B&Q bathroom installation – day 18

No one turned up to do any decorating this morning so I ring the B&Q installation centre at 10:45 and speak to Jackie.  I say the fitters didn’t ring me yesterday.  She says she left a message for them this morning and will chase them to see what’s going on. 

I tell her they’ve ripped my kitchen floor.  She says oh no, what type of floor is it?  I say it’s vinyl and it’s been torn.  She says is it old?  I say no, it’s only been down about a year.  She says she’ll speak to her compensation team and find out about getting some money out to me for a new floor.

I hate B&Q.  Well, I hate their fitters, anyway.

At 11:09 Dragon Lady from the fitters rings and says she can get the tiler to me on Thursday.  I say okay then, first thing?  She says yes.

I ring Jackie at the installation centre and say a tiler’s coming on Thursday.  She says just a tiler?  Did they say anything about decorating?  I say  no, just said the tiler’s coming on Thursday.  I say this has been dragging on for ages now, this is the fourth week.  She says I know, I’ve been looking at the notes of everything you and Alan have been trying to sort out, it’s awful isn’t it?  She says she’ll ring the fitters and try and get everything sorted for me.

Sigh.

Jackie from the installation centre rings at 12:45.  She says she’s spoken to the fitters and they’re waiting for the plaster to dry out and the decorator will be round on Friday and the tiler’s coming on Thursday.  Jackie also says that she’s mentioned to them about the kitchen floor and they’re going to look into it.

I don’t know who’s doing the bathroom floor.  Will I have to wait two weeks for a floor man?  And they need to send the carpenter back to make a new bit of architrave as a piece has mysteriously gone missing.  And they’re supposed to be adding some skirting board.  Who’s doing that?

Tossers.

B&Q bathroom installation – day 17

Alan the plumber arrives at 8:30ish with his young plumber’s mate and apologises for being late. I say are you going to install the bath today? He says yes. Hurrah. I say can you phone me when it’s done? He says don’t you want it to be a surprise? Oi matey, cut out the wisecracks, I want a plumber, not a comedian. No I don’t want it to be a surprise, I’ve been without a bath for three weeks. I say do you still have my phone number or shall I write it down again? He says he has it in his van.

Fingers crossed then (again).

Update
Alan at B&Q rings me at 3:15 and asks if the plumber turned up today. I say he did and he was going to ring me when he’d installed the bath but he hasn’t yet.

Alan asks if they said anything about finishing the job. I say no but I’ll wait and see if I’ve got a bath before I worry about anything else. He says he’ll ring the fitters and see if they know anything.

I don’t think they know anything at all. I’m surprised they even know how to get out of bed in the morning.

Update #2
Alan the plumber rings at 4 and says the bath’s been installed. Hallellujah! He says when I get home I’ll see that it’s full of water and silicon’s been applied. The silicon might still be wet so best to leave it ’til about 8 before I use it. He also says that he’s put the pop up waste in the sink and made good the wall.

At 4:15 I ring the installation centre to see if anyone’s coming tomorrow to start on finishing the work. Jackie answers the phone and says oh yes, as soon as work has started, it carries on until it’s finished. Yeah right. I say but because there’s been delays, there might not be anyone booked to come round. She says she’ll find out and get back to me.

Jackie rings back at 4:45 and says the fitters are going to ring me this evening to sort out the rest of the work and she’ll ring me tomorrow to make sure they did ring.

Hmm.

I get home and Alan has indeed installed the bath. Look, taps, woo hoo:

And my cat is very impressed with her new water bowl:

But somehow the fuckwit has managed to tear a hole in the kitchen floor:

Bloody hell, can’t they do anything right, ever?!!! For f**ks sake, to say I’m annoyed is an understatement, bet they deny doing it too but when I left for work this morning I didn’t have a kitchen floor with a hole in it.

Tossers.

Grr.

B&Q bathroom installation – day 15 & 16

Nothing to report yesterday as it had been left that a plumber will be round today between 11 and 12. Please please please please let him turn up and fit the taps and not give me any “taps don’t fit” nonsense.

How much chance have I got of a plumber finishing one job on a Friday morning and then going to another for the afternoon? Aren’t they more likely to bugger off home, or even more likely, to the pub?

Alan at B&Q probably didn’t know what to do all day with me not ringing him to moan every five minutes, maybe I should have given him a ring to complain about the fitters losing my keys and scratching the shower spray. Got to keep him on his toes after all.

