You can't please Anyone.

There has been a customer we did some work for who had cancer.
She has lost 1/3 of her lungs.

I spoke to her a couple of weeks ago because we were going back to do a small repair in another bathroom for her. Her appointment was for today at 10 am
Yesterday when I called to remind her it went straight to voicemail and I left her a message.  She did not give me an email as others do, she said she preferred for me to call.  

Rick arrived at 9:50 and no one answered the phone. Because he was early he waited in the driveway. Went back to the door at exactly 10a and rang the bell and knocked loudly. No one came to the door. He was going to leave a card in the door but the screen door was locked from inside. He called her when he got back to his vehicle to leave her a voicemail or wake her up or something. But again, only got her voicemail and left her a message.

He called me at the office and asked if this was the lady who just had a large part of her lungs removed. I said indeed it was. Now he is all concerned. He said he was going to look in the windows to be sure she wasn't laying on the floor or some such thing. I said to be careful or the neighbors will call the police. 

He called back and told me he walked around the whole home and looked inside and everything was in its place and he saw no one anywhere. He went back and really banged on the front door and rang the bell 3 more times quickly. Nothing.

After I got off the phone with Rick I called her again. Hopefully, she was just asleep and this would wake her for sure. But no answer.

Now we are both very concerned. Finally at 11:15a she calls asking where Rick is because he was to be there at 10 am. She is shocked. She said to me that he was early last time and I liked his punctuality. Yes, that made me laugh. She said that she was in her room until just before 10a. She never heard the door bell ring all those times, never heard the knocks / pounding on the door and never heard her phone. Hmm....

She told me she then went into her kitchen holding her phone so she wouldn't miss him. He did not see her in the kitchen so they obviously missed one another.

We both remember her because it is difficult to listen to her when she talks to you. She obviously has a hard time breathing when she speaks. What I remember most about her was her telling me she misses cigarettes so much. I asked her at that time if she would smoke again knowing this would be the outcome and she said a very emphatic and loud 'hell yes'. I was surprised. But being that this is the only vice I don't have it's easy for me to say now, isn't it?

Needless to say she is most unhappy that Rick will not go back to Falls Church today. When I tried calling him after speaking with her he was already in Alexandria for 2 jobs and then he heads to Centreville for an estimate and then he's done. Gary is in Alexandria and Springfield today and won't even be done before 5:30p so he can't go back today.

I can slide her in on the 16th and move everyone else around that day. She was not happy about the time though because she has to go to the doctors that day. Every day I gave her as an option she got angrier and angrier at me because she couldn't do it with her social calendar. 
She wanted him to come back today. 

I rebooked her for the 16th because she said she could do it but only at 9 am, 8 am was too early and 10 am was too late. But that means I will have to move everyone else around and if that makes others too angry or we lose them then she will have to wait until August 29th for the next opening. She is aware but not happy. But c'mon she said she couldn't do it any day I gave her as an option. Then stand by your door and phone lady.

I feel badly but also am a bit peeved since she knew we were coming. She claims her doorbell isn't loud enough. Then you may wish to wait for Rick in that room by the door since you yourself said he was so punctual. Where the hell were you?
But of course I can't say those things. Instead I apologized for the inconvience but we were there and we waited until 10:10am before we left.

Since starting this post I've been dealing with other issues as well.

Gary just called to tell me the woman wasn't home. There was a worker there but he refused to sign off on a color match because he was afraid of her. This was a worker who was also a relative he told Gary.

As I wrote on Gary's work order, this woman is a royal bitch, actually, the C word and I don't use that term lightly. She is the poster child for that horrible word.

She wants us to match her bathtub to the color of her new vanity. Vanity top not sink.  Which is odd since your tub, toilet, and sink should all be the same color. (ask any realtor) But hey, if that is what you want, we'll do it. Then she said that she would not be there. I said if you're not there we can't do it. Far too often we think it looks perfect and then when they get home they don't agree. We have to do it over again but it would be their cost to do so. So we will only do a color match if the female is home (men always say it is fine and then the wife comes home and we have to do it again, we've learned) 

She made a big ugly stink and then she got uglier, swearing and I imagined she was also stomping her feet having a hissy fit.  I think this woman always gets what she wants. I said, "I understand if you can't be there so maybe we should pick a day you can be there," She said, NO. Just NO. I said, then maybe we aren't a good fit for you, you may wish to try another company. She then calmed down and said, Fine, I'll be there. 

Apparently, she decided to show up but not on time. I think in her mind that was her way of getting back at us. I told Gary it was okay to walk away from the job if she was being difficult or asking too much. I don't care. I will pay him as though he did the job and we'll eat this one. She will only be a headache later as well. I'm sure more info will be coming. 

I need a vacation.