Archive for the year 2009
I Miss Molly
Posted on January 24, 2009 by Ching under Babies.
I started crying the other day after the plumber left. Maybe it was partly because we had just charged $7500 on the credit card, the most money we have ever spent on any one thing (excluding our cars and our house)… but it was mostly due to the overwhelming sadness I felt over not having Molly around anymore.
BRIAN: Why are you crying?
CHING: I’m sad.
BRIAN: Why? Because we just spent a lot of money?
CHING: I miss Molly.
BRIAN: I miss her, too.
CHING: You don’t understand. It’s like breaking up with a boyfriend who you love very much and aren’t ready to break up with yet. Then later you see him living happily ever after with someone else and you’re just heartbroken.
BRIAN: Usually, when I break up with people, it’s for a very good reason and I’m relieved not to be with them anymore… but I see what you’re saying.
Brian and I agreed that we could not have found a better home for Molly. Tita Sol is just fantastic. Tita Sol works part-time so she has more free time to spend with Molly. She cares for her very much and is doing all the things that we never had time to do like train her and show her how to do tricks. Molly is even getting expensive dog food, plenty of play time, and is having her hair brushed at night, every night, before bed. Molly has moved up.
Brian told me that he had a particularly rough day at work the other day and was just looking forward to coming home, picking up Molly and playing with her. I was thinking the same thing, how much I enjoyed hugging and kissing her after a stressful workday. She is just such a sweet and lovable dog. It made me realize that she gave us so much more than we had ever given her. I’m glad that she is with someone who can love and care for her more than we ever could. She deserves better than us.
Tita Sol seems happy with Molly, and Molly is obviously very, very happy with her new situation. I just wish that we could have provided that wonderful home for her instead of someone else.
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Ching Exercises Restraint
Posted on January 22, 2009 by Ching under Life.
First of all, I’m cranky at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing. BFP is so not the BFP right now. (They’re not the worst by any means, but they definitely did not live up to expectations.) They told us it would take two days to complete the proposed work and it took three days.
If there’s any delay, it’s you we pay!
So much for their slogan! What a joke! I’m partly cranky because we had to fork over $7500 for the re-pipe. No one is ever thrilled at having to spend that much money. Maybe if they lived up to their slogan I would be a bit less cranky?
Three days wouldn’t have been too bad if they would have returned after lunch on the third day as promised. Brian waited and waited for their call. Finally at 1:30 pm, he called BF and asked what the hold up was about. They asked him if we could wait another couple of days to complete the job. Brian got cranky at them and told them that would be impossible so they finally agreed to come yesterday as promised. However, they asked Brian if they could come between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm. I had arranged to take my car to the shop (due to the check engine light coming on – yup, it’s one thing after another – when it rains, it pours) right after work. I had a 5:30 pm appointment.
Brian told them that it needed to be between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm because of our other commitments (Brian was going to Home Depot to get additional insulation for the attic as the plumber instructed and we were also going to visit Molly at Tita Sol’s and bring her the rest of Molly’s Hydra-Pearls
Anyway, he finally just called them to find out what was going on. The BF rep he spoke with told him to head on home and that they would dispatch the plumber straight away. Brian was stuck at home, waiting for over an hour, before the plumber showed up. It was about 5:30 pm.
He finally got everything wrapped up. I’m so glad all of that is over and behind us. Except now we get to start paying on it. Ugh.
On a lighter note, Brian and I had the following conversation in while driving to work this morning:
BRIAN: Wow. I’m amazed.
CHING: Why?
BRIAN: You’re being awfully quiet. Usually, you’re screaming at me to stop, slow down, or watch out.
CHING: I got to ride home with Jan yesterday.
BRIAN: Are you saying that Jan is a worse driver than I am?
CHING: Not at all. (Trust me. There is no worse driver than Brian. Okay, maybe Richard.) That’s not what I meant. While I was riding in Jan’s car yesterday, I was able to exercise restraint and be a good passenger. I didn’t flinch or say, “Watch out!” or ask her to slow down or scream, “Stop! Stop!” I figured that I could exercise the same restraint while riding in the car with you.
BRIAN: We’ll see how long that lasts. (He has so little faith in me.)
I have actually been very good at exercising restraint lately. I’m a little depressed, but at least I’m facing my problems rather than faking my own death. It’s a lot more than I can say for some people.
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Our Plumbing Nightmare
Posted on January 21, 2009 by Brian under Life.
Here is our story. We had an issue with our plumbing, there was a mysterious noise coming from one of the fixtures that had a slow leak. My father and I took an hour one weekend and fixed the gaskets and seals in the fixture thinking this would stop the noise as well. Much to our disappointment, it did not. The leak had stopped but the sound continued. I looked all through the attic and could not find any traces of plumbing other than the hot water heater. I concluded that the plumbing was under the concrete slab of the home and that a leak had sprung under the foundation. I called a plumber to come out and give me an estimate. I learned real fast that there is no such thing as free estimates anymore. Plumbing companies charge for everything. This includes pipe whispering. The first plumber came out put his hand on the fixture, put his hand on the wall then put his ear to the wall and said rather profoundly, “You got a leak under your foundation!” No shit, Sherlock! Now tell me how to fix it and how much it’s going to cost me!
