TINKERBELL THE CONTRACTOR

After my father and I moved to this house in 1999, we were told by the termite inspector that our home had rotting wood that needed to be replaced. Since my father chose to ignore this, I assumed the problem wasn't serious. Later when Dad suffered his stroke and terminal cancer was discovered, it seemed the least of our problems.

A year after my father's death, others told me it was urgent to replace the rotting wood. Because if a hurricane should hit, my house would fall apart! Well I started getting estimates from contractors, some were as high as $15,000.. HOT CAT PEE!!! That's a lot of money!!!

I had become friendly with an elderly widow in the neighborhood. She recommended someone whom she had recently hired. This person also attended her church. So I set up an appointment.

The contractor failed to show-up. And worse, didn't bother to call! This is one of my pet-peeves. I called other contractors for more estimates.

A week later, this contractor's office phoned. I informed them I wanted no further contact since they failed to keep the previous appointment. Profuse apologies ensued. Foolishly, I set up another appointment.

A large truck parked in front of my house. A blond midget in overalls and a baseball cap stepped from the vehicle. Soon, I could see it was a woman. As she approached, I could swear I was seeing an older, rougher replica of Tinkerbell plus 25 lbs.

Tinky made a wonderful 1st impression! She had lots of personality and humor. Also her husband was a retired minister. The price quoted was around $7000.. That included work done as a courtesy with no charge. I hired her on the spot! I figured a woman less likely to take advantage of another female. -- Wrong!

Later, when she brought the papers to be signed, I discovered the price didn't include replacement of the wood. I wanted to wait for more estimates. Tinky became incensed. Already she had rented a large machine for my second story. "I'm going to be out $40.! Because you can't make up your mind!" she hollered.

I felt sorry for her. In retrospect, I should have kicked her dirty overalls to the concrete! I lost way more than $40. as a result. 

I got another estimate ($10,000.) in writing. SHE SAID SHE WAS READY TO ROLL. I signed! A few days later, she arrived with the gigantic cherry-picker. It's massive weight cracked my cement driveway! "Oh we'll take care of that before we're finished," she assured, "Plus we'll use it to trim your trees at no extra cost!"

The cherry-picker was parked in my driveway unused for an entire month! She and her crew were on another job. Finally, they got around to me. I complained that the huge picker would also damage my sprinklers. "Oh don't worry," she assured, "I'm looking out for your sprinklers!" 

I thought, Lady you have X-ray eyes! My sprinklers are all underground! And sure enough, many were crushed!!!

That spring was unusually hot and humid. Her crew removed all screens from the windows on a Friday, to be washed the following Monday. A month passed, they did not return. In the meantime, I couldn't open the windows. I was forced to use my A.C. which I didn't want to do. I called her every single day!

The cherry-picker was gone and my trees untrimmed as promised. She denied making ANY of her promises! Repairs from their damage were left undone. Their clutter remained around my house.

Neighbors were complaining that if my father was alive the work would have been completed in 3 weeks. This job was now into the 5th month! But at least the wood had been replaced and the house painted.

A neighbor queried me about their paint job. He asked for a hand mirror. He held the mirror under the bottom wood of the house. "It's not been sealed," he stated, "No professional would let this slide."

Angrily, I continued to phone!

Annoyed, she said they could not be bothered with me now. I was curtly informed they had moved on to a MORE IMPORTANT JOB!!! 

I phoned the attorney who handled my father's estate. He sent a letter stating we would sue for damages to my property if the work was not completed within 2 weeks!

Well that got her attention!!! 3 days later she was back with the entire crew. I could feel the hostility from everyone!

They began by placing the dirty screens back in the windows. I ordered them to remove and wash them! -- That was the reason for removing them the previous month! 
  
They patched and painted my ruined driveway. It was a band aid solution. The cracks were all back a year later! I deducted the cost of my damaged sprinklers from their bill.


I inquired when they were going to straighten my brick walkway. Which was another thing she said would be done for free. Another promise she denied making! I asked her if Alzheimer's Disease ran in her family. That made her bristle. "You lied to me!" I hollered. She was silent. She didn't deny being a liar.

I related my ordeal to the elderly widow who recommended her.

"The more you talk, it jogs my memory," she confessed, "I had to threaten to get a lawyer after her! Otherwise, my repairs would never have gotten finished."

"Why on earth would you recommend someone like that to me?!" I demanded to know.

"I thought she had learned her lesson." The neighbor shrugged.