Tuesday, June 15, 2021

A Dry Day


This very shiny car mirror seemed to make a good photo opportunity. Can you see Olga, standing at the base of what looks like a baobab tree? Obviously she's not really that long -- the reflection has turned her into a dachshund.

We had some excitement yesterday. Dave came home in the afternoon to find no running water. Our upstairs neighbor said it had been off since about 9 a.m. She said she'd called, but just to be on safe side we called too.

We had a pretty good idea what was going on. Remember the water main replacement project on our street? Well, the construction is done and we got a letter a few days ago saying they'd begin testing the new pipes on Monday. "You shouldn't notice any changes," it continued, "but if your water unexpectedly goes off at the time of testing or after, please call us immediately."

So Dave called, and reached someone who seemed completely unaware of any testing or indeed repairs on our street, and who insisted no one else had contacted them. He filed a work order and we waited. A few hours later, when no one from Thames Water had shown up, we called again. Turned out the work order got cancelled by the computer because it showed work crews were already on our street doing pipe replacement. Argh! So we went through the process again.

We ordered a takeaway chicken dinner and waited some more. I desperately wanted to water some of our plants, sagging from the heat, but the only water in the house was in Olga's dog bowl and I didn't want to deprive her of it. We don't even have accessible toilet tanks! I went around and talked to a couple of neighbors, who all had water. In fact, one woman was watering her front garden, just to rub it in. (She offered to give us some if I brought her a bucket, but I didn't have one handy and opted to wait.)

We called a third time, around 8 p.m. I got a little frustrated with Dave, who was very calm and acquiescent on the phone. I told him he needed to be more firm and direct. (Dave insisted on taking care of this situation himself -- he gets tired of me taking charge. I tried to pipe down and let him do his thing his way.)

Finally, after dark, a Thames Water engineer showed up and explained that the work crews completely missed connecting our house to the new main -- apparently we don't have a street valve controlling water supply to the building, and that's what they used to make the connections. So they simply skipped us. When they turned off the old main, they turned off our water. There are a few other houses on the street in the same position, he said. (He was also plenty annoyed at being called out because another work crew hadn't done their job properly, as he said.)

To make a long story short, they turned the old main back on, and our water returned at about 10 p.m. I guess a crew will come back around, dig up the street again and install a new connection to our house.


Here's the valerian growing on our front steps. I always like this hardy flower when it appears every year. Can you see Olga, watching me from the open doorway? She's saying, "I'm thirsty!"

48 comments:

  1. ". . . calm and acquiescent". I am with Dave. Nothing is ever achieved by getting irritated or "firm" as you call it. Persistence with customer service is all. Humour them. Tell them that their company's shitty service is not their fault. Keep your voice down. Smile through gritted teeth. You'll make friends you don't want for life. Victory will be yours.

    The first time the Angel witnessed this my tactic, it's a long time ago, he was in his teens, he observed, my coming off one of those conversations: "Mama, on the phone you are so nice, so charming, so ha ha. And as soon as you put the phone down you scream." Indeed. Pressure cookers too need their valve released - in the privacy of their own company.

    U

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    1. Well, they say you attract more flies with honey, or something like that. I don't think being firm is the same as being angry, though. I wouldn't advocate anger or rudeness, just directness.

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  2. That's such a cool photo in the mirror - would make a nice series in different locations. My son just got a new flat in Wimbledon so looks like I might be visiting London soonish - seems ages since I was there.

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    1. I love photos in reflective surfaces. Wimbledon is nice! I seldom get down that way myself.

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  3. "I tried to pipe down..." Appropriately amusing expression given the circumstances!

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    1. Ha! That was a purely unintentional plumbing reference.

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  4. You sound like us and the way we deal with people. Mostly I am Mr Nice Guy and R is the Tough Man. It depends on the situation, what and who we are dealing with. Rather poor work by Thames Water, perhaps contractors, but at least it admitted fault and fixed the problem promptly.

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    1. Well, ultimately Dave's method got our water turned back on, so I have to give him credit. I'm not sure firmness on my part could have done it any faster, but it would have been more personally satisfying!

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  5. I thought you knew, 'Daves' are usually fairly calm in almost every situation.

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  6. That's so frustrating. There was no connection, so they just skipped it. Wow.

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    1. I know! So here's the full story on the valve: Apparently in the old, old days, the valves for shutting off water to a house were located inside. In our case, it's in the kitchen, high up on the wall. At some point, the valves were put outside at the street, under a panel in the pavement. But there wasn't a requirement to move them, so it mostly got done over time, when people renovated or whatever. Now almost everyone has that streetside valve, but because our house has been very lightly renovated over the years, we still have the interior one. It's been a source of confusion for plumbers and repairmen, but I never imagined it would lead to our water getting shut off!

