The Fun Continues

Before After

Today was the day we had scheduled to have our stump ground down, as per the sacred 'contract' signed by our too trusting blogger and vehemently adhered to by the owner of the tree service.

We were told the grinder guy would be out sometime after 1pm. He showed up at three. This was fine, as we've been having a lazy day here. I slept until 2pm. (night shift, you know) So I walked out to meet him and show him the stump. Either he had already talked with 'Gary' or he was just having a grumpy day. Either way, he was a pretty gruff character.

We walked around to the back to check out the stump. He took one look at the approach to the stump (shown below)

and said "Can't do it."

"What?" Asked I.

"It's too narrow. I could get the grinder up here, but that bush will scratch up my truck."

"Oh. Kay." I said. I'm sure I sounded a bit incredulous.

"You could cut that bush way back. Then I could get up here."

"No." I said. "I think we've cut enough greenery out for the time being."

"Then I won't do it. And it's gonna cost an hour, because this was a waste of my time."

"Well, I guess you'll have to take that up with Gary. And I'll go give him a call now."

He didn't say another word, just walked down to his truck and off he went, little grinder in tow.

Well. I called the tree service, got the secretary again and told him that the grinder had arrived and refused to do it.

There was a long pause.

"I'll have Gary call you." He said.

"That would be fine. I'll be here all day."

Now, I know you'll be shocked, SHOCKED, to hear that he has not yet called. So I called a very nice woman named Barbara at the Better Business Bureau who is the mediator of my complaint to tell her the above story. I told her that if Gary had offered a simple apology that would have sufficed. She said we were being much nicer than she would have been.

She asked if I had paid him anything, and I said no, as the contract clearly states that payment is due upon completion of services, and our stump has not yet been ground out. She asked a few more questions and said that basically, since the contract was vague and not itemized, there was no requirement that we pay anything until the stump was gone. She did say that he might send us a bill for services already rendered. But until then, the ball was pretty much in his court. He needs to contact us to have the stump removed or just take the loss.

Needless to say, I've been looking forward to a conversation with Gary about the stump. I'm looking forward to saying that he can send as many bills as he would like, but the 'original contract' states that payment for services is the rule, and it CLEARLY says "grind stump" on the contract. Then I might be a little snarky and tell him that he should have written the contract more clearly, or just read it more closely. No place in the Contract does it state that I have to clear a path for the grinder. No place does it state that I have to pay him for what was done and not for what was left undone. So, let the jerk call, I'm ready! As my friend Jen would say, this guy puts the F-U in FUN!

As for the big piles of brush dotting our backyard. As you can see in the first picture, they are gone. One of the cutters had offered to remove it for free. But I didn' t think he should have to take the hit and do the work, so I offered to pay him if he would take it away. He said he would just ask for the cost of dumping. So we left him a check for that and some cash for his labor. It was a more than fair amount, and well worth it for us to be rid of the brush. He did such an excellent job that there was not even a small twig or branch left in the whole yard!

I'm hoping that word gets back to Gary that I can be quite generous if you treat me with some respect.

I did go through the brush piles and cut out anything I thought I could use. I've got plans for making some furniture from the remains. Table, chairs, a garden bench. I'll put it to good use and post the pictures here later.

Until then, I'm going to do exactly what Barbara from the BBB suggested. Put the whole thing behind me and not give it another thought.

More Later