The Late Dr. J. Vernon McGee, popular radio pastor/teacher, had a great success formula for marriage:
"My Beloved, if you know you're wrong, admit it. If you know you're right, keep your mouth shut!"
The other day, I contacted a local plumber (someone I didn't know and who had been recommended to me) to help out with a time-sensitive job. The VA underwriter has flagged a funding condition for my Buyer. We needed someone to verify that a basement drain was working properly. I asked the pllumber to go out, snake the drain, if necessary, verify proper function, and document his findings, so I could pass them onto the underwriter.
I called him first thing in the morning, detailed the tasks that needed to be accomplished. He assured me that he would go out to the property that day or early the next, and send over the invoice immediately thereafter.
Later in the day, when I hadn't heard back from him, I texted him a few times, just to follow up.
No response.
When I got home from the office, I emailed him.
No response.
By this time, I was getting a little concerned and slightly miffed.
Didn't he realize we were under a time constraint? We have to have the VA appraiser go back out to the property and re-inspect! Then his invoice has to be sent to underwriting so they can approve the loan!
Just before I went to bed, I sent one more email. I told the plumber that if he couldn't perform the job, then I needed to find someone else who could.
Early the next morning, there was an email waiting for me:
"Rich, sorry, but I never received any of your text messages. And I was out working at a job for a friend until almost Midnight. I will head over to your job first thing in the morning, and get the invoice to you right after."
Okay, so I'm feeling like an idiot. I had been texting to another number.
I called the plumber and apologized. My bad.
Life Lesson Learned? When communication fails, don't always assume it's someone else's fault!
Comments(6)