In a spot of industriousness, at 4.30pm when Julien has gone to nap, I decided to clean the toilets in the house. I know I should be napping, but dinner having been prepared and I having taken my shower, I thought I could do something extra today... like cleaning the toilets. So, there I was scrubbing away at the taps and the basin in the ground floor toilet, when I noticed that the hot water tap has started to leak.
Now, the hot water tap has never worked in the ground floor toilet and when I mentioned this to Daddy Low, he assured me that it was simply a bit tight. I waited for him to look into it, but he never found the time. When it started to leak today, I thought - Brilliant! Now, I can get the real estate office to look into it!
So, I told the lady on the phone about my leaking tap. And I said, "You need to send someone around to look into it and stop this leaking." She told me she would call someone, but it's probably not going to be today. I pleaded, "But it's leaking!" And unbelievably, she asked me, "Is the toilet, like, flooding?" I was honestly shocked by this reply and indignant too, and the latter emotion prompted my sharp reply, "No, but it's a constant stream! And I am paying for this water that is trickling away!", at which point, she said she would call someone to check it out.
After I hung up, I was still fuming away, incredulous at the response that I just had to my problem. How can it be that one has to resort to being sharp and unfriendly, in order to make people do the decent thing, and honestly, in this case, to just do their job? I can understand the delay, if it is a faulty washing machine, but a leaking tap?! And her questioning if it is flooding?! I thought that was just totally unprofessional.
But I decided today that for every entry in this last month of 2010, I would choose to count my blessings and be thankful for one thing every entry, so I shall cease my tirade against the agent and instead appreciate the good thing that came out of this.
About 40 minutes later, the handyman appeared at my doorstep. When I opened the door, I felt sorry for him immediately, because of the drearily cold, wintry weather outside. But Mr A was all cheerful and had this big smile on his face, when he announced he was here 'cos of the leaking tap. I have to say I was as much astonished by his cheery attitude as I was pleasantly surprised. And he soon put me in a better mood, as I became hopeful of the tap being repaired. After looking at it, he laughed and told me that it was not a leaking tap, it was a spoilt one, because he could not turn it at all, and when I confirmed that we have never been able to do so either, he laughed even louder, saying that I got a good thing out of this, 'cos that means I would soon have a new tap, if his colleague Mr M had a new tap in the car.
Mr M soon arrived and the dear man was every bit as cheerful as Mr A. When I told him that the agency wanted him to have a look at the oven as well, he actually joked, "What do they want me to do? Take a picture of it?" I have to say these two men's cheeriness rubbed off on me, and soon I was feeling sunny myself despite the cold, dark weather outside.
In the end, the tap was fixed and so was the oven. The oven has been the thorn in our side, since we moved in. It broke before Julien was born and now that Julien is 3 months old, there are still lingering problems not totally resolved. But today, the handymen sent have been the first real effective handymen to visit this house - they have addressed our problems immediately instead of dingdonging with the estate agent, who then dingdongs with the landlord. They were sent to look into a tap and an oven, and they left with both items looked at and fixed. There were no major repairs, just some small but necessary actions that would make the items functionable again. And my indignation having been roused, I was happy that they did not dismiss my leaking tap! Best of all, they came with a big dollop of cheer and decency that made this dreadful cold weather better, as well as rubbed the sour skepticism out of my own by-now-conditioned expectation of dealings with the estate agents.
I thanked them profusely and Mr M asked that I give my positive feedback to the agency. I will, Mr. M, but I will do one even better than that - I give you my thanks through this blog entry and will recommend your services! And this is the one thing I am thankful for today - for people who do their job and beyond by bringing a sunny attitude!
Oh yes, Thank You!
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