OS Singlies - We Do It Our Way!

lostinrates

greenbee wrote: »

I'm doing well then - I have the heating and hot water (new boiler, hot water tank and downstairs radiators were installed in October - although the kitchen one wasn't replaced and the dining room one may have to be moved). Upstairs radiators work and will be replaced as and when the rooms are done.
we had heating out in year before last but it didn't work. We had to go through and arbitration thing which was pants ( NEVER rely on MCS accreditation as a route to problem solve is my advice! And then court, then high court. Now we have to have a an electricity upgrade to get air pumps in because its one of the few heating options we can have here. [/COLOR]
No showers, only baths.

ok, in non single days when DH is being especially lovely he literally runs me a bath, running up and down stairs with a kettle. I so miss a bath. I have a neurological condition and baths really was my muscles that get a bit sore. When we have hot water I might just sit in a bath for a month:rotfl:

No kitchen sink, but I do now have a lovely double ceramic sink in the utility room to make up for it. :j. Lucky you. I have a lovely temporary kitchen. Just.....I don't want to plumb a sink into it. I have quite a posh fridge with a water dispenser so I get water from that. And I have a dishwasher, so water goes out through that, and there is a utility room, so for other than pure water we go there. But of course, no hot water:D

No floors (but lots of threadbare persian rugs to make the concrete and floor boards feel very superior!).
:rotfl::rotfl: like my house , apart from the floor boards, this makes your house superiors in deed. Upstairs we have boards but they are staying mAinly. Our bedroom boards will have to change, they have huge holes in them :eek: my huge, sort of....foot sized :rotfl:
I have a back door, for what it's worth (it is VERY draughty).

As you say, it'll come together!

Exactly, no rush . :rotfl:

Kernel_Sanders

LavenderBees wrote: »

And on the subject of bloomin lax workmen of all kinds....there is clearly a gap in the market for a company, run and organised by women that makes sure workmen do what they say they will when they say they will.

It's hardly rocket science, is it?

Makes my blood boil! :mad:

So you want to organize workmen with little knowledge of how they perform their jobs? This situation has come about because women simply won't train to become plumbers, brickies or plasterers (with very few exceptions). So, perhaps you women can tell me the reason for this. Like you say, it's hardly rocket science, is it?

LavenderBees wrote: »

Would 50cc get up hills? Quite steep hills....? I thought I'd have to go for the highest cc to have a bit of oomph!

They will, but much more slowly. Unless you are grossly overweight....

moneyistooshorttomention

If it's any help, then I've known several people with private income/inheritance stuff over the years and felt envious of them for having a more comfortable lifestyle than me and not having to work for it like I did (prior to retirement).

But...on looking more closely....:

- one who had both good looks and that private income is now gradually dying of a killer illness

- one will get some form of dementia at some point (unless I am very much mistaken)

- one regards it as absolutely obligatory to have a man in her life and is going to find that very much harder now she has got older and the first signs are there (judging by the man she was last living with). She had hoped to use him for his money...but he hasn't got any and is using her for hers and, moreover, is obviously an alcoholic. Having been more attractive than me means its probably hurting her more than it hurts me to lose my looks with age. I am absolutely hating losing having been attractive when I was younger (not an easy one to handle I find...) and I guess it must hurt even more to lose your looks when you've been VERY attractive when younger (ie as she was).

So, I'd rather be me with my poor income (even poorer than normal at the moment until the rest of my pension turns up:(:mad::(), but have my health and know I'm not being "used" by anyone. I'd still like a good enough income, but never mind...

moneyistooshorttomention

One other thing that I feel personally is that I look at the "roads not taken" of what else I could have done in my life. I have had several Major Choice Crossroads situations in my life. It wasn't clear to me at the time that that was what they were...but, looking back, I can see clearly that I've had several chances to have a very different life to what I actually have now. I could have married wealth, I could have lived in a better country, I could have married someone who adored me/would have centred their life round me etc etc.

I didn't take those particular "roads" and, when I look back, I can see that I had perfectly valid reasons for not doing so and, as far as I can see, made the correct choices.

