When to pay for services 'completed'

[Dina Lerret]

I was tired of hearing my mom talk about the dilapidated status of her
twenty year old fence (join the club), so I funded her fence repair
because I don't want a fence section to fall on her *again*.

Knowing my mom, I sure as heck didn't leave her a check because I've
seen her pay off the tree trimmer guy and TV repairman when the jobs
'done' were sub-par.  *I* wanted to see how the completed fence would
look and I told her to tell the fence folk the 'check would be in the
mail' since they completed it today and I wouldn't see the fence until
tomorrow morning.

So, I get in a call from the fence folk saying the job was done today
and that they could pick-up the check tomorrow after I requested I'd
like to first see the fence--I'm okay with this, hey, it's less than
24hrs after the work is done.  The kicker then was when I got in a
second call from a different guy asking when can they pick up the
check *today* because they were closed over the weekend and he knew
about the prior payment arrangement.  WTFBBQ?!  Should I also tell
them the details my mom gave about how there was mold spots on the
cypress planks and how only one of the two workers was putting in full
effort--the other was fooling around on his cellphone half the time
and no wonder the work took longer.  Y'all take your sweet time and
I'm expected to be prompt to make up for your inefficiency?  Quid pro
quo, dudes.  Oh, I'll give them an earful if they attempt a *third*
call today.

If I'm paying nearly $3,000, which they already have a 20% deposit,
I'm not going to trust some guy's judgement of a job 'well-done' just
because other clients have trusted to pay in full without seeing the
finished product.

I know my mom isn't fully happy with the results but some things like
support beam placement probably can't be helped.  Get this... the
fence folk tell me I can't have the support beams facing on the
'outside', regardless if you're surrounded by other housing properties
that would require their homes to be demolished before the fence's
post placement would be seen by the 'public'.  I know 'City' permits
can be incredibly anal but she's located under 'County' zoning, which
tends to be less anal.  I'm suspicious there but I don't have the
County code book and the work was 80% done by the time my mom told me
and it wasn't one of those questions that came to mind--the fence
originally had the "unsightly" support beams facing the neighbors
because they didn't chip in a dime for 'shared' fencing, which they're
also required by law since two out of three sides has a swimming pool.

And wow, if anyone here has gotten this far in reading my rant:

From http://www.livejournal.com/users/mahaliem/116435.html  (adult-rated):
[[
Lex didn't think much of it when he watched the news coverage of a
mudslide in Bolivia and there was no telltale flash of blue and red.
He started to suspect something, however, when he heard that Lois Lane
had broken her leg falling over the side of a cliff. But, when he
finished the final touches of his MegaUltraRayGun that came out of the
top of a mountain on a remote island shaped like a skull and Superman
didn't show up to destroy it, he knew something was wrong.

Just to be sure, he placed a full-page ad in the Daily Planet

Want to Destroy the World?
Mad Scientists – We're looking for YOU!
* * *
If you're a misunderstood genius who is highly motivated,
megalomaniacal, and doesn't mind working weekends, talk to us about a
career in world domination.
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Send resume to LexCorp, 1 LexCorp Plaza, Metropolis

Salary commensurate with experience. Benefits package includes health
and dental.
]]


http://www.google.com/intl/en/holidaylogos.html

Google holiday logos over the years.  A sidebar link has 'fan'
submitted ones and a history of Google logos.


Still with me?

http://f.chtah.com/i/9/276579820/111505_brcoupon.html

$10 of $40 or more at Borders/Waldenbooks but it expires tomorrow (12/31/05).


Dina