"Guv Bob" wrote in message
m...
"Julie Bove" wrote in message
...
SNIP
The new installers said that most of the companies in this area and not
just
garage doors but other types of repairs are run by some guy or people in a
call center, not necessarily even in this state. They outsource to
foreign
people. The older guy's wife once followed up on a company that
outsources
to Mexicans and found their address to be a Dairy Queen.
Every since getting online, I check licenses for any contractors to see if
there are outstanding complaints and that are bonded, have insurance and, if
they have employees, workers comp. Except for very small chores, I get 3
references - recent and a few years back, and check them all out.
I had a plumber quote me a hot water heater installation that as mostly a
rooter guy, and didn't know enough for a water heater job. I ended up
getting someone else. Later I called that first one for rooting and he had
sold the business and moved out of state 3 years ago. Meanwhile, the guy who
bought the company had closed it and was just doing work on the side of his
regular job. From what I've seen, a lot of these companies come and go.
===
The main problem with the door saga was that I had just gotten out of the
hospital. I won't get into all of that here but I had nearly died and was
very weak plus even more disabled than usual because I was still recovering
from a foot operation.
While I had been in the hospital, my sister in law accidentally broke the
last working door opener that we had. So she was going to have my brother
call the company I eventually did go to to put it right to install a new
opener, give us three remotes for the cars and install a wireless keypad.
And from there it all goes South.
Somehow those people couldn't do the job then nor did they know when they
could get to it so my brother called this other place that he said came
highly rated. I have since looked for any sort of ratings about them and
can find none except for my complaint to the BBB.
And because I was weak, still very ill and trying to recover, I couldn't go
out there and oversee what was going on. Plus my husband already paid the
company half of the money before they even did the job. I would not have
given them a dime until the job was completed.
To make matters worse, my husband just left. He wants nothing to do with
waiting around or overseeing anything. I begged him to stay. And my
daughter was in school that day. So I couldn't do much except to hobble
into the garage from time to time and make numerous phone calls to the
supervisor when I saw many things going wrong. And the installer who was
Middle Eastern was merely dismissing me as being a woman who knows nothing.
I hate to sterotype but I had a roommate with a Middle Eastern boyfriend.
He and his friends could be very rude to us because that is just how they
treat women. Not all of them I am sure. I am sure some will change their
ways once they have been in this country for a while but... He was one of
the sterotypical ones who does not hold women in high regard so I could see
that I was getting nowhere with him. Such as when I pointed out the loose
wires and the fact that the unit was shaking so hard it looked like it was
about to fall down. He just said words in some other language, made some
wild hand movements towards me and said that it just had to be that way.
Over the course of about three weeks they eventually came back a few times
and attempted to put the job right but I seriously doubt that any one of
them is actually capable of doing that. I didn't even have the right
lightbulb in there! First guy said any bulb would do but the last person
said not to put the CFL bulbs in there because they break too easily. He
also said that a 100 watt bulb could melt the plastic cover.
Anyway... That stupid nightmare is over now.
Next job is to get the house painted but I know that the painter is good.
He lives right behind me and I know his work!
Plus my daughter goes to
school with his daughter. So if something should go wrong, at least I know
where to find him.