Fingers crossed then. He’s not late yet, it’s only 6:50am.

Update
It’s 12:00 and no plumber. I ring the fitters and get put through to “someone who knows what’s going on”. Louise gets put through to me and says sorry, he can’t make it, he got held up on another job. I say why didn’t anyone ring me? She says I did, I left a message. I say where? She gives me a number which isn’t mine. I say that’s not my number. She gives me another number. I say that’s not my number either. She says do you live at [address], I say no. She gets my name right eventually and says oh, Clive’s coming out to you. Then she says oh, Andy’s going to be with you this afternoon, hang on and I’ll find out where he is.

I have started growling already. If Andy is not here within half an hour I’m going to kill someone on my way to work.

Update #2
12:20 and no one’s rung me back so I ring the fitters and get their answerphone and leave a message saying I need to know if the plumber’s on his way, I’m leaving my house in 20 minutes, can you call me back please.

Tossers.

I ring Alan at B&Q and say plumber not here, I have to go to work now. He says oh dear, you’re not having much luck are you? I say not exactly, no. He says do I have to go to work right now? I say yes, in ten minutes. He says he’ll ring the fitters.

Louise from the fitters rings me just after I put the phone down to Alan and says Andy will be with you this afternoon. I say but you said between 11 and 12 and I have to go to work now. She says she’s really sorry. She said am I available next week? I said it has to be first thing Monday. She says she’ll see who she can pull off another job and ring me back.

Wankers.

Update #3
Alan rings and says the fitters say your keys were left in your gas meter box. I say why didn’t anyone tell me that, that’s not the first place I’d think of looking for them. He says no, well, you wouldn’t really would you?

He says he thinks the fitters are coming out on Monday. I say you think? He says they are. I say first thing? He says yes. He says if they don’t come, then they’ll get Reactafast (or something like that) to come out but they will only do the bath, not the decorating. I say well the bath’s the main priority at the mo, this is going to be the third weekend without a bath, I can’t take any more time off work, my boss is already spitting feathers with all the time off and phone calls I’m making. He says let’s see what happens Monday, see if the fitters turn up.

Sigh.

At least it’s Friday I suppose. Hurrah.

Update #4
My keys were indeed left inside the gas meter box which means either a) that Danny had no intention of coming back, because if he did, he’d have put the keys through the letterbox like a normal person would have done, but if he’d have done that I’d have thought “oh, that’s weird, why has he posted the keys, isn’t he coming back?”; or b) that he left them in there every day instead of taking them with him which means that he’s just as security conscious as that Alan idiot who left my window open as any random passing burglar could have seen him take the keys from the gas meter box every morning he was here.

‘kin hell.

Update #5
At 4:30 Louise from the fitters leaves a message on my mobile to confirm that Alan the plumber will be round on Monday morning to do the taps.

At 5:00 Alan the plumber rings about my “dreaded” bath. He says he’ll be with me first thing on Monday. I say brilliant, 8 o’clock? He says thereabouts, do I have to be out of the house at a specific time. Well of course I do dickhead, I have to go to work and earn money to pay for a new bathroom. I say I have to be out by 8:30. He says he should be there by then, he has to pick up a few bits and pieces on the way so he doesn’t have to go out in the day. He says he needs access to the back garden. I say that’s fine, he can have keys. And if you forget to lock the back door, like you forgot to shut the window, it’s going to be you who’s going to need new plumbing matey.

I think Monday is finally going to see the end of the bath saga. Yah!

B&Q bathroom installation – day 14

Are you as bored of this as I am yet? All good evidence though for when I write my really long letter of complaint.

I ring the plumber at 10:04 and say did you look at the website? He says yes, the taps go on the corner with the handheld spray to the left of them on the back edge. I say yes, can you do that? He says, well, if that’s how they are in the picture, then that must be where they go.

He says he has a reservation though. If I use the spray as a shower, then there’s a danger that water will get through the hole, as it’s not meant to be used as a shower. I say but if I’m aware of that then it’s not a problem is it? He says no.

I say can you come and do it tomorrow? He says he’s spoken to his office and they’ll be in touch as and when. He says whoever comes round will need access to the back garden. I say that’s fine, as long as they lock up afterwards. (I was tempted to say you left my window open you twat, but restrained myself.)

He says the office will be in touch.

