Telephone Conversations

-Hi Cindy.  This is Helen- we met last week?  When I came in to pick up the tile?
-Yes, yes, I remember.  How can I help you today?
-Well, on Tuesday the man came over to measure for the vanity & toilet installation.  But, today is Friday & I haven't had a call back to actually schedule the date of the installation.  I'm beginning to think Lowes doesn't want my money!
-Right, right.  Let me see, there was a problem with, uh, let me look at the paper again-
-Problem?  What problem?  The measuring guy didn't say there were any problems.
-Here it is- "a problem with the woodwork".
-Wood work?  What "wood work"?  I don't need any wood work done.  I mean, we talked about how I might need new baseboards, but I didn't ask this guy to do it.
-Well, I don't know - it says right here "a problem with the woodwork".  Let me call the company back & ask them.

-Hello, Helen?  This is Cindy from Lowes.
-Hi.  Did you find out anything?
-Uh, yeah, this company that does the installation for us, Do-It-All Repair?
-Yeah...
-Well, they are really plumbers, so they don't want to touch the vanities.  They will do the toilets tho.
-So, they apparently don't "do it all"...
-No, (ha ha) but, oh yeah, they WILL do the sinks & faucets, as well as the toilets.
-I don't think the sinks would help much, if they are lying sideways on the floor.
-No, no...
-Don't you have another installer?
-Well, we do, but he is not available for some reason, & I've tried to call some other people but I haven't had any luck.
-Hmm.
-Hmm.
-I have a question:  why would Do-It-All Repair have done the measuring for the vanities if they were not planning to install them?
-Well, I think Do-It-All Repair thought that they might do it...you know, they really are PLUMBERS...but when they looked at your bathrooms they just decided it was too much for them.  I don't think they expected us to ask them to DO the installation.  You know, there's a lot to installing a vanity - it has to be leveled  &, well, & a WHOLE lot of other stuff...
-So, when you called them up to schedule a measuring for a vanity installation it didn't kind of tip them off that you MIGHT ask THEM to actually DO the installation?  What? - they were totally surprised?  Never expected such a request?
-I know, right?
-I guess you need to find me a new installer, then.  I mean, right now my old vanities are sitting out on my front porch all broken because of the tiling.  I'm looking at your ad in the paper & it specifically says "bathroom vanities installed".
-I just don't know what to do.  Even if I found another installer to do the job, they would still have to come out & measure again.  I mean, none of these guys would trust another companies measurements.
-That would be another two days til the measurer came & two more days after that so I could maybe be having this same conversation with you again?  No.  OK, fine - what if I had our handy man install them - would Lowes bring the vanities out to me?
-Well, they would charge extra for that.
-& what about taking away the old vanities?
-They would charge extra for that, too.
-Right.  So, Lowes idea of  "bathroom vanities installed" means "the customer picks out a vanity, wastes at least two weeks waiting for measuring guys who refuse to do the job, pays Lowes not only for the vanity, but also pays to have the vanity DELIVERED, pays to have the old vanity TAKEN AWAY and pays some other third party to INSTALL the vanity", is that right?
-Well, it doesn't sound very good when you put it that way...
-No.  Listen, Cindy, I'm square with Lowes right now, right?  I paid for the tile job already, I have not yet purchased the vanities due to all these measuring problems, so I don't owe Lowe's anything more, correct?
-That's right.
-Then I think it's time I cancelled my order.  
-But what about your vanities?

-Hello, honey?
-Yes, what do you need?
-Have you ever wondered if it might be fun to try to install a couple of bathroom vanities ourselves?  & maybe a toilet or two?  I was thinking of running over to Home Depot this afternoon...