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  7. It's really hard to sit on your hands & watch someone handle a situation differently than you would. Well, it's hard once I've gotten sufficiently annoyed to want to handle something - ha! Glad they figured out the issue, but sorry that they're apparently boneheads.

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    1. I find that I have to just step out of the room and let Dave handle things. Otherwise I wind up giving him directions. I must be fairly annoying to live with!

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  8. "You don't miss your water 'til your well runs dry."
    Truer words were never said.

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    1. It's true. We don't realize how much we depend on it until it's unavailable. Or as Joni said, "You don't know what you've got til it's gone."

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  9. Going without water all day like that would have driven me crazy. I'm a water-aholic. A zillion glasses a day I drink. I'm blown away that they simply missed your water connection, and now they have to dig up the street again to connect it. Hope it all goes well.

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    1. What made me craziest was being unable to wash my hands!

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  10. Every so often we have an issue with the water being off, and it's funny how, when you don't have it, everything you want to do requires it.

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    1. It's true. You just don't realize how much you use it.

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  11. Olga as a dachshund made me laugh out loud. That mirror really stretched her out. That water situation must have been so frustrating. I can't imagine having to wait that long.

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    1. Isn't that funny? It's like a funhouse mirror.

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  12. Glad they were able to figure out what went wrong. Hope they get the new connection done soon.

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  13. It's always very frustrating when a utility doesn't work. Crews seem almost impossible to get so that the problem can be fixed.

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    1. What was most frustrating was having a letter from them saying the pipes were being tested and to call if there was a problem -- and then calling and being told there was no "test" or construction going on. And then having the computer cancel our call because of the construction! ARGH!

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  14. It would have been so easy for the first person that was called to take care of the problem. I'm glad that someone finally came out and you have water. You have a super day, hugs, Edna B.

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    1. My mother used to say, "Everything has to be done at least twice." And it's true.

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  15. Going a whole day without water is just ridiculous. What in the world were those workmen thinking, simply skipping houses when it required a bit more work to get their water flowing? Someone at their jobs should hold them accountable for that.

    The valerian is so pretty, and I love seeing Olga's little face at the top. :)

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    1. I know! You'd think they'd look up and say, "Gee, there's a house here, so there should be a connection." Duh!

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  16. what a clusterfuck. well, I guess the work order didn't tell the crew to add connections that weren't there so they didn't. probably thought y'all wouldn't notice.

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    1. Maybe they thought our water ran through a neighboring connection? Does that ever happen? I have no idea.

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  17. How annoying and completely unprofessional. Well done for persisting.
    The picture of the car mirror is great!

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    1. Thanks! I'm always attracted by a shiny surface. I'm like a crow. LOL

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  18. The water "upgrade" is mind-boggling. It's so frustrating having to keep pushing for a fix on something that never should have happened in the first place.

    Love the elongated Olga! I just realized her name is contained in the word "elongated", which is kind of funny.

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    1. Ha! Good job pointing that out! I never would have noticed it! You must be good at anagrams.

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  19. Stories such as this always put me in a tail spin- how vulnerable we are living in town depending of the city for water, gas and electricity- Living out on the land being self sufficient has its appeal!

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    1. It's true. When the zombie apocalypse comes Dave and I will be helpless.

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  20. I don't know what we'd do here without water as the temperature is peaking at over 100 degrees this week. Why, we might turn into a desert!

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    1. Yeesh. I don't envy you guys at all. And I think it's hot here, at 82 degrees!

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  21. That would be SO frustrating not to have water. I can't even imagine. I hover between keeping calm and reasonable and veering into cold and deadly anger.

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    1. I stayed pretty calm, for the most part, but if they hadn't turned it on that night I'd have gone ballistic.

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  22. I guess the problems dealing with utilities are global. I'm glad you finally got it sorted out!

    Love both glimpses of Olga.

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    1. Yes, utility repairs appear to be a universal truth -- at least among people who have utilities. (And at least I'm lucky enough to have them.)

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  23. I'm amazed that someone came out after dark to deal with the situation. Unless we've had a nasty hurricane and/or flood, everyone who deals with utilities is done at 5 p.m.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Apparently Thames Water has round-the-clock crews! Or so the repairman said. I guess the pipes in London are dicey enough that they need regular attention!

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  24. I agree with you that it often takes a more firm approach to get someone to take action, especially after it had gone on all day. What a cluster %∞"# at the water department. I love Olga in the two photos. First a dachshund and then a puppy. Mirror photo is great and your front steps look so inviting.

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  25. Great Capture There Brother

    Cheers

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