I ring Alan and say that the plumber didn’t have a solution last night, it was just going round in circles again but he’s looked at the website now and has seen where the taps go and says he can do it. I say he said his office will be in touch “as and when” but that’s not very good and ideally I need someone there first thing tomorrow, can he chase them for me please? He says will do.

Fingers crossed! What do you reckon? Bath installed tomorrow?

Update
Dragon Lady from the fitters phones me at 11:00. She says the plumber can come round Monday afternoon. I say that’s no good, I need someone round tomorrow morning, it’s been going on for three weeks now. Dragon Lady says he can’t come earlier, he’s on another job. I say I’m going to ring the Installation Centre.

I ring Alan and say Dragon Lady says plumber can’t come back ’til Monday afternoon. He says it’s Wednesday now so that’s another five days, hmm. I say it’s no good, I need someone tomorrow morning, it’s been three weeks. I say afternoon is no good either, that’d involve taking a day off work. He says he’s running out of ideas but it’s been going on for too long and he’ll speak to his manager.

Waa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think I’m going to cry. Again.

Update #2
Alan rings at 11:40 and says that he’s spoke to the fitters and the plumber who came round last time can’t come back until next week but they’re going to see if they can get someone else. I say next week’s no good, I can’t let this drag on to next week. He says if they can’t send anyone this week then they’re going to get their managers involved. He says he’ll keep me informed.

Five phone calls already today and it’s not even lunchtime yet. Just as well I didn’t go on holiday and leave them to it, like I’d thought about. I thought if they start work on the Monday morning, I could just come home on the Friday and I’d have a nice new bathroom. Duh! Six weeks later (they were supposed to have originally started work on 9 October [it’s 15 November today] but the fitters had f****d up) and I’ve still not got even a functioning bathroom, let alone a finished one, or even a nearly finished one.

Grr.

Update #3
Dragon Lady from the fitters rings at 12:35 and says I’ve rescheduled, the earliest I can get someone there is Friday mid-morning, I’ve got someone round your way first thing, he can come after.

I say okay then. She says will you be there? I say no need, he can just come through the window your other dickhead plumber left open.

Okay, I didn’t say that. I say yes, oh but do I need to be, you have keys, I gave them to Danny, did he drop them back round your office? She says she’s not sure, she’ll double check. I say but it’s best I’m there anyway, I’ll be there, what’s the latest he’ll be there? She says she’ll book him in for between 11 and 12.

I tell my boss a plumber’s coming Friday mid-morning. He says what does that mean? I say it means I need Friday morning off. Boss not happy. Oops. I can’t go another weekend without a bath though. Boss appreciates that B&Q are wankers (his words) and says it’s fine, no need to book the time off, just come in when I can. Friday afternoon is going to be v. stressful at work, bah, but fingers crossed though that at least I can go home to a nice hot bath.

Update #4
Alan rings at 2:17 and says the fitters say they’re coming to you Friday pm, is that right? I say yes, but between 11 and 12, hopefully. I say obviously it’s not ideal but better than Monday afternoon but I’ve had to take Friday morning off and my boss isn’t very happy about it. He says oh dear.

I say I’m probably jumping the gun a bit, but after the bath is installed, is work going to carry on until it’s finished? He says yes. I say but they probably haven’t got anyone booked in for Monday but anyway, it’s probably best to see if the bath does get installed and then worry about the rest of the work. He says yes that’s probably best but the fitters have said that they’ve got a tiler arranged. Like I believe what the fitters say. I just hope they turn up on time.

Can everyone send good vibes my way and pray that my bath gets installed on Friday. Ta.

Oh, but this is good:

The phrase

B&Q bathroom installation problems

brings this blog in at no. 2 on google. And the phrase

B&Q bathroom installation

brings it on the bottom of the first page. Hurrah, this will mean that they’re going to lose quite a few potential orders. This has made me happy 🙂

B&Q bathroom installation – day 13

Yawn, here we go again.

I ring the B&Q installation service centre at 11:18 and speak to Jackie who says that Alan was speaking to someone about my bathroom a while ago and that he’s on a tea break and will call me back in 10 minutes.

At 11:50 Alan calls and says that the installation manager can’t come out to visit for another week and obviously that’s too long. His manager is in a meeting at the moment and will speak to him when he’s out of the meeting to see what can be done and will call me back in a hour.

This is obviously another one of those B&Q hours. They live in a world where one of our minutes equates to about five of theirs.

