Thursday, January 01, 2009

Sometimes it doesn't pay to be nice

For several weeks, I've been trying to get something done about the constantly running water in the condo directly above mine. It's really loud, really annoying, pisses me off and it doesn't stop! Just before I left town for a week, to visit family over the holidays, the Superintendent told me that the owner of the condo would get someone in to fix the problem. When I got back home, on the 29th, the problem still wasn't fixed.

I've been civil. I've been patient. I've been polite. I've been diplomatic. I've been sleeping restlessly, while wearing earplugs, because the noise from he running water is so damn irritating.
Today I called the owner of the property management company, at home on New Years Day, and yelled at her for a few minutes. 2 hours later a plumber was in the unit and fixed the problem. WTF? Why did I have to be an asshole to get that taken care of?
Posted by RT Scribe at 5:29 PM

2 comments:

  1. AnonymousFri Jan 02, 01:22:00 PM EST

    Just like in the hospital, most problems can be taken care of with a few kind words and some diplomacy.

    When that fails, however, a lot of shouting will get things done. I've only shouted a couple of times in my career, but if people aren't used to you shouting at them, it can be a remarkably effective way to get things done. I don't recommend shouting a lot, because it often makes things worse, but sometimes...you have to be a jerk to get something done.

    ReplyDelete
  2. RT ScribeTue Jan 06, 08:48:00 PM EST

    If you're generally polite and diplomatic, people really pay attention when you're not.

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