Not long ago we noticed a water stain around the base of our hot water tank and thought it might have a problem. We have had it for about 18 years. It is probably about time to replace it. To head off any problem we felt it is time to act.
We called a plumbing company with a reputation of being honest with fair prices.
Friday the person they sent showed up disorganized and he reeked of a smell that I relate to my Navy days when the same smell reeked from old Navy drunks.
But we didn't know he really reeked of alchohol and we gave him the benefit of the doubt. We let him sell us a hot water tank. His biggest sell ploy was that if he gave us a good deal he could sleep at night. He told us that so many times it was getting old. He was a braggart and scattered brain - why we decided to go with our first visit without comparison I have no idea. Were we just being kind to him? He was to report Wednesday morning between 8 and 9 and start changing out the hot water heaters.
Friday night at the concert that was on our mind. If he did have a drinking problem we did not want him messing with our gas lines to the tank. We decided to call him the next morning and cancel the order. There is a law call the "3 Day Cool-Off Period Law". It means you have three days to back out of a contract.
Saturday at noon Anna called him and said we wanted to cancel the deal and wanted to do some comparison shopping. He was very nice on the phone and said "No problem".
We made arrangements for someone else to look at the tank and how much it would cost and that person was about a grand cheaper.
On Wednesday morning at 10:30 Anna just left to get a haircut when the doorbell rang. At the door stood the plumber smiling and ready to go to work. I told him we called him Saturday at noon. He more or less said, "You did?" I told him we certainly did. I told him we cancelled the order, we decided to hastily. I asked him didn't he remember getting the call. He said a lot of people call him and he can't remember what everybody said. He ended the conversation by saying, "It is what is is!"
Then he went and sat in his truck for ten minutes. That got me a little concerned, but he finally drove off.
Whew!
I guess the name "Obie" comes to mind when recalling the smell of a drunk from your Navy days.
ReplyDeleteRueben,
ReplyDeleteOr hls wife Lucy. No, actually, I was thinking of an old whiteheaded man that came to our squadron and he was assigned to my cubical. Every night for a while, until he went on a detatchment he would come n drunk, sick, barfing, and the next morning just reeking in wha he was marinated in. It wasa oozing from his pores. I don't remember his name.