Update
No one’s rung by 2:36 so I ring and Jackie answers and I say Alan said he was going to speak to his manager, has he done that yet? She said she knows that he’s been busy all day trying to get things resolved and speaking to the expert team and that she’ll ask him to call me. I say he said he was going to ring back in an hour and that was at 12 and she said well, like I said, he’s been running here, there and everywhere trying to get it sorted, I don’t think it will be resolved today, but I’ll ask him to give you a call.

Alan calls back at 2:45 and said the fitters will give you a call to explain a solution they have for the taps. I say why are they phoning me? He says so they can explain what they’re going to do, I can’t explain it, it’s too complicated. I said but why do they have to phone me to say what the solution is, why can’t they just come round and do the solution? He says, I don’t really know, I think it’s so they know that it’s what you require. I said I just require taps on my bath, that’s it. He says he tried to get different fitters but none are available. I say will they come round tomorrow? He says he’s not sure, they’ll ring me and he’ll ring me before he goes home to make sure they do ring me.

Sigh. This is doing my head in. It’s only a bath. It’ s not even a fancy bath or anything. I just want my bath installed. I suppose I should be grateful that I do have a toilet installed. Could be worse I suppose.

Bah.

Update #2
Alan rings at 4:45 and says have the fitters called you? I say no. He sighs and says he’ll chase them for me.

The fitter rings at 5:00 and says he can put the spout and the hot and cold taps in the corner by the wall. I say fine. He says but then where does the shower spray go? I say I thought you or someone from your company had spoke to Donald at the store so he could tell you how to fit the bath? He says he doesn’t know anything about that. I say as far as I knew, you and Donald were going to meet at my house and sort it. He says he can put the taps in the corner but the shower spray won’t fit on the other corner, the hose won’t be long enough. I say can’t you get a longer hose? He said B&Q will have to source one. I say aren’t they standard? He says one end is smaller than the other. His phone is very crackly and breaks off. Either that or he got fed up and scrunched up a packet of crisps and hung up.

I have a brainwave and phone him back and say if I scrap the shower spray and get an electric shower instead, can you just put the taps on? He says no, the shower spray is connected to the taps underneath the bath.

We go round and round in circles about how the taps won’t fit. I say but we’ve been through this, the taps come with the bath, they’re designed to go anywhere on the bath. He says in the store in Romford the taps are on a different bath. I say I know the one you mean but the bath I’ve got is part of the range, it’s the one you get if you get a straight edged bath, I’ve seen this bath on the website with these taps. He said have you seen the bath on the website with those taps? I said yes. He said where are the taps placed? I said, well, from memory, the taps are in the corner and the shower spray is just to the side of them on the edge. He said I can do that if you’re happy with that. He says I’ll look on the website tonight to see where the taps go and call you tomorrow.

WHAT THE FUCK?!!!!! I’ve been saying for two weeks, I don’t care where the taps go, I just want my bath installed. Two weeks of f*****g around and plumbers saying the taps don’t fit and all he had to do was be shown a picture?  I printed the photo from the website, think I’ll draw a big red arrow on it pointing at the taps, that might help the fuckwit out.

I think I’m going to kill myself.

B&Q bathroom installation – day 12

Yes, another bathroom post, sorry.

I ring the installation centre at 8:10am but am on hold for 11 minutes so decide to go to work and ring from there. I ring at 10:45 and Alan answers (is he the only person who works there?) and I tell him that the fitter had been round on Thursday and said the taps didn’t fit and so I had rung the store and Donald had come round on Friday morning to see what the problem is and that he said that the taps will fit and he is willing to meet the plumber at my house and show him how to fit it. Alan says he’ll phone the store and speak to Maryam or Donald and then speak to the fitter. I tell him the fitter left my window wide open. He said, when you weren’t there? I said yes, I came home from work and it was wide open. He said would I like an installation manager to come round to the property to see what the problem is as they have more clout and I seem to be having a lot of problems. I said I just want my bath installed and I can’t keep taking time off work. He says he thinks the installation manager can visit in the evening. He said he’ll ring Maryam to arrange for Donald to meet the fitters and get back to me.

He hasn’t rung by 12:20 so I ring him and he says that he spoke to Maryam, and Donald will meet the fitter on site and that he needs to get a fitter arranged He asks if it is just the bath that needs installing. I say, no, nothing’s been done since the Tuesday of the first week, we’re now in week three. I only have a toilet, half a sink that leaks and a bath with no taps. I’ve got no flooring or tiles and there’s decorating to be done. Oh he says, there’s quite a lot of work to be done then. I mention again about the fitters leaving my window open and he says he forgot to make a note about that. He says he’ll speak to his supervisor and call me back at 1:00.

