Tradesmen!

Enough is enough!

I'm actually a tradesman myself. Yes tradesMAN, not WOMAN or PERSON. I completed my apprenticeship with the printing industry before political correctness took hold. So... I'm a tradesman and proud of it.

But I certainly never treated customers the way the young electrician treated me yesterday. It was considered, way back in the old days, that common courtesy was the rule not the exception.

The electricians came to wire up our new [second hand] airconditioner.

The electrician in charge, a nice looking, rather tall young man, bitched, moaned, complained and derided absolutely everything about our "old" airconditioner, our "old" house, the "old" wiring [which was completely rewired when we first moved in here 6 years ago], and anything and everything he could think of.

He was very derisive and condescending when talking to me - I should say: at me. There was no respect or consideration at all in his manner. Even less did I appreciate the snide comments he was making to his young apprentice [a very nice young man] when he thought I was out of earshot.

I went out of my way to provide everything they needed, including a big umbrella when he was working on the roof. No, I'm not joking. We went through every umbrella in the place until we found one he deigned to work under.

After they'd finished, he sneeringly informed me that the airconditioner probably would only work for a couple of weeks anyway because it was so old.

Now, I am very blonde [naturally], and yes, I am a woman... BUT...!!!!!

The entire afternoon was horrendous! And after all that, Geoff had to spend two hours on the roof, after he got home from work, fixing the airconditioner so it wouldn't short out and burn the house down.

They hadn't connected the water properly. It was spraying down over the electric components of the motor. In fact, they hadn't turned the water on at all. When Geoff turned it on, the "on/off" lever was in such a position as to almost cut through the electric wiring.

What is the matter with these people? They are being paid good money to do these jobs. It shouldn't matter whether they have to wire up a brand new appliance or an old one. It shouldn't matter whether the house is old or new and it certainly shouldn't matter what sex the customer is.

If I'd been an elderly woman living alone and had nobody to check their work, I could have found my house burnt down around me the next day.

Oh yeah, you bet I'll have a word or two to their boss!

But the point is... I shouldn't have to!