The Power of the Spoken Word

Perhaps I've been too tough on Contractor Mitch. I was up at the house on Saturday and instead of finding the usual lack of progress I noticed that Mitch had listened carefully to my litany of complaints about his work. For example:

On the subject of bathrooms: "Mitch, you need to get the bathrooms in. Please get someone in there to tile the bathrooms so you can install the plumbing that's been sitting there for two years." How could one move in without a bathroom? Okay, so he started with the least important, the powder room, but he started. What an impressive start it is. Don't you just love a checkerboard pattern?

About a tidy job site: "Mitch, every time I'm up there the place is a mess. Please get a broom out and clean up when you leave the site." As you can see he brought the broom out, but I guess he had to leave before he had a chance to use it. At least he got it out. Notice the look of disappointment on Ms. Biggs' face.

Importance of A/C installation: "Mitch, if I'm really moving in this August (joke), I will need to have the air conditioning installed." Well here it is: the a/c. Of course I didn't have the chance to see if it was working, but judging from the fan sitting in the entrance, my guess would be that it wasn't.

Doors without hardware: "Mitch, I can't begin to move things in without locks on the doors." Now I have hardware! Look at it all neatly spread out on the work table. Probably more effective if they were installed, but what do you expect after only two years?

I felt so much better after my last trip to Brokeback Manor. Things are moving just swimmingly. I didn't exactly start packing up when I got home, but it was good to know that my talk with Contractor Mitch wasn't without effect!