Alan calls back at 12:53 and says the fitters are willing to come to the house with Donald. I say is it the same fitters. He says yes. I say but they’re no good, they leave my window open. He says he’s going to get the installation manager to go there to see them also as someone’s mucking up somewhere and it’s been going on for too long. He’s waiting to hear back from the installation manager and will get back to me.

Update
Alan’s not rung me back by 4:50 so I ring and get through to Jackie. She has a look at my notes and says that the fitter, planner and installation manager are to come out and thinks Alan’s waiting for the installation manager to get back to him and that he’ll ring me, probably tomorrow.

Grr. Another day goes by with f**k all being sorted. How did I manage to turn into a project manager (although obviously not a very good one, seeing as nothing’s getting done)? The reason I’m paying over the odds for my new bathroom is so that everything’s taken care of at one place and I don’t have to spend time chasing people up. I’ve done nothing but chase people up since getting the designer round at the end of July.

Grr.

Update #2
Maryam from the store calls me at 5:20 (woo, someone actually called me to let me know what was going on) to say that Donald, the fitters and the installation manager are all going to meet up and see what can be done.  She asks about the pre-fit survey.  I say I didn’t get one, the lad came round, said he didn’t have any drawings or plans, took a photo and left after about five minutes.  She says did I sign the paperwork.  I said he asked me to sign that he’d been there.  She says she’s got paperwork with my signature on it showing tick boxes to say that I was happy with everything.  I said all he did was ask me if everything was staying in the same place and I said it was and he said it should be okay that he couldn’t do a full survey.  Maryam says they might have copied my signature from somewhere.  I say the lad who came to do the survey was from the fitters, wasn’t he?  She says yes.  I say well then, they’re not to be trusted.   The lad came round to do the survey on 31  August.  I even say in that post that I don’t trust them to do a good job.  Why didn’t I trust my instincts?

Grr.

Anyway, I’m going out for a run now.  If anyone gets in my way, god help them.

Gym runny

After not doing any running for the last two weeks (except for a slow walk/jog last Saturday) I ran to the gym this morning so I could have a shower and wash my hair.  Although due to carrying a rucksack that was a) heavy; and b) rubbing my neck, I walked most of the way.  But I have clean hair again, hurrah!

I suppose the whole sorry saga’s going to continue tomorrow with some more B&Q butt-kicking.  Maryam from the store never called me yesterday like she said she would.  I’m not exactly surprised though.   Fingers (and everything else for that matter) crossed my bath is installed on Tuesday.

Stats:
Miles: 2.07
Total time: 28:40
Average pace: 13:50 minute/mile
Average speed: 4.3mph
Max speed: 7.1mph
Total calories: 142
Weather: 55F
Music:
Franz Ferdinand & Scissor Sisters: Suffragette City
Dirty Pretty Things: The Gentry Cove
Citizen Fish: Social Insecurity
Cardiacs and Affectionate Friends: There’s Good Cud
Ben Folds Five: Song For The Dumped

B&Q bathroom installation – day 11

Donald’s very punctual and arrives at 9:50. I say are you going to solve all my problems for me. He says he’ll see what he can do. He gets the taps out of the box and puts them on the floor and stares at them for a few minutes. He plays around with them on the bath in various positions and says yes they will fit, the plumber just needs to play around with them and it’s also up to me, depending on where I want them. I say I’m beyond caring, I don’t care where they go, you can have that in writing, as far as I’m concerned they can go on the ceiling as long as I get my bath installed.

I say will they definitely fit? He says they should do. I say I need to know they’ll definitely fit as I’ve already had two plumbers say they don’t fit and I don’t want another plumber coming round on Monday saying they don’t fit. I say can he tell the plumber that they’ll fit. Donald has another look under the bath and says there’ll be a lot of pipework. I say is it easier if I get new taps? He says I can get a mixer tap but the hose will go up the wall. I say that’s good because then I can use it as a shower. I say do you have taps in stock? He says yes and he’ll get me some as similar to the ones I’ve got as he can. He says he’ll see what he can get and also send my taps to the supplier to see why they don’t fit. I couldn’t give a shit why they don’t fit but decide not to tell Donald that as he’s being as helpful as he can. He says he’ll get Maryam to call me later and he’ll bring the taps round to me tomorrow as he only lives round the corner. I ask him to shout at the fitters until they agree to come round first thing Monday as it’s not funny any more. He said he only heard about the problem yesterday and that if he’d known earlier he would have come to have a look then.

