Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Hester Street, May 2007


So I got the bill for my recent adventure with the plumber. For installing a new kitchen faucet and fixing a minor glitch in the flushing mechanism of my toilet, the bill came to - drumroll please - $443.11.

Oh. My. God.

They're trying to bill me $157 for parts alone, which is interesting, because the faucet they installed is available for $62 at the hardware store across the street. And what they did to my toilet was so minor it's hardly worth mentioning.

They're also trying to bill me for the time they spent driving around town to buy a faucet that they said they'd bring with them (and that's available at a retail store about 100 yards from my front door).

So, as anticipated, the adventure has not concluded. I'm going to call them this morning and explain to them why I am not paying that much. We'll see how it goes. I really long for the mythical day when you could call a service person and that person would come and do an honest job and charge an honest amount.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can hardly wait for the next episode in this story....

Ms Soup

Anonymous said...

That sucks. As if you didn't already spend enough time on your faucet, now you have to argue with the plumbers. For heaven's sake!

Love the pic, though. The patch of light looks three dimensional, very alive. Very cool.

Good luck!!

Anonymous said...

Good luck! But, plumbing is expensive and they may stick it to you ;-\

Btw, I really dig the photo, like Reya said the light is very alive, like a fish of some sort swimming across the room.

Peace.

Anonymous said...

Gosh Steve, they are charging nearly $300 for labor. What a rip.

Great picture. Who thought that paint job was a good idea?

Anonymous said...

Well, color me not surprised! Ha!

The unfortunate thing is that it's only going to get worse...and these days if you are going to raise a stink you need a lawyer or often you get nowhere.

Sometimes I think I was meant to live in another era or in a cabin in the woods...

Anonymous said...

well, good luck with that.

Be Strong.

lovely lovely pic.

btw, i dreamed that i visited you in New York. D'you think it was a prophecy?

Anonymous said...

wow. yeah. in hs, i was advised to become a plumber. i was told most architect students drop out and become librarians and in order to support myself and lead a happy life i should follow the plumbing dream. i'm still considering it, mostly for my love of copper piping because PLASTIC IS FOR LOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSEEERs. word.

Anonymous said...

the pic is great, I thought it was sunlight at first, in a pattern --but now it looks like paint to me. I don't know what to think...I like the mouling around the door too. I took a snap of a red door that has the same windows.

My friend just renovated a large victorian home here--she thinks he son should be a plumber because she feels he could just skip med school, saving all that time and money--and make a fortune as a plumber. I think she is serious. she re-did her bathrooms to match the Victorian period, and the kitchen-- and sometimes a wall is reopened when I go there because the plumbing and heating guys were there fixing her brand new central air-- you get the idea it never $tops in a big house.

Anonymous said...

stand your ground ste!

Anonymous said...

Ched: It is indeed light, not paint.