Is the whole world this F'd up?

Gofirstclass

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,670
Tri Cities, WA
Boat Info
Boatless in WA
Engines
No motor
As many of you know I have Stage 4 cancer so I've given in to hiring people to do some of the things around the house that, in the past, were things I could/would have done myself. So over the past week or so, I've hired 3 professional companies to take care of some tasks around the house.

1. We have a small "water feature" that sits in the front yard. It's pretty simple with a pump in the bottom that pumps water to the top where gravity sends it back down. The pump stopped working. I didn't feel like crawling around on the rocks to pull the pump out so I called a well known electrical contractor I have used in the past. Two guys showed up and promptly told me "we don't do pump work". So to make this a totally useless trip they checked the GFI and somehow they magically determined that was the cause.

In taking the GFI out of the case they broke the case. And didn't have a replacement with them. So off they went to get one. When they came back they put everything back together. The pump still tripped the breaker. So they decided the pump must be bad and reverted back to the earlier statement "we don't do pump work".

Yesterday I went down to their office and explained my situation and also mentioned that the "journeyman" electrician had replaced my 20A breaker with a 15A because my 20A didn't fit the design of the box they bought. WTF????? At this point I'm steaming mad. F'ing journeyman.

So they're coming back out today to remove the breaker and put in a 20A. Then they're going to use my shop vac to empty the pond so they can get at the pump and replace it.

Continued....
P.S. So a different guy showed up today, right on time, and I explained what the other two jerks, err, I mean technicians did and what they found. So he proceeded to do the same tests and gave me the same results--"your pump is bad and we don't fix pumps." I told him about my conversation with the boss the day before and he got visibly upset. He called the office and got the sad tale that they now DO fix pumps. So he pulled the pump out and said "it's a big mutha". I asked him where he was going to find a replacement and he said "I don't know."

As I'm typing this he called and said he'd been to one store and they didn't have one so he likely won't be back until tomorrow. I guess since it's almost 3 p.m. it's time to grab a cold one, but I bet it won't be a Bud Light.
 
Sorry to hear that story but to your ask - Incompetence seems to be the norm these days, right a long with over tipping. No one want's to work on anything or even cares enough to communicate that to you either.

It's just a shame to see the state of affairs these days with no one in power acknowledging this, let alone doing anything about it. The only help seems to be from immigrants who know nothing.
 
Sorry to hear about the pump in your water feature. I have been maintaining Koi ponds and water features for 25 years and I have dealt with this exact problem repeatedly. Like in your situation the homeowner will often reach out to an electrician as their first step and have unnecessary electrical work performed to replace outlets or breakers, only to find this does not resolve the issue.

Submersible pumps vary in quality and design (direct drive, magnetic drive etc.) and over time water can infiltrate the case and cause a short. Just like with many other items you get what you pay for. If the pump is easily accessible a lower cost pump may be okay. If you need a bobcat to move huge rocks or to dig for access cheaping out on the pump makes no sense.

Without seeing your water feature it would be tough to make a specific recommendation for a replacement pump. What I will suggest is to get a pump from a pond supplier who specializes in water gardens rather than something from Home Depot or Lowes. I do a lot of business with Webbs water gardens. https://webbsonline.com/Category/All-Submersible-Pumps

I
am certain there are many closer options out on the west coast. I hope you get things worked out so you can enjoy the tranquility a water feature is supposed to offer.
 
#2, the second item in my F'd up world list is I hired a new swimming pool maintenance company and they were supposed to come out and open the pool and get it ready for the season. They were supposed to be here about 10 days ago, between 1 and 3. Three o'clock came and went and he finally showed up around 4:30. I had an appointment at 5:00 so I showed him where stuff was and left.

I came home later and found this: He had not cleaned out the pool filter or the skimmer filter. He hadn't used his pool skimmer to get leaves and other crap off the surface. He added some chemicals to the pool because the water was now clean.

It was dark by this time and when I went out to close things up I found he had not lowered any of the bolt thingies that are used to hold the winter pool cover on. Guess how I found out he had F'd that up. Yup, as I was walking around the pool I tripped on one of those took a tumble onto my left side and hit my head on something. I lay there for a few minutes until I could get up, then went inside.

So the next morning I drove to their office to have a conversation with a manager. She was apologetic and understood my concerns and basically agreed with me that he'd f'd the whole job. I asked how long he'd been with the company and she said "Oh, several years".

