Bloody tradesmen :-)

[Jethro]

With our existing built in leccy oven looking worse for wear, we treated ourselves to a new gas double. It was delivered on Wednesday, and I called a gas fitter recommended by the MiL, who said he'd be there on Thursday to look at the job, between 9 and 10.

9:30, doorbell rings, I show the nice man (from Stourbridge) the job. Immediately he says no problem, gives me a quote (=A370 + parts), and starts work. Declines offer of cup of tea, but his mate takes one (white, sugar).

He cut off the existing gas outlet, made a "T" shaped spur, and rejoined the bayonet connection for the hob, and put a new one for the oven in. He placed it to the left of the oven, so I can disconnect the oven without removing it.

He even wired in the plug (which I said I would do, but he wanted to leave it all working).

Pressure tested too.

Left before 10:30 with =A370 + =A320 for the hose. The job is neat, no mess.

What the hell is the world coming to ? I feel cheated. I was expecting missed appointments, late arrivals, lots of sucking of breath, a final charge that bore no relation to the quote, a messy job ....

[Tim Streater]

And no use of the word "Squire", either, apparently. No wonder you feel let down.

[Dave Liquorice]

If it makes you feel better, =A320 for the hose.

=A38.27 for a 4' one from Toolstation. But you haven't mentioned the cost of the T and presumably a short length of extra pipe. B-)

[Skipweasel]

Might be nice to give the bloke a name, if he's that good.

[Jethro]

With the way the weather had been (and me not knowing there could be such a variation in prices) I don't begrudge a few extra quid on the cost of the hose ... the result was we had a working oven (brilliant !) inside an hour.

If the work is done well, on time, with as little fuss as possible, for a fair price, then why argue over a tenner ?

[ARWadsworth]

vbg

[Count de Monet]

+1

[Jethro]

I agree, although I have reasons for not blurting it out on usenet. However a few business cards were kept, and if anyone asks, I'd be happy to recommend him ... it's not uncommon for colleagues or relatives to ask ... after all that's how we found him. ISTR our local council runs a scheme to recommend local tradesmen, I'll be on there after work today :-)

For me, sticking the finger in the yellow pages is the very last resort.

[MM]

Did the bloke have a Polish accent?

MM

[Skipweasel]

The YPs go straight in the recycling here.

[Dave Liquorice]

Oh I quite agree, just trying to find a fault with the work/costs to make you happier. B-)

Even if he bought from Toolstation there would still be delivery and/or collection costs to recover somehow.

[Donwill]

Did you get a "Gas Safe" certificate for the job? or maybe it's not required for such a small job? What do I know? :-) Don

[Jethro]

You used to be able to use them to reach the top bookshelf, but they're not even any use for that anymore :-)

Serious the YP were shit, and are still shit. I appreciate there are only so many ways of organising information, given the physical limitations of paper, but YP didn't even try. It was almost like they wanted to hide contact details, as to find a number, you needed to guess what YP had decided to call the category.

Similar to looking for a book in Foyles. If you didn't know the

*publisher* you were at the mercy of lady luck.

[Jethro]

As yam-yam as they cwm ..

[Skipweasel]

Ah, but it did make for a fascinating afternoon or two.

[Jethro]

I asked, but he said it wasn't required, as the actual oven connection is the approved bayonet type. The invoice has his Corgi credentials on it. I saw him leak test the joins, and pressure test the oven according to the installation book, so I'm happy it's all pukka.

[A.Clews]

Thus spake Jethro ( [e-mail]) unto the assembled multitudes:

Except that Corgi no longer exists and has been superceded by something else...

[John Rumm]

Although there was often a bod on standby who had an encyclopaedic knowledge of who published what... but yes, it was an odd system!

[Frank Erskine]

What annoys me with YPs is the odd "cardboard" pages designed to stop you flicking through the book. As soon as a new one arrives, out comes the scalpel to remove said pages.

Just got a new YP the other day - much smaller than the standard size.

[dom]

Back in the day, you had to queue up twice to pay at Foyles. Once to get an invoice, and then again at the little cash-payment cubicle.