Yesterday morning when I returned from shopping I noticed that my bottom corner roof tile had come off so I went straight onto MyBuilder to find a roofer to fix it, a few minutes later a very pleasant sounding chap said he would call round and give me a quote once he had finished the job he was doing.
He arrived late yesterday afternoon and there were three of them, he mounts his ladder and says, 'oh yes Linda it's a simple job, look here is the tile it just need replacing and a bit of cement we can do it for you now if you like'.
I'm thinking it's an easy job so shouldn't cost much he may as well just do it now and it's done with. He finished the work and asked for £50!!! it took them less than 10 minutes. I said that must be the easiest £50 you will ever make, I certainly won't be giving you a good review nor will I be asking you to do any more work for me. After a lot of haggling and him complaining about his overheads he got £20.
The smooth talkers are the ones to watch, I can't help wondering how many elderly people would be intimidated and just hand the money over.
Anyway on to a more pleasant subject..
These lovely socks, which I started and finished ages ago but I haven't had time to show you. this was me moving into uncharted territory and trying to make a pair of cabled socks instead of the usual plain ones I always make.
Not perfect but then my socks never are, they fit and I like them and I didn't find them hard to make thanks to Winwick Mums easy to follow pattern/tutorial. One thing that I did struggle with was the posh cabled heel I found it a teeny bit hard going...
I do like them now that they are done but I think I will be sticking to the usual heel from now on.
I used yarn that I had left over from my Christmas socks and thought that I had better make them ankle socks just to be sure I had enough yarn, I needn't have worried there was still some left over but I love ankle socks anyway and they have been worn lots already.
I used West Yorkshire Spinners 4ply sock yarn shade cherry drop.
You can find the pattern/tutorial here.
He arrived late yesterday afternoon and there were three of them, he mounts his ladder and says, 'oh yes Linda it's a simple job, look here is the tile it just need replacing and a bit of cement we can do it for you now if you like'.
I'm thinking it's an easy job so shouldn't cost much he may as well just do it now and it's done with. He finished the work and asked for £50!!! it took them less than 10 minutes. I said that must be the easiest £50 you will ever make, I certainly won't be giving you a good review nor will I be asking you to do any more work for me. After a lot of haggling and him complaining about his overheads he got £20.
The smooth talkers are the ones to watch, I can't help wondering how many elderly people would be intimidated and just hand the money over.
Anyway on to a more pleasant subject..
These lovely socks, which I started and finished ages ago but I haven't had time to show you. this was me moving into uncharted territory and trying to make a pair of cabled socks instead of the usual plain ones I always make.
I used yarn that I had left over from my Christmas socks and thought that I had better make them ankle socks just to be sure I had enough yarn, I needn't have worried there was still some left over but I love ankle socks anyway and they have been worn lots already.
I used West Yorkshire Spinners 4ply sock yarn shade cherry drop.
You can find the pattern/tutorial here.
*lol* what a great headline for your post! It's good that you stood up for yourself - knowing me, I probably would have paid the 50 and then brooded on it the whole day :D
ReplyDeleteGreat socks, too!
Nice socks !!!! Love the color !!!
ReplyDeleteHave a nice day !
Anna
I have had my eye on that pattern but will use my normal eye of partridge heel as I love it. Love the Yorkshire Spinners yarns the colours are so good.
ReplyDeleteLovely socks, Linda x
ReplyDeleteAt least the tile is fixed. Annoying though! The socks look great, the cable is a lovely detail isn't it.
ReplyDeleteLovely socks linda.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Great job on the socks! And also for not paying "full price" to that roofer... If he has overhead then it should be added into his hourly rate, which should always be quoted to the customer prior to starting the job. (It may not be a law, but I think it's good business practice.) I'm so glad you didn't let him get away with that!
ReplyDeletethis is great...
ReplyDeleteLinda I think you were wise not to hand over the money so easily. He came down quite a bit. It's sad though that they can take advantage of people so easily. At least your feet are happy in the cozy socks.
ReplyDeletexx Beca
Lovely socks, Linda !! And the color is pretty:)
ReplyDeleteIf I wan't to get something fixed I talk money first. Good that you didn't pay the big amount.
These are lovely socks! It is good you haggled down the price, it is true, many people probably just pay them the amount they ask for and get ripped off. Happy Easter!
ReplyDeleteNice socks and beautiful blog.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Galicia.
I like the cable socks. I may have to try a pair of them.
ReplyDeleteWhat a crook that craftsman was! Good that you didn't put up with his impudence. The socks are wonderful, great color and such a nice pattern. xx
ReplyDeleteYou were right to haggle. I once had roofers come around after dark to give a quote for some repairs. I wouldn't let them quote because they couldn't see the roof in the dark. They said "oh we know what these roofs need". Someone else who could be bothered to come around in the daylight got the job!
ReplyDelete