I received a quote of between $1K to $3K to dig a hole in the foundation and fix the leak. What they did not tell me (and I learned later from the second plumber) was that the $1K to $3K was for a simple 2 ft by 2 ft hole down to the pipe. This, however, may need to be expanded once they get in the hole. They could find that the leak is several feet away from where they thought it would be and they would have to drill again. This would be another $1K to $3K, and could potentially lead up to several thousand by the time they are done.
Plumber number 2 was called next. I liked their customer service and I had heard a few things in passing from some folks at work. They are relatively new in town and I figured that new people are wanting to make a name for themselves and gain a good reputation. I thought I would give them a try and see what they offered. I was very pleased with their phone service. It was always pleasant and very professional. They answered my questions to the best of their abilities over the phone then assigned someone to come out and take a look (again, for a fee). The person who came out was well groomed, clean-ish and very professional. He spent more time looking over the situation before making a diagnosis. He took a look behind the wall and really thought things through. He gave the same diagnosis and provided not one, but two different solutions. The first option involved the standard drill and search method, the second option was a total replacement of the plumbing in the house. This involved abandoning the old copper lines and installing new PEX plumbing throughout. After discussing this with him, it seemed the logical step. He pointed out that with the old copper system we may fix this leak but another may spring up in a few years or less. He also pointed out that the drilling may tear out entire sections of the house thus diminishing the structural integrity of the home.
The total cost for fixing the plumbing was going to be around $7K. This is most of our savings. This plumbing company has an upfront pricing policy and they have no hourly rates like other companies. They told me what was going to be done and set a date. I made arrangements to work from home on the two days that he was going to be there and made sure that all access points that he mentioned were clear of obstacles and ready to be serviced.
Day 1: Our plumber shows up late. Not by much — only a few minutes — but they have this policy about being prompt and on time. They have an “If you wait, we pay” motto on the side of their truck. I’m trying not to be a dick because I want quality work done so I don’t press the issue. He actually said that he was running late because he had to get an assistant and some parts. They came in and explained everything that they were going to do then got to work. After a few hours, they let me know that the assistant needed to go back to the office to answer phones. This was good because we actually needed to run a quick errand and get some lunch. After about 30 minutes the plumber returned alone and told me that it’s just going to be him for the rest of the day. This concerned me because this is a big job and I want it done correctly. However, I hold my tongue and let the man work. He did a really good job of getting several aspects of the work completed before leaving for the day. I would say overall he probably did about 30 to 50 percent of the work that needed to be done. Pretty good for only one guy (probably would have gotten more done if he had used our products, but more on that later).
Day 2: He showed up again around the same time and immediately got to work. Again he had his assistant and again after a few hours he had to take him back to the office to answer phones. I understand the need for assistants, especially on a job as large as this one, but you would think that they would be able to employ assistants who did not have a dual role and who did not have to leave the job site and be taken back to do another function. It messes up the flow of the job and hinders efficient performance. With a company that prides themselves on fast and efficient service, entirely too much time was spent hauling assistants back and forth and not enough time utilizing the assistants for the function that they should have been used for. Nevertheless he came back and again went to work. This time working diligently to ensure that I had water that night and that any and all leaks that might spring were fixed and stopped. His boss came out to assist and worked with him to get everything done in a reasonable amount of time. Finally around 8:30 we did the final walk through and inspected all of the lines in the house. He pointed out the things that still needed to be done and gave me information that I needed to do after the job was complete, like insulate the plumbing in the attic to keep it from freezing. He advised me that he will need to come back for a third visit and that this one will be to do some small clean up items like sealing the hose bibs at the front and back of the house, adding a few braces, and fixing the laundry room (it had a temp cap on it to avoid any water leaking). I asked when he would be by and he said sometime after lunch and that he would call me. I left it alone and tried to trust that he would follow through with his promise.
