Re: [gardeners] Penny/contractors

penny x stamm (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sat, 14 Aug 1999 00:09:21 -0400

Oh, Byron -- I'm sure that the contractors I've just used are
well covered by insurance. I was trying to explain that I 
considered my losses to be too minimal for my spending
my time with claims. Nothing could be done about the loss
of years of growth, which is what mattered most. And I have 
no desire to sue just because I could sue. 

When my car was hit head on and I was severely damaged,
I held out for 18 months before I would settle the case. In
the end, the insurance company capitulated, and gave me
what I had demanded. I'm not afraid of litigation -- I just want
it to be worth my time. 

AMOF, when the new furnace was installed last fall, and the 
kitchen table and chairs began vibrating every time the furnace 
turned on, I threw a fit. They sent back the engineer, the sheet
metal men, the electrician, the heating man -- and nobody could
find a cause. My husband finally said oh, gee, it's not so bad, but
I said they could take the darned thing out, if they couldn't fix it! 
At last they sent their crackerjack repair call man, who walked in 
the door, heard the furnace running, walked right over, took the
door off, and pointed. There it was, the culprit, for the brand new 
squirrel cage was out of round. When he got it out and put it on the
floor, it wouldn't even roll...!  That took a lot of stamina on my part,
and of course, yes, it was worth my time. 

My attitude is that either my husband or myself HAS to be there 
when work is being done. I mean Right There. Make your presence 
known. I don't mean pester the workmen -- I mean watch what 
they are doing, and be ready to protect your property. These two
recent cases of ladder damage I consider my own fault. Both
times, I was busy talking with the boss about the job. I should have 
had the sense to watch the helpers, not the bosses.....   
 
Penny, NY

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