Fingers crossed Donald is going to be my saviour. I can’t really see him shouting at the plumbers though until they agree to come round. Might have to get Alan on the case. I gave him the day off from me ringing to moan at him yesterday so he should be refreshed now.

Update
No one’s rung me by 2:30 so I ring the store to speak to Maryam.  I get told she’s at lunch and will be back in about 45 minutes and will be asked to call me.

Maryam does ring at 3:15 and says she’s spoken to Donald and she’s spoken to PCH who say that those taps do fit the bath and the taps are designed to go anywhere on the bath and she’ll speak to the fitter to say that they can fit the bath.

I say but Donald says it was easiest for me to get new taps and he was going to get me some and bring them round tomorrow.  Maryam says that they don’t have any taps even close to the ones I have and only mixer taps.  I say a mixer tap is fine.  She says I said I didn’t want to change my taps as I liked the look of them.  I said yes but Donald said that it would be tight and loads of pipework and he wasn’t 100% sure that they would fit.  She said that’s not what he said to her.

I said can Donald come round Monday morning with the plumber and show him how to fit it, because as far as I was concerned, Donald was getting me new taps and bringing them round tomorrow, if I thought I was keeping the old taps I would have made notes of where Donald said the taps would fit.  Maryam says she’ll see when a fitter can come round.  I said I need one first thing Monday.  She said she’ll call me back.

Waa!!!!!!!!!!!  This is going round in circles.

I swear I’m going to kill someone soon.

Update #2
Maryam’s not called back by 4:45 so I give her a ring.  She says she can’t get through, she’s been on hold for 45 minutes.  I say can’t get through to the fitters?  She says no, the ISC who send the fitters out, she has to go through them.  It dawns on me that the ISC is the Installation Service Centre (duh!).  I say can’t she ring the fitters direct?  She says no, they won’t take any notice of her.  I say yeah, I’ve spoken to them, they’re a rude bunch aren’t they?  She says she has to go through the ISC and she’ll keep trying and can I try and get through to them as well.  She says the ISC has to handle it all so they know just how useless they are and how many problems I have with them.  I tell her that yesterday’s fitter left my window wide open.  She says she’ll let them know about that and if I don’t hear from her today, she’ll call me tomorrow.

Why did I ever go to B and f*****g Q?!!!!!

B&Q bathroom installation – day 10

Day 10
Woo, the fitters turn up bright and early at 8ish. One of whom is only about 14 but I decide not to let that worry me unduly, someone’s got to make the tea I suppose. I ask the plumber if he knows if someone’s going to be here every day now until it’s finished. He says he doesn’t know and that he was taken off a job he was on and has left someone without a boiler. Don’t you just love this company?

I try to go to work thinking happy positive thoughts about me washing my hair and splishing and sploshing around in the bath later this evening but all I can think is I’m not going to hold my breath for my bath to be installed today.

I get to work and the plumber rings at 9:30 and says the taps won’t fit. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!! Haven’t we been here before? I say they’re the taps that come with the suite, I bought a package. He says they should go on the side of a bath, not the end. I say can he put them on the corner? He says it will look crap. I say I’m beyond caring and just want my bath installed. He says that if he puts them on the corner then it might push the panel out and the panel won’t fit on properly. He says he doesn’t want to drill holes and then find out that they won’t fit. He says I should get a thermostatic shower mixer tap. I say so you can’t put the taps I have on the bath? He says no. He says if the designer wants to go round and show him how to plumb it in then he’s welcome to. Waa!!!!!

I ring Maryam at the Lea Bridge Road store and say plumber says taps don’t fit the bath. She says they will fit, they come with the suite, it’s a package. I say I told him that. She says the taps are supposed to go on the corner. I say I asked him if he could do that and he said no. She says how does he know the taps won’t fit if he hasn’t drilled the holes yet? I say he said he measured. She says she’ll see what she can do and call me back in five minutes.

That was at 10:05 and she hasn’t called by 11:35 so I call her and she said she’d spoken to her managers and they were trying to get through to ISC (or something like that) who send the fitters out to see why they can’t plumb it in. I give Maryam the plumber’s mobile number so she can speak to him direct. She says she’ll call me back.