So that same dipshit is coming back out today, again between 1 and 3 (good luck with that!) to do the job over again, at no charge to me. Good luck with that! I'll let you know how it goes.
 
I can’t get thru a 4 way stop without swearing….. and you’re expecting more ?
You don't pay a toll to navigate a four way stop. If you pay for service and get screw ups it is unacceptable. The worst part is when you are a good technician who does a competent thorough job you are rewarded with complaints that are unfounded from clients who are like the above mentioned employees.
 
Sorry to hear that story but to your ask - Incompetence seems to be the norm these days, right a long with over tipping. No one want's to work on anything or even cares enough to communicate that to you either.

It's just a shame to see the state of affairs these days with no one in power acknowledging this, let alone doing anything about it. The only help seems to be from immigrants who know nothing.

I have a windshield/glass company. I can't find anyone worth a shit. I would pay very well too. Last guy came in said he had 2 years experience. About all he could do was take off a cowl. I left him remove a windshield from an old beater at a car lot. He scratched the f#$& out of the car. Said all we had to do was prime it it would be fine and that is how they always did it because the moulding would hide it. There is also very little pride in workmanship today. That was his last day btw. He said I was unreasonable with my expectations. @ 25/hr he should have been able to work unsupervised.
 
I feel your frustration. I get the same kind of run-around with my local marine "mechanics".
 
I feel your frustration. I get the same kind of run-around with my local marine "mechanics".
Concerns about this are a reason why I do most of my our marine maintenance. I needed a Awlgrip paint repair; it took 18 months to get someone in to do it.
 
Sounds like when my truck was in the dealership last Winter for three months, buried in snow, over bad spark plugs the ‘THEY’ installed. If you remember, they were ready to crack open the engine and charge me an additional $3k to replace a timing chain that didn’t need to be replaced.

I don’t know what the answer is other than do what my Father-in-law try’s to do. Although this may not apply GFC, find a guy that does good work, and stick with him. Cost may be a little more, but you’ll know it’ll get finished properly. I imagine most of us do that with boat mechanics.
 
Sounds like when my truck was in the dealership last Winter for three months, buried in snow, over bad spark plugs the ‘THEY’ installed. If you remember, they were ready to crack open the engine and charge me an additional $3k to replace a timing chain that didn’t need to be replaced.

I don’t know what the answer is other than do what my Father-in-law try’s to do. Although this may not apply GFC, find a guy that does good work, and stick with him. Cost may be a little more, but you’ll know it’ll get finished properly. I imagine most of us do that with boat mechanics.
That is a great strategy. Problem being all the good ones are retiring. There is little in the pipeline to replace them.
 
Two good things happened yesterday. First, the guy from the electrical company came out to install the new pump he was coerced into buying. I went out of my way to be friendly to him and he keyed in on that. He went overboard to explain the features of the new pump and then installed it.

The second thing was the young man who showed up to open the pool was overly apologetic about the other guy who had been there before. I'm fairly certain he was told about my visit to their office and about the fall I took after tripping over those studs. He went about his business and I left him alone. In about 2 hours the pool was running and was clean as could be. Before he left he again apologized for what the other worker had done.
 
Two good things happened yesterday. First, the guy from the electrical company came out to install the new pump he was coerced into buying. I went out of my way to be friendly to him and he keyed in on that. He went overboard to explain the features of the new pump and then installed it.

The second thing was the young man who showed up to open the pool was overly apologetic about the other guy who had been there before. I'm fairly certain he was told about my visit to their office and about the fall I took after tripping over those studs. He went about his business and I left him alone. In about 2 hours the pool was running and was clean as could be. Before he left he again apologized for what the other worker had done.
Well, I'm glad that all ended well. It is very hard to find good help these days. Work ethic seems to be a thing of the past.
 
@ 25/hr he should have been able to work unsupervised.

My son’s part time/summer job is running the launch at our boat yard. The new owner upped the pay from $15/hour to $22/hour and $25/hour on holidays, plus tips. He said he believes paying people well helps them do the right thing.

My son is psyched at the pay. He’s working on funding his first car.
 
My son’s part time/summer job is running the launch at our boat yard. The new owner upped the pay from $15/hour to $22/hour and $25/hour on holidays, plus tips. He said he believes paying people well helps them do the right thing.

My son is psyched at the pay. He’s working on funding his first car.
At $22/hour he should have that car money pretty quick. I bought my first car when I was making $3.35/hour. I did get paid in cash though.
 

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