Ever had a workman visit your house to do a job on a Friday afternoon and he’s made you wish you’d never contacted his company in the first place? It’s amazing how many workers are affected by Friday Afternoon Syndrome. They’re ratty, impatient, unhelpful, they’ve had enough, the weekend can’t come soon enough and they really don’t want to be bothered.
First one I remember was the fella who came to install Sky tv. He was putting up the dish outside in the rain and I’d planned to make him a nice hot cuppa to make him feel a bit better, but when he came inside he made it clear he was in no mood for niceties. He should have had a sign hanging round his neck with ‘do not disturb’ written on it. I was sitting in my own living room and I hardly dared to speak. Of course when he got it all set up he didn’t want to explain how it worked. I said “Do you have written instructions?” He said “Yes in the van”. I said “Ok I’ll find out how to work it from that.” I think he realized at that point that I’d had enough of his attitude. I took the booklet and shut the door on him. Miserable twat.
I planned to have a wall of concrete panels erected at the back of my house and someone from a fencing company was coming round on the Friday to price the job up. I’d already got one quote of £250. He arrived and said “I’ve had a rotten day.” I said ” I’ve had days like that too.” He didn’t say another word to me. He looked at the area where I wanted the job done, for about five seconds, took a piece of paper out of his pocket, wrote something on it, handed it to me and walked off. He’d written £350. I wouldn’t have given him the job even if his quote had been competitive.
The doctor diagnosed sciatica and sent me to see a physiotherapist, who turned out to be a polite young man called Seb. He asked me questions like how long I’d had the pain, when did I see my GP etc. He then provided a length of latex which he tied in a knot at one end and showed me how to use it to do remedial exercises. So far so good. The next appointment was on a Friday afternoon and this time he was wearing a mask. When I told him there had been no improvement he seemed to lose patience with me, as though his exercises were supposed to be some kind of miracle cure. He started to fire questions at me in quick succession, the same ones I’d answered on my first visit. He then said “Have you done the exercises with a towel?” I said “No I’ve done them with the thing you gave me.” He said “You should have done them with a towel, it’s firmer.” I said “I don’t remember you telling me to use a towel.” He then accused me of being argumentative. I said “I’m not arguing with you, I’m telling you what I remember.” I asked him if he was the same therapist I’d seen before and he said yes. I thought well you could have fooled me. He asked if I wanted another appointment and I said no. I left the building and was so annoyed, I walked fifty yards up the street before I realized I’d left my car in the car park!
If I make appointments with anyone these days, I make sure they’re on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays.
Nominated by Allan.