Tap tap tap. That’s the sound of my fingers drumming on the table.

I’m going to run to the gym on Sunday and wash my hair there. Doubt Saturday’s going to see me doing anything very energetic after going to see the Cardiacs tomorrow.

Update
Maryam rings me back at 12:40 and says that she’s checked my order and the taps should fit the bath and the taps go in the centre and the shower goes on the corner and that Donald who deals with plumbers will arrange to meet the plumber at my house and show him how to plumb it in. She says she’ll call the plumber and ask him to be at my house at 10:30 tomorrow.

Maryam calls back and says that the plumber doesn’t need to be there but Donald will come round and see if he can see any problem. I say can’t Donald just plumb the bath in. She says no, he’s not actually a plumber and ISC are in charge of the fitting companies and it’s their responsibility but because customers go into the store and deal with staff one on one they feel partly responsible.

Maryam says that if there was a problem then the pre-fit survey should have showed it up. I said I didn’t get a pre-fit survey. Maryam says oh, B&Q have fumbled there. I say the man came round but didn’t have any drawings or plans and just took a photo and left. She says I should have had a pre-fit survey but Donald will come round and see if there’s a problem and we’ll take it from there. I say that still leaves me without a bath and it’s been two weeks now.

Grr.

Update #2
I get home from work and see that the plumber has left the bathroom window wide open.  What a f*****g tosser.  He’s not going to be able to open it again as I have now locked it and hidden the key.  I have just spent the last five minutes wandering around the house like a mad woman talking to myself and chanting my latest mantra “What A F*****g Tosser”.  I could have been burgled.  What a f*****g tosser.

He has put the pop up plug thingy in the sink though.   Although it’s not actually attached to anything that will make it pop up so not really sure why he’s done that.  I think he may have fixed the leak in the sink but I will test it again later.

But even if he has fixed the leak in the sink he is still a f*****g tosser.  How am I supposed to trust him to leave my house secure if he comes back next week?

I swear I’m going to have a nervous breakdown soon.

B&Q bathroom installation – day 9

Day 9
It’s 8:30 and no sign of Danny the most unreliable builder in the world.  I ring B&Q and Alan is yet again unlucky enough to be the one to pick up my call.  I tell him no fitter came yesterday like they said they were going to and there’s no one here yet either.  He sighs the deepest sigh I’ve ever heard and says he’ll see what he can do.

At least I’m now acquiring telephone skills.  I have made more phone calls in the last 10 days than I have in all the time since email and text was invented.  Maybe I’ll go and work in a call centre or something and utilise my new skills.

Or maybe not.   Maybe I’ll write a book entitled “How To F**k Up Your Bathroom” although it will be a very short book which just says “Get B&Q to do it”.  Probably wouldn’t be a bestseller actually, thinking about it.

And in case you’re wondering why I’m blogging about my bathroom and not jogging, it’s because running isn’t exactly conducive to having clean hair and until B&Q get their act together and install my bath, I can’t wash my hair.  Grr.

So, after 10 days since work began, this is what my bathroom looks like so far:

Not exactly a room to luxuriate in after a hard day’s work.

9:00 and Alan from B&Q hasn’t phoned back yet.  He has probably lost the will to live and has slit his wrists in the staff toilet.  Okay, it’s only half an hour but my patience wore out a few days ago and I should be on my way to work by now, not sitting at home rambling on my blog.

Is there a governing body or something I can complain to about this?  Watchdog?  Or maybe I should just hire a hitman.

Update
10:30 and Alan from B&Q still hasn’t rung back (typical man, not returning my calls) so I ring him and ask him what the fitters said.  He said there’ll be someone with me tomorrow.  I said what happened yesterday?  He said they couldn’t get hold of the fitter.  I said why did they say there was going to be someone going round in the afternoon?  He said he didn’t know.  I said it is because they were lying.  He agrees with me.  I say is someone definitely coming tomorrow?  He says yes, between 8 and 9, if there’s no one there by 9:15 then ring him and he’ll get someone on emergency, as it’s been going on for too long now.  Waa, why didn’t he get me an emergency fitter before now?  And I forgot to ask why no one turned up today.  I said I’ll see what happens tomorrow.

No work has been done on my bathroom for a week.

Waa, am I ever going to get my bathroom finished?  Or at least have a bath installed?

I. Am. So. Pissed. Off.

Grr.

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