Metering Services

SandC

Just wondering how widespread this scenario is.

I had recently received letters from Eon asking me to ring and make an appointment for a new gas meter to be fitted and a new electricity meter. Both from Eon, but ringing separate numbers.

So I did this and made separate appointments, gas meter for the morning and elec for the afternoon as I'd decided to take a day's holiday to get various home things done - boiler service etc.

Gas meter was changed quickly and efficiently by an Eon engineer whose sole job at this point in time is meter changes.

So I then waited until the afternoon and my gas heating engineer turned up just after 1pm. I needed some radiators bleeding so he and I were upstairs getting that small job done and on moving downstairs I heard my letterbox go. Lo and behold when I get to the living room, where the front door is, there is a card from Metering Services timed at 1.20pm saying they had come to fit my meter and as there was no reply please ring such and such to rearrange.

So I know I hadn't heard the door and I checks my watch and it's 1.10pm. 10 minutes before the card has supposed to come through. I ask my gas engineer did he hear the door 'nope' he says. I show him the card and he's just 'lazy git' shaking his head 'wants an early finish'.

Anyway, I went outside and the gas metering van is parked down the street. However someone living further down works for them and comes home in his van so I'm not sure it's his or not.

Meanwhile my gas engineer goes out to his van to get his tools and when he comes back in I can hear him talking to someone. 'The woman for your meter is here' he says.

And there she is, mumbling something about how it's a good job she had to pop to the butchers (on the high street, just a few mins walk). I show here the card and tell her it's timed 1.20 and it's not even 1.15 yet. She comes in and starts working but goes on about how many people were not in that morning, this is the last job of the day etc. etc. I have to say at the time I was just glad she'd turned up.

I only got to thinking later that she must've wrote the card out whilst sitting in the van, with no intention of doing her 'last job of the day' at the godawful hour of just gone 1pm.

On telling a few folks at work it turns out this is not unusual!

So how common is it for these lazy !!!!ers to be reporting back to their bosses that nobody was in for their appointments? Do they get paid a salary for slacking off like this?

:mad: Thank heck my gas engineer was there and hollered her in the street to tell her I was there after all.