B&Q bathroom installation – day 36

Feels more like day 365, yawn…

I ring Alan at the installation centre at 2:50 and say no one’s rung to say when I’m getting the end panel. He says it’s not at the store yet, he rang them at 1:30. I say oh ok, I can always go and get it from the store on Saturday, I assume it’s not that heavy? He says that’s fine, he’ll make sure it’s definitely at the store by Saturday and will let me know.

I say there’s other things the fitters can be getting on with, is it that they just don’t want to come back until I’ve got the panel? He says he believes that is the case, yes.

Lazy bastards.

But I’ve found myself a 5k to enter at the end of January and this has made me happy. Why has the thought of having to get up really early on a Saturday morning and travel for about an hour to go and run round a park in the freezing cold made me happy?

Update
Big boss lady Yvonne at the fitters leaves a voicemail on my mobile at 6:30 while I’m at the gym. She says they did some work in my bathroom on behalf of B&Q and has noticed I haven’t returned the completion note. She carries on to say that if there is still work outstanding, then I can tick box B and write down what is left to be done, but if all work has been done, then tick box A and send it back. She says she’d really appreciate it if I could either tick box A or B and send it back to her.

Fuck off you dozy bitch. You don’t even know if your fitters have finished the job? Why not ask them, or if they’re too stupid (as I imagine they are) to know if a half-finished bathroom is finished or not, then ask the B&Q installation service centre who can tell you that it is not finished. And as for appreciating it if I’d send the completion notice back, well, I would have appreciated it if you had turned up on 9 October to start work like you were supposed to and finished it that same week; not start work three weeks later and, even then, seven weeks down the line it’s still not finished. And not only would I appreciate it if your fitters didn’t throw the pipes out of the window into my back garden and leave them there where they still reside, I would also appreciate it if your fitters didn’t leave my window wide open twice, didn’t leave my keys in the gas meter box, didn’t rip my kitchen floor, turned up on time (and that’s when they even bothered turning up) and didn’t leave me notes that I can’t do anything about when I get home late but instead call me and let me know if there’s a problem.

I think you know where you can stuff your completion notice, don’t you?

Aah, I feel better now 🙂

Stupid cow.

Healthy Tuesday

Woo, get me, I went to an Italian restaurant for lunch today and didn’t have pizza. I didn’t even have the penne with roasted aubergines, olives and mozzarella that sounded very nice. No, I had a nice healthy, low fat spaghetti and tomato sauce and very nice it was too. My next pizza is going to be a week tomorrow. Just for your information and in case you were getting worried about my low pizza intake.

Anyway, to continue on with my healthy day and after being struck down by a mysterious sleeping illness yesterday afternoon which meant I didn’t get to the gym after work like I’d planned to and was asleep at 9pm, I chanted (in my head, I don’t go round talking to myself. Not very often, anyway) “go for a run you lazy bitch” all the way home and by the time I got home I was looking forward to it, plus Tuesday is my traditional go for a run day, apart from last Tuesday which was go to see a play about a runner day, so out the door I went. Walked two feet and thought, shit, I’m knackered, I want to go home.

But I carried on on a pretty uneventful run, with just thoughts about how it’s not a good idea to be a prostitute in Ipswich at the moment and, anyway, I’m glad I’m not a prostitute because I can’t walk in heels so I’ll stick to my day job and continue wearing my Converse (all six pairs of them, not at the same time though, obviously).

B&Q bathroom installation update
No update today. No one rang to say when Donald’s bringing over the panel and no one rang to say when the installation manager’s coming to look at my kitchen floor.

Stats:
Miles: 2.08
Total time: 22:10
Average pace: 10:40 minute/mile
Average speed: 5.6mph
Max speed: 7.1mph
Total calories: 190
Weather: 51F
Music:
Eminem – Hustlers and Hardcore
Courtney Love – All The Drugs
The Beta Band – Broke
Ween – The Argus

B&Q bathroom installation – day 34

Hurrah, my mate Alan at the installation centre is back from wherever it is people at B&Q go on holiday (Homebase probably) and rings me at 10.45.  He says he’s just going through the notes and is ringing to see what’s outstanding as he last spoke to me at the end of November.

I say I’m waiting for the bath panel.  I say it’s coming by Parcel Force and they tried to deliver last Monday but I wasn’t in and they left a card to say they’d try again Tuesday or Thursday, I couldn’t quite read it, but they haven’t as they haven’t left a card or anything and I did speak to someone at the installation centre last week but I don’t know his name and he said he couldn’t arrange another delivery until that delivery had failed and you had the panel back.  Alan says that’s right.

He says what else is outstanding?  I say the floor needs finishing as the designer didn’t measure properly and I had to buy more floor, also the ceiling light needs replacing.  And the toilet needs screwing down or something as since the floor was put down, it moves and squeaks.

Alan says what’s this about your kitchen floor being torn?  I say yes, they ripped my kitchen floor.  He says have the fitters done anything about it?  I say no, they haven’t said anything.  I say Jackie said she was going to speak to your compensation team about replacing it.  Alan says I don’t know anything about that as I’ve been off, and now Jackie’s off.

He says he’ll see what he can do about the bath panel.  I say it has to be a before 9am delivery, as I can’t take any time off.  My boss won’t let me have any more time off as I’ve taken off too much already.  Alan says, hmm, how about a Saturday delivery?  I say yes, Saturday’s fine.  He says he’ll see what he can do.