Day 3: I went to work and asked my boss if I could leave early and explained what was going on. Since I work for a plumbing company I got asked repeatedly why I just did not buy the supplies from us and hire one of the many master plumbers to do the job over the weekend. I explained about the warranty and the worries of my wife. Everyone was understanding, but I still felt like a traitor because I have one of our competitor’s plumbing running throughout my house. I was pretty calm until about 1:30 pm, at this point I was tired of waiting and I called the plumbing company. I was advised by the ever so pleasant and always professional customer service lady (I have always gotten the same one) that my plumber was scheduled to come out between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm. I advised that this was not going to work because I had other arrangements after work (first, I had my dad coming over to help with the insulation and second, my wife was taking her car to the shop because of a check engine light) she advised me that they had an opening between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm. I said that this was perfect and she said I would get a call. By the time 3:00 pm rolled around, I started getting impatient again. At about 3:50 pm, I called the plumbing company. Much to my disappointment the phone was answered by another person (I recognized his voice — it was the assistant). I explained who I was and advised him of what the previous customer service person told me. He said that he was going to look into this and call me back. About 15 minutes later he called back and actually asked me if I can have the plumber come out in a couple of days. At this point I have had enough. I was frustrated from waiting, I felt lied to and then this. I kind of tore into him and informed him that I could not wait a couple of days and that I was told that he would be out at a specific time. I continued to tear into him until he understood that I would settle for nothing but the immediate dispatch of the plumber to finish the job. He put me on hold then advised that the plumber would be there shortly and that I should start heading home. I called the wife and left work.
Once I got home I changed in preparation for working on the insulation in the attic. I waited for over an hour for the plumber to show up. Finally, at around 5:30 pm, he showed up. He told me about why he was unable to come sooner. I explained to him that I was not mad at him but mad at his company. They knew that this job was still on the books, yet they kept issuing him other jobs to do. I went on a little tirade with him explaining my frustration and pointed out the blatant violation of their own company policy that is printed in very large letters on the side of their truck. He stated that he was going to speak with his boss and see if there is anything that he could do. Personally, I’m not holding my breath. He came in and finished all of the items that were still left to be done. While he did that, I insulated the attic areas that had the PEX pipe exposed to the cold to ensure that they stayed warm and in compliance with the warranty. There is R30 insulation over the entire run of pipe, as well as a heater vent that pushes the same warm air that is pumped into the house in the attic. On top of that I have about 20 feet of heat tape that I plan on running down the main line to keep it from freezing. All of this should keep me compliant with their warranty guidelines and keep the pipes from freezing. After about an hour and a half of work, the plumber was done. I had to stop my work and come do a final walk through to make sure that everything was on the up and up. After about 10 minutes of inspection, I signed off on the plumbing and finished the insulation.
I am rather disappointed with the whole experience because I believed that I was going to receive stellar service. That is the initial impression I got from the inspection and phone call. I assumed that, with the attention to detail that they were presenting, the same attention would carry over to the plumbing. I was disappointed to find out that they used a product called Shark Bite on over 50% of the fittings. I told them in the beginning that I did not like this product and they used it throughout the house anyway. I advised them in the beginning who I worked for and this made no difference in their choice of product. I was informed on the second day (after all of the tubing was run and most of the fittings were installed) that I could have purchased the product from my company and that they would have worked with me on the cost of installation. I was rather upset that I was not informed of this to begin with. If I would have known this I would have looked into this offer and could have possibly saved some money in the long term.
I am glad that the whole thing is over. However, looking back, if I had it to do over I would have purchased the product myself and hired some of the master plumbers from work. I think that the overall job would have been done better and I know that the materials would have been of better quality. Unfortunately, at this point all I can do is hurry to finish the house and then sell it. With any luck, I wont have any issues for several years. I will post pictures of the ordeal later. Stay tuned for followups to this horrific event.
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Free Cosmetics at Dillard’s
Posted on January 21, 2009 by Ching under News.
My friend Carly at work just told me about Dillard’s giving away free cosmetics as settlement for a 2004 class action lawsuit involving price fixing of cosmetics. You can get info about it here and see the complete list of retailers and products here, but my recommendation would be to head on over to Dillard’s before the goods run out because the freebies are only available while supplies last. From what Carly was telling me, they are already out of quite a few items.
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What are YOU Doing Tomorrow Night?
Posted on January 19, 2009 by Ching under News, Things to Do.
There are several watch parties going on during the day on Tuesday. Check out the Wichita Eagle’s Inaug.Blog for a comprehensive list of goings on around town tomorrow. I, unfortunately, have to report to work. We have to pay for our plumbing work somehow.
If we don’t have a lot of post plumbing work to-dos, here are some options for tomorrow evening:
- The Showcase Lounge at 3926 E. 13th St is hosting a free inauguration party. The party, which starts at 8 pm, is open to individuals ages 18 and over. Music and food will be provided.
- Rendezvous at Rendez-vous located at 912 East Douglas. This inauguration party, hosted by Jessica Smith, begins at 6 pm.
- Several people are meeting at The Anchor, located at 1109 East Douglas, where they will watch some inauguration footage taped from earlier and some of the talking heads wrap up the day on cable. Eating, drinking, crying, clapping and general merriment are optional and left up each attendees discretion.
- The Douglas County Democratic Party will be celebrating at Abe & Jake’s Landing, 8 East 6th St (Lawrence), from 7 pm to midnight. Admission is free but attendees are encouraged to bring canned food for local food drive.
That’s just a start. I’m sure there are several private inauguration parties going on around town tomorrow evening. What are you doing? Where will you be?
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