Dreamers are problem solvers

We haven't mentioned the boat in a while. There was the de-masting that happened over Fourth of July Weekend, kind of putting a dark cloud over an otherwise perfect weekend. And I talked about how it was all under control, how I knew what we were going to do to get it fixed, yada yada yada.

Well, since then, I spent a week trying to get the boat towed. The wife and owner sent me an email on Tuesday, July 5th, asking me to fill out what I wanted done and they would tow the boat to their shop to look at it and give me an estimate.

Now, I'm not sure where you're from, but generally speaking, estimates are free. And if it's not free, that's usually mentioned from the start. And while it may seem like absorbing the estimate cost into the repair cost is this gift all wrapped up with a bow, it's not. It's ransom.

So, I dutifully filled out the paperwork and sent it back. Then I waited. Two days passed, no call. That's why I called them on Friday. And I was told that the wife/owner was at lunch. I called again in the afternoon, but no one answered.

I called back Monday morning and found out that the boat still hadn't even been towed. Really? And that was because I hadn't written that they were supposed to tow it on the work order.

me: It didn't say to write it on the work order. You said in the email I had to fill out what needed to be done to the boat and then you would tow it. Nowhere did it say I had to write it on the work order. It was implied. It was obvious. It was already stated.

More paperwork. More emails. Growing frustration.

So, the boat was towed Tuesday. And I had already lost a week. I waited and started calling a few days later. Sometimes I called twice a day. It didn't matter. Either the person I needed to speak with was out or at lunch. It didn't matter...11am or 2pm. I was justifiably frustrated.

There was a light at the end of the tunnel when I finally spoke to the woman I needed to on Monday, after the boat had been there just shy of a week. She told me she'd have an estimate for me in the afternoon. She was just waiting on the technician to itemize everything for her.

I waited and I waited. Finally, I called that Thursday after the boat had been there for a week and a half, and was told that there was a family emergency and the woman I needed to speak with was not going to return until Tuesday. Would that be okay?

me: No. But what are my options? She was going to have an estimate ready for me days ago. Can you give it to me?

Ah, but the woman I spoke with didn't have access to her computer. It didn't matter if I was okay or not.

Well, the estimate finally arrived on the 26th. And it was so steep that I thought about selling my kidney on the black market. It was actually going to cost more to repair the boat than it did to purchase it in the first place. So, I did what anyone who had been waiting for an estimate for three weeks only to discover that the cost was outrageous compared to the quality of the service, care and attention I had received. I blew a gasket and called the man who finally sent the estimate. The woman had never returned.

I'm thinking the family issue could be divorce, since I was told she was no longer with the company. And I wonder how they could even still have a company, given that it's being run into the ground. And I told Sam that if this home remodeling thing didn't work out, we could make a fortune working on boats.

Sam tried to call and talk to them on Monday about the price. That may be why I received...no, not a call from them, you sillies! These people don't call back. Duh. I received a call from the dock master. Matt wanted us to know that a tropical storm is descending upon Charleston, possibly, and that the boat is back at the day dock, unprotected.

That would be why I called and reamed these people out again. I received in return, no explanation, and an empty promise of a return call by 12:30. So, I called back at 12:45pm.

By then, I had found someone else to look at the boat who came highly recommended by Matt. He's going to look at the boat tomorrow. And with any luck, it will be repaired by the time the storm makes shore.

Oh, and if you live in the Charleston area and want to know where you should and shouldn't get work done, contact me. I'll tell you where to steer clear.