Before you read....be warned I am ****ed and I am reallly interested if any of you have experienced what me and my friends have here in Huntsville

This has been my experience so far.....how about you?

I have never....never...ever seen so many lazy, incompetent people in my life when it comes to service in this town. From personal experience, and that of my parents and friends we have all concluded that if you need something done in the town of Huntsville plan on it taking months, not days. General contractors, servicemen etc....all get around to things when they get around to them, and they NEVER call to say they can't make it out as promised or make any other attempt to show they value or care about a customer. Told it will take 3 days to get your refridgerator fixed? Plan for 3 weeks. Told it will take 2 weeks to install a new gas stove? Plan on 6 weeks. Told it will take 3 days to build a new fence for your dogs? Plan on 4 weeks. And all this delay is because these people never show up as they say they will, never order parts like they say they will, etc.....

Do you know WHY no one remodels their houses or add on, but instead move? Because it's cheaper and fater to buy a new house than fix the one you're in. Need an appliance fixed? It's faster to go find and buy a house that already has a working appliance.


This little town needs to wake up. With BRAC coming and all the new growth this town is experiencing, its service people need to understand that these people come with the realistic expectations of customer service that they bring with them from LA, Dallas, Philidelphia etc.....Huntsville is not growing because Alabamainites are having so many babies. There is no southern charm to getting screwed by service men who don't care that you keep taking off from work to be available and they NEVER call to reschedule or admit that you have a life outside of waiting on them

 

You are right for 99% of the general contractors. Butm this summer I found one who showed up on time, had his workers there on time, and finished when they said they would. This was Marlow Construction, owned by Bonnie Marlow. I would recommend him, and no one else in Huntsville that I've ever done business with.

 

Welcome to my world! I build houses for a living. If I come across a trade that does half of what they say it's a miracle. It's the way it is and I don't see it getting any better. The problem is they all have to much work. If they **** somebody off they can go down the street and get more work. As good as the economy is here in HSV it will not change. If anything it will get worse with the arrival of BRAC people.

 

You mean people still report to work during college football and hunting season? Crap, I better call my boss and see if I still have a job.

Seriously, being a DIY has a LOT of benefits.

 

Wow !!!
Up here if they are a day late you get all sorts of apologies and a discount.
My tire place gave me $40 bucks just because I had to come back the next day to get my truck tires instead of the day they promised.
I had my roof done. It took less then a day and half of it was spent rebuilding my 20 year old gutters for free.
Remind me not to move South.
Of course, you don't have to deal with it raining half the week all the time.

 

Service...

Thursday several of us walk into Backyard Burger. First, as I am standing there looking at the menu, a young man that works there is carrying an order. He comes right up beside me, pushes me a bit with his shoulder to reach over and give a patron their order. So I said excuse me. Now I am teed off.

As I am next at the counter, the girl looks at me. I look at her. She looks at me. I look at her. I finally speak up and ask her if I am next. She nods her head. I walk up in a good voice for others to hear (hoping one of them is the manager) say "Welcome to Backyard Burger! May I take your order?"

As we are at the table, the same young man comes up with one of the orders and just stands there while we are talking. I am looking right at him. Finally, I say "May I help you?"

 

Ralph, have you had your hearing checked lately? :-)

 

*grins*
Works fine when I go to restaurants that want a tip.

 

The answer is simple....it's a contractors market here in Huntsville: meaning they have all the work they can do.

I was born & raised in Huntsville. I like it. But it's never been up-to-date, especially on having enough roads or restaraunts. I hate to see it growing as fast as it has been the last 20 years.

One problem is that Huntsville has always been a scientific community, full of Engineers. I am one of them, but I'm not typical. I like to get out and do things, and I like to take part in the community, like going to town-hall meetings, etc. But most professional people like to go to their jobs and then return home to fall asleep in their easy chair. Hence, you have a city run by developers and realitors. They develop, get their money and move on, and those of us who live here have to deal with growth that was never planned.

Keep in mind that Huntsville will never suffer. We're on the great TVA, the most successful government undertaken ever. So the feds will never allows us to suffer in economic down-turns. In the 80's when military bases were closing all around the country, out base was building new homes and a another 18 hole golf course !

So, we'll always have growth. But as long as opportunist are the only ones running for public office, city planning will be made by those without the necessary skills to do it correctly.

My 2 cents....

 

i want to add so much to this but i know it will either be deleted or result in my being banned ..

 

I neither credit nor blame the engineering community as the basis for which Huntsville has developed into a town where contractors and service repairmen don't care. I don't know if it's a government town filled with these engineers that makes Huntsville unique. But I do know that growth is coming from people outside Huntsville and they (we) won't stand for this type of behavior. Yes, the guys that screwed me over several times over can and will find another job that keeps them busy and paid, but my lawsuit and answering to the BBB and the distributors and corps that allow them to service their stuff will also keep them busy and not in a good or profitable way. I won't be the only or last. Like I said, the only reason I am protesting so loudly is because I feel like I'm in some twilight zone episode.

Anyway, enough *****ing...anyone seen the new trans am? I think the camaro is ugly as sin, but the TA has some appeal

 

Screw that. Give me a Challenger.

 

My point was that city idiots will give a license to any fly by night contractor who shows up with the fee !

 

an update on my most recent problem with servicemen...I have been without a refridgerator for 3 weeks now and it will be at least one more week AT LEAST before it is fixed due to my most recent repairman failing to tell me they are on collections with LG and so they can't order more parts until they pay their bills....so i wait. But in the meantime, raising 3 kids without being able to store milk or juice or meat is irritating and unhealthy so i am buying another refridgerator tomorrow (Even tho the other one is only 13 months old)....that way I can keep perishables in the house. Then I can wait until these servicemen get their act together or I go to school to learn about refridgeration and build my own fridge....whichever comes first

 

Did you call Bob Wallace Appliance ? They are in the Huntsville phonebook in the White Business pages...

 

They are the new ones selected to fix my fridge....they are just working on some paperwork issues with LG and hope to try and fix it by late next week