What I am alluding to are the hundreds, if not thousands, of Christchurch tradesmen, professionals & businesspeople who are treating their customers and clients very badly. This may well be because they are so busy at the moment that they have forgotten their manners; it may be because they have developed an arrogance that they think befits their self-belief that they are more important than the people who employ them simply because their hourly rates or charge out fees have risen sharply after the recent catastrophes.
Let me give you some examples that I have experienced in recent weeks and months. I have every confidence that thousands of you will have suffered similarly.
Three weeks ago I started leaving messages for my lawyer, someone I have been doing business with for 25 years. He has never been the most energetic responder to messages and so I persisted with telephone calls and emails.....for two weeks before getting a reply. How did I get the reply? Well, I simply called his receptionist and advised that I would be at his office at noon the next day for an appointment unless he returned my calls & pleas for service. Within an hour I had a result. The question is, why did it take such an effort on my part to elicit a response from this man or his PA? There were no unpaid bills, we hadn't had a falling out and he would have been aware that the nature of my calls were such that he would surely be the winner in the fees that were to follow. He brushed off my concerns by stating he had been very busy. Not good enough and I must admit that it has pushed me a little closer to seeking other counsel for legal matters.
The second example of tardiness and downright bad form involves my plumber, or should I correctly state, the plumber I used to use! 7 days ago I called and left a message for him to go to a rental property I own to fix a burst water pipe; this had been caused by the heavy snow in the city and freezing temperatures. The tenants had called me saying water was filling the yard and matters were less than desirable.
Multiple messages and countless phone calls later the plumber still hasn't been. In fact, a text (was he too scared to 'face up' to me in a live call?)came yesterday, sunday, boldy spouting that he has been very busy and would "try" and get to the property sometime this week. I ask you, has this man ever understood the principles of success in business? I have since dispatched him in words that would unquestionably be foreign to ears younger than 12. Whilst he is a one man band his lack of courtesy in not prioritising a job which I considered to be very urgent has lost him a customer. So what you say! Well, I do own a lot of rental property in and around the city and this plumber has fed off me for a few years. The loss will be his as I have now 'sold out' to a large, 24/7 operator; yes, a large plumbing firm. I am sick of battling with the so called battlers as they just can't deliver when the going gets tough. They are singularly unable to cope and that's no good at all for anyone trying to keep the ship afloat or even just on an even keel after a storm.
I have many more examples and will detail these as time goes on. However, there's enough above to get you thinking and please do respond if you have anything to state either in defence of these halfwitted no-hopers or in support of my comments. In fact, it would please me immensely if you were to add some examples of your own of poor service & shoddy workmanship or behaviour.
The essential point here is that it is not easy to do business in Christchurch at the moment. There seems to be an all pervading malaise that has swept through the city and suburbs with people in business sloping about like heavily-sedated psychiatric patients, projecting a complete lack of interest in doing their jobs and getting on with it all.
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