It's certainly become a personal philosophy of mine to think that way. I'm guessing that most of us have also faced at least one Major Choice Crossroad in our lives and chose one "path", rather than another and have to give ourselves credit that presumably we chose the right "path" for US. Someone else living my life might have chosen the wealthy marriage. Someone else might have stayed in the better country. Etc etc...but I think I've probably chosen the best "path" for me each time I came to one of those Major Choice Crossroads.

Still would like the Loadsa Money. Still would like the Adoring Husband. Oh well...I still think I got the "best deal I could" out of life and tell myself that that makes me a pretty "capable person" for having done so...

So I tend to think the thing is to "get the best deal out of life for us personally" and bear in mind the "price paid" in some other respect by other people in the lives they have.

LavenderBees

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

So you want to organize workmen with little knowledge of how they perform their jobs?

Yes.

As a project manager, I don't need to know how someone programs a computer to be able to organize them to deliver what is needed on time and with professionalism and customer service. I repeat, it's not rocket science.

Customer service is what we're buying. It's not optional.

greenbee

LavenderBees wrote: »

Yes.

As a project manager, I don't need to know how someone programs a computer to be able to organize them to deliver what is needed on time and with professionalism and customer service. I repeat, it's not rocket science.

Customer service is what we're buying. It's not optional.

Unfortunately a lot of the people who are good at their jobs are not good at the 'business' side of things. Equally, they struggle within corporate structures, hence the move to self-employment.

When they set up independently they have trouble prioritising, organising their time, doing the paperwork (a friend uses a fantastic builder who can't read or write, but he's found a way of working with him) etc. This then, unfortunately, leads to many of them going out of business, despite being REALLY good at what they do, as the money that comes in doesn't match the outgoings.

So good project managers are what many of these people need - but ones that understand they way they work and put strategies in place to cope with it. If you want someone organised and efficient, then you can usually find them based on the way they behave when they come to do the survey, and the quality of their quote. But if you want absolutely the BEST person for the job, then listen to the recommendations, decide whether you are prepared to live with the shortcomings on the organisational side, and find out from whoever is recommending them what the best way to get the best out of them is.

If they are self-employed rather than working for a corporate, they CAN walk away from your job if you become too stressful for them to work for. They may choose to cut their losses and do so.

The alternative is to go to a large firm, who will do everything and project manage the various trades - whether employed or sub-contracted. It will cost you. And the project managers are often women

It is well worth taking your time to find the right person if your only timescales are self-imposed. When I was doing my last house up I found a fantastic electrician, who I was then able to use for all the small electrical jobs that came up. If I hadn't been focussed on finding someone who I knew I could work with over a long project I may not have been so successful.

RosiePuddingPaws

LavenderBees wrote: »

Yes.

As a project manager, I don't need to know how someone programs a computer to be able to organize them to deliver what is needed on time and with professionalism and customer service. I repeat, it's not rocket science.

Customer service is what we're buying. It's not optional.

Unfortunately it is not always as easy as you might think. No, I'm not making excuses for people failing to keep you informed, but there can be reasons why people are not able to turn up when they first said they could.

I work for a roofing company and, as you might imagine, the weather can play havoc with the schedule. So, your house might be booked for Monday, but if the weather was so bad that it was unsafe to be on the roof of this week's job then are you really suggesting that we leave the current job half done (with rain getting in)?

Certainly the workman should keep you informed if there is a delay, but they can be reluctant as they get such an earful when they do. It is not always their fault that they came across problems which meant the job took longer, or the weather wouldn't co-operate.

I need to look for someone to sort out my guttering (the drip down the back of the neck every time I go in and out of the front door is not pleasant!) so I will soon be entering the fray. Not looking forward to it but will just have to ask around to try and find someone reliable.

RPP

lostinrates

LavenderBees wrote: »

Yes.

As a project manager, I don't need to know how someone programs a computer to be able to organize them to deliver what is needed on time and with professionalism and customer service. I repeat, it's not rocket science.

Customer service is what we're buying. It's not optional.

The thing with trades, i've learnt, is that knowing how and what they do is quite important in project managing. It can cut out significant costs over a big build, or see them add up. Phasing them correctly is quite challenging because they have other commitments and things go wrong on site with no notice!