The designer first came round at the end of July.  Five months later…

Update
Alan rings back at 11:50 and says the panel is going back to the store and I can either pick it up from there or they can deliver it.  I say can they deliver it on Saturday?  He says they don’t deliver on Saturdays but the guy who works there who lives near me can drop it round on his way to work or from work.  I say that’s fine but I don’t think he starts work ’til 10 and I leave at 8:30.  Alan says well he’ll probably drop it off on his way home then.  I say what time, as I don’t get in ’til about 6:30, will he ring first?  He says he’ll make sure he definitely rings first and it will probably be Wednesday or Thursday.

Alan says, about your floor, the compensation team need to claim back the money from the fitters so I have to send the installation manager round to have a look.  I say that’s fine.  He says you can discuss anything else about the installation with him but obviously the floor’s the main concern.  He says he’ll ring me to arrange a time for him to come round.

I’m bored of my bathroom now.

Songs of Praise

I couldn’t think of any 80s children’s programmes that were shown on a Sunday and the only Sunday programme I could think of was Songs of Praise. Not that I used to watch it, you understand, but my brother was on it many many years ago singing in the choir. Ha ha, he had a choir dress on, or whatever you call them. V. funny.

Anyway, I couldn’t be bothered to go to the gym, so I went for a run instead. Along with continuing the 80s children’s programmes theme, I seem to be continuing the totally feeble theme. 1.5 miles, and I stopped three times. Yikes! But obviously it was v. important that I took a pic of this blackbird.

Next week I’m going to unfeeble myself.

I think it’s been a couple of days since I moaned about B and bloody Q so here’s a little rant.

Can someone tell me why I have to live with these two big boxes in my living room

just to get these four parts out of them?

Mad! I bet someone at B&Q thought they were being really clever thinking of that: “Hmm, the parts are from China, it’ll take ages getting them over here. Ooh, I know, we’ll send her a whole new sink and the fitters can take the parts out of that and then return the rest of the sink. That will be much easier than us taking the parts out of a sink we have here and posting them. I’m so clever, I think I’m going to ask for a promotion. Today teaboy, tomorrow CEO, yah!”

Twats.

Stats:
Miles: 1.51
Total time: 17:06
Average pace: 11:17 minute/mile
Average speed: 5.3mph
Max speed: 7.3mph
Total calories: 149
Weather: 51F
Birds sitting on fences: 1
Big boxes in my front room: 2
Music:
Eminem – Kill You
Courtney Love – All The Drugs
The Beta Band – Broke

B&Q bathroom installation – day 33

It’s all very quiet on the B&Q bathroom installation front. Will have to kick some B&Q butt next week I think.

In the meantime though, it’s Friday, it’s five to five and you know what that means, don’t you? No, all you over 30 year olds, it doesn’t mean it’s Crackerjack, it means it’s BEER O’CLOCK, yah!!

I’m having pizza too 🙂

But I promise to go for a run in the morning, honest. Jogblog will be back.

(p.s. It’s not really five to five, it’s actually 6:18, but that wasn’t as catchy, nor was it the catchphrase of an 80s children’s TV show involving cabbages)

B&Q bathroom installation – day 32

So now Parcel Force are lying to me too. The card I got on Monday definitely said they would try to deliver again on Tuesday or Thursday (there aren’t any other days beginning with a “T” that I’ve forgotten about, are there? I couldn’t really make out for sure what day it said but it definitely began with a “T”. Maybe it’s a special Parcel Force alphabet) but there was no card on Tuesday to say they’d called, and there was no card today, so where’s my bath panel?

They’re all in cahoots to piss me off 🙁

I don’t think I’ve said “cahoots” before though, I like it, I’m going to say it more often 🙂

Update
Thought I’d post some pics of what’s left to do. Even though I’m waiting for the end panel, why can’t they come round to finish off the sink, the floor and replace the ceiling light that they’ve left dangling? And get rid of the pipes they’ve left out in the garden. This is week six, it’s going to be going into week seven, ’tis not good.

Twats. I might ring them tomorrow, they’ve got complacent since I stopped ringing them every two minutes but I was getting fed up with being project manager, and at least I can actually have a bath now.

Update #2
Someone visited the site by searching for “should i pay up front for an bathroom installation”.  Ha ha, I reckon he/she has got their answer now!  🙂

B&Q bathroom installation – day 30

At 9:50 I ring the installation centre and say Parcel Force tried to deliver the panel on Monday but I wasn’t in and they left a card to say they’d try again tomorrow but I still won’t be in, so can you organise a before 9am delivery please?  Man on phone says no, it’s coming from Parcel Force, I’d have to speak to them.  I say but I’ve been waiting for my bathroom to be finished for ages, this is the sixth week, can’t you send another panel out?  He says no, what Parcel Force will do is try to deliver three times and he can’t do anything until the delivery fails and they get the panel back, then he can arrange another delivery.

Twats.

B&Q bathroom installation – day 29

Louise from the fitters rings at 11:25 and says have I got the end panel.  I say I couldn’t get the time off work to take delivery so it’s in transit.  Parcel Force tried to deliver it yesterday and left a card saying they’ll try again today or Thursday but I can’t read the writing on the card.

She says have I got the floor tiles?  I say yes, I’ve got the floor tiles and the edging.  She says and I’ve got a light suitable for the bathroom now?  I say yes, all I’m missing is the end panel.

She asks if I have a completion notice on site.  I say no.  She says if she sends me one can I sign it and tick box B to say the work’s not completed and that I need the end panel and floor tiles.  She says if I sign it then they can be paid for what they’ve done so far.  I say ok but what I really mean is get lost, I’m signing nothing, are you trying to be funny?

She says she’ll speak to her director and see if they can get an end panel from somewhere as they’d like to see the job finished.

I look on the Parcel Force website and see that they do a guaranteed 9am delivery and also Saturday deliveries, so if a neighbour hasn’t taken it in today, B&Q are just going to have to spend a few extra pounds and pay for a 9am or Saturday delivery.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7