, we’re going to take charge.

We’re going to get this done.

So I one day get a call from a guy.

I just edited myself because I said the name of my air conditioning company, which I’m trying to avoid.

So we’re going to call them Casey’s Air Conditioning in honor of my friend Casey Liss, who helped me today.

So the guy says, hey, I’m Casey’s Air Conditioning’s contractor.

Can I come by your home and take a look?

I’m like, sure.

It’s outside.

You can just take a look anytime.

I got the sense right away, and there’s no way to say this.

There’s no easy way to say this, but I got the sense right away that this guy was a weirdo.

It takes him a few days and he comes to the house.

So actually before he comes to the house, he calls, he says, hey, I’ve put in your address and let’s say it’s 123 Main Street.

I’m going to use all euphemisms today.

It’s like, it’s 123 Main Street and you’re in Manalapan, but my GPS is taking me to 123 Main Street in Marlborough.

Is that right?

He’s like, no, that’s a different place.

And he’s like, okay, but I can just go to that one.

I’m like, well, that wouldn’t work.

You’d be at somebody else’s house.

And I’m like, can you look on your GPS to see where the destination is, what cross streets it’s near?

He’s like, maybe on a modern GPS, but I’m not using one of those.

Okay, well, let’s put in a different address for you, which we did.

We got him here.

Fine.

But now I really, really knew he was a weirdo.

Then he comes and this is just so we can look at the problem, just so we can get a sense of the problem and what he’s going to do to fix it.

And before he leaves, I know all about his father and what his father did for a living.

I know about the number of years he spent in the business.

I know why he never hired employees, what his annual take home is, what his annual take home could be if he were willing to hire employees, but why he won’t hire employees.

It relates to New Jersey tax law.

And let’s see, I know other projects he’s working on, particularly the veterinarian office that he’s working on, how many jobs he does for Casey’s Air Conditioning, what he charges Casey’s Air Conditioning, what he charges regular residential consumers, what he charges business consumers, why his work product is really good, et cetera.

It was a lot.

It was a lot.

And he’s going to be doing work on my house.

I can’t be rude.

He’s the guy who they’re picking.

I didn’t do the vetting.

This is Casey’s Air Conditioning’s person, fine.

He comes back to do the work.

And when he arrives, I’m literally on the phone and I show him, hey, I’m on the phone, but the garage is open, so you’re good to go.

And he starts talking to me anyway.

I really can’t talk now.

I’m on this work call.

He’s like, okay.

Then he keeps talking and I’m like, I’m sorry, I’m going to close the door now because I’m on this call.

I’m a little bit rude.

I’m not obnoxious.

I’m going to close the door now.

I got the very distinct impression that he was used to this sort of treatment.

I don’t know what else to say or what else to call it, but treatment because this was insanity.

At one point, he rings the doorbell and I’m on the phone again.

And I go, hey, I’m on a call, but I can come out in a few minutes.

And he’s like, oh, all I wanted to ask was if I can use your bathroom because I really have to pee.

And I was like, here it is.

And then I’m still on the phone, so I kind of ignore him.

And then he also wants to know if I have a bottle of water.

I don’t, but I can give him a cup of water.

Okay.

Because I’m really thirsty.

Well, I figured that’s why you were.

Anyway, so he finishes for the day, not for the job, but for the day.

And he asks if I can come out again.

So I can and do.

And he shows me how clean he’s done it, how much he’s cleaned up the other folks’ work, what work is left, when he intends to come back tomorrow, now meaning today, which he hasn’t done, to fix it, how he always keeps his promises, how he leaves every site cleaner than he finds it, what his other job is that day, when he’s going back to the veterinarian’s office so that he can do more work there on a surgical light that he’s putting in over a thing.

But he has to do it when the guy’s office closes and the guy’s office closes at 4.30 on Friday.

So he wants to be finished by 4.30 on Friday so that he can go from my house to this veterinarian’s office.

Man, oh man.

But he was one of those people, right?

He was one of those people who just talks and talks and talks.

And listen, I do a daily podcast where there’s nobody else to talk to but me.

This guy does one every time he has a conversation, as far as I can tell.

Happy Friday.