Edit...add in working with outside agencies like open reach, or electricity providers, (like I am at the moment) and it can be a logistical NIGHTMARE). Open reach are determined that they have no public facing role and it can be very hard to get through to them!

If there is Nything unusal you have further problems. Our house we have to let building regs, conservation officer fight things out between them often, before we weigh in, then there is the requirement for the bats which directly contravenes the requirement for the building trade!

moneyistooshorttomention

LavenderBees wrote: »

Yes.

As a project manager, I don't need to know how someone programs a computer to be able to organize them to deliver what is needed on time and with professionalism and customer service. I repeat, it's not rocket science.

Customer service is what we're buying. It's not optional.

:T I am currently "project managing" my house renovation. Now, I'm not able to do the vast majority of the work involved, but that doesn't mean I cant read DIY books/websites and see how a job should be done. I don't have the physical strength to do much of the work involved or quite good enough health for some tasks...so I employ other people because they have that physical strength/full health. But I am perfectly capable of finding websites/books that tell me which order tasks should be done in and how long those tasks should take. Also, it's hardly rocket science to know that whatever job someone does, one of the first things necessary is that they turn up when promised to do the job.

In any sphere of life it's unacceptable to break arrangements and if it absolutely HAS to be done (ie because a GENUINE emergency has cropped-up) then the other person involved has to be contacted immediately that genuine emergency has come up in order to make a mutually acceptable alternative arrangement.

Also, there is no excuse for the lies I find I'm often told, ie when a firm comes out to check out a job and then never gives me my quote as to how much they will charge for it. Personally, if they've come to quote, then quote they must. If they don't want the job for some reason, then tell me what that reason is (eg "It's too difficult a job for me Mrs...I don't have the skills and/or equipment to do that"). If they don't want to give the reason, then at least provide me with a quote still...even if it's of the Grossly Inflated Variety. If I know a job should cost around £2,000 and one of my quotes for it is it £4,000 for the sake of argument, then I will take it that that is their way of saying "I don't want the job Mrs....so I've deliberately given you a Grossly Inflated Quote so you don't pick me". At least, that way, I can mentally write them off, rather than chasing and chasing them for the quote they have promised me "tomorrow".

If a job takes longer than the firm said, then its acceptable if its for a GENUINE reason (ie to do with something unexpected on my house or its an outside job and the weather is interfering with it), but not otherwise. One of the major jobs on my house to date took rather longer than stated (ie a couple of extra days), but I wasn't bothered, because the reason was to do with my house and the workmen explained to me "Your house SHOULD have been like so-and-so Mrs....but it wasn't...it was like thus instead".

Accepted that outside jobs can be genuinely delayed because of other peoples outside jobs having been delayed. Not accepted not to be consulted with about what is happening instead or just to be TOLD what they intend to do. Also not accepted for someone to put in an item to my house without having checked before they brought it round that its perfect (which then gets followed by they put it in anyway/I complain/they have to change it).

LavenderBees

I'm not saying that problems don't arise, and unforseen ones at that, of course they do. They do in all walks of life.

But that's not really what I was talking about, personally. What is annoying more than anything else to me is the lack of organisation skills many seem to have (would it really have been impossible to order my back door on time?? - The builder had the bricks/cement/slates etc ready on time) and communication (which can so easily be resolved with just a little thought). I for one would never shoot the messenger for telling me a problem has arisen, providing they follow up with what they are trying to do to resolve it.

What I personally find unforgiveable is a workman who sees it as everyone elses problem he doesn't deliver, is patronising with it, and doesn't make any attempt to rsolve the problem.

Too many of those around .

It's particularly interesting, that in my admittedly small job of a porch being built, that the builder has everything spot on, and he is supported on the business side by his super organised and communicative wife, whereas the joiner is disorganised and defensive before he even starts (it seems he already knows he's not going to deliver so is ready for the complaints), and it seems is not supported by anyone on the organisational side.

I suspect the builder's wife doesn't really know the detail of what her hubby actually does (I may ask her sometime!), but she does certainly know about customer service and communication, and she keeps him right on where he needs to be and what for.

I know which one I'll re-use in future, and which to avoid.....I think the joiner and the electrician must be brothers :rotfl:

Gosh is that the time...I have people to organise . Must fly! Have a good day, All!