You Called A Plumber?

Here's a little secret: I have insomnia. I have had it all my life. I am also part night-owl, so the insomnia isn't really an issue unless my trouble sleeping hits in the early morning hours, after I have been up until 1 a.m. Like Friday.

Friday morning, I was in a zombie trance, working on the newest applicant for my Pinson house when my phone rang. To be fair, I had no idea what time it was, other than early. It turns out it was a shade before 7 a.m. And, yes, I had crashed for the night after 1 a.m.

In fairness to Harold, my caller, I was upright. But, the synapses weren't firing. It is days like this when I wish I drank coffee.

Harold is my new tenant in the home Jack and I own. He also speaks with such a thick drawl that what he says registers about seven seconds after he speaks. So, I am already a bit behind--even if it wasn't first thing in the morning.

I didn't catch his name actually, I sort of figured that one out a few beats into the conversation. What I did understand was there was some sort of plumbing issue and he didn't want to bother me, so he just called a plumber. The plumber now wanted to do some work and would I kindly authorize it?

"You called a plumber?" I asked dumbly for the fourth time, still sinking this in. "I have a plumber I use and trust."

"Yes ma'am, he's here right now and the whatever is still stopped up, and I didn't want to bother you..."

"You called a random plumber?" I yawned.

"Yes. Sorry to call you so early. You see the hall toilet..."

"You called a plumber? He's there now? I don't know this plumber..."

And so it went, with Harold clueless I was still stuck on the fact he took it upon himself to call some guy who wanted to bill us lots of money for something I wasn't sure was legitimately wrong.

Eventually Harold got the plumber on the phone to diagram the issue, a true relief because now I could speak to someone I understood. The issue is a clogged drain and the guy doing the work is asking for an unholy amount of money. Even half-asleep I recognized there were too many zeroes after his number.

I detangled from that call, asking them to hang out for a while, and did the only thing that sounded sane: I called Jack. I really hate getting Jack involved in the property management end of this. Worse, Jack really hates getting involved in the property management end of this. But, I wasn't about to authorize this repair and spend half of Jack's money without his permission.

When I explained to Jack what was going on, all Jack could say was, "He called a plumber?"

"Yes, he did."

"He called a plumber?"

"He can't do that. We have our own plumber."

And so it went, both of us incredulous over poor Harold's initiative. I am reminded of the time the neighbor child wanted to help me, so he picked all the green tomatoes from my garden. "Look! I am helping!", he announced.

Now, in all fairness, Carolsue calls plumbers, electricians and handymen when the occasion arises. I usually find out afterwards. But, she is calling my repair people. And, more to the point, I know Carolsue. I know she isn't going to send someone out to a home without a darn good reason. And, if she calls someone and doesn't like the price, she will bargain it down.

Also for a reality check, a friend called me a little later in the morning. Her husband is a plumber--my Arizona plumber. The first thing she uttered when I told her the scenario was, "Your tenant called a plumber? Really?" Her next comment was, "That price is pretty high." So, it seems my gut was right, pass on Harold's plumber--even if he was standing at the home, expecting authorization.

The way Jack and I left Harold's situation, was that Jack (who was now in ill-humor) got in touch with his plumber and he was going over to Harold's home. Jack would be meeting him there. Jack was going to explain to Harold and plumber number one, we didn't authorize this, we weren't paying.

Sometime next week I will follow up with Harold and explain how his initiative is admirable, but it is not ok to randomly call repairmen and expect us to foot the bill. I am in charge of how I spend my money.