Saturday, November 1, 2008

Fix-it Men

Before I start, I apologize about the gender bias to all the female fix-it men, who may be out there, but I've never actually seen one.
Anyway, something very strange is going on with fix-it men lately, and it has me worried. I'm sure I'm being set up for a fall. Several times now my fix it men have shown up on time (!), fixed the problem, not broken anything else, not overcharged me, and even charged less than I thought I'd have to pay.
The last one, Arkadi, came to put up an awning over my balcony. Over the phone, Arkadi gave me a quotation which was the best of the lot. We set a time (8:00 a.m.) and date, I told work I wouldn't be in as I had a fix-it man coming, and prepared to spend the day looking at my watch. But my fix-it man showed up on time. He proceded to take the required measurements—a slightly portly middle aged man, he huffed and puffed just a bit while climbing up and balancing himself precariously on the back of a plastic chair and the railing. I was sure he'd go plunging over the railing and fall several floors onto my neighbor's cat, and I begged him to let me get him a ladder but he said he was fine. I wasn't - I had to go into the house and not look. When he was done, I came back out and we talked a bit. Arkadi was an engineer in Russia, but couldn't get a job at the age of 50 when he immigrated, and went into the canopy-making business. Now, at 67, he is still doing this very physical work. Way to go, Arkadi! Anyway, Arkadi wouldn't take any money down. He said that when he comes back to install it in about two weeks time, if I like it, I should pay him then. At this point I was convinced that I was on candid camera or something. It was about 9:00 a.m. and I had an entire free day ahead of me.
One week early, Arkadi called and it was ready, installed, and beautiful. I wish I could bottle and sell Arkadi!

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