I called one of these guys up there to repair a leaking ceiling(zink) in one of my office rooms at New Haven.
I got to know him through a friend, though she didn’t recommend him, but because I felt this guy would be of good conduct and because I have known the person in question and done business with her for a long time, I felt there wouldn’t be any problem that would arise from it. I decided to go ahead.
Okay, the man came to my office. I told him what I wanted and what he should do for me. He said, ‘Senior man, I can do this job.’ Then he went on to tell me about jobs he has done in certain places. I sensed a red flag because I never asked him to tell me where he has worked before. But I kept cool.
He brought a quotation that involved us getting a bamboo. I asked him, ‘Bro, do we need a bamboo to fix a leaking zinc? Is it not something that you can just go through the ceiling in my office and fix it?’ He said he has done the job for more than 10 years. Mind you, this guy doesn’t look like someone above 25; he even recently gained admission to school, from what he said. After we agreed on the price, so how did he have 10 years of experience I murmed in my heat but I sheepishly paid him the whole money. Like I paid him in full.
On the first day, he came late. I ignored it. On the second day, he came late again, this time with someone, a Hausa guy. They got to a point, and he was shouting at the Hausa guy to climb.
The guy told him he couldn’t, that it’s scary going up there. This building is a three-story building, and I have never been as scared for someone as I was for him and the guy. I prayed for them to come down that day unhurt , and they eventually did and I thank God
At that point, it dawned on me that this guy hadn’t done this before; he’s just a mere carpenter who felt he could do anything.
That was when I called him and told him that I knew he hadn’t done this before, and he agreed. After I told him that, he didn’t show up again. In fact, he switched off his phone. I had to call another person, paid more money.
This was something that wouldn’t have cost me more than 60k; I ended up paying over 200k. Plus, the second guy who fixed it came and went through the ceiling; he fixed it that same day and left in 2 hours. This was a job whiich initially wouldn’t take us 3 days it lingered till like 2 weeks.
The second guy lamented that it’s usually when someone is erecting a new building that they would either need bamboo or scaffold. That what the first guy did shows he’s hasn’t done it before.
The first guy hasn’t picked up my call from that time till date. In fact, he blocked me on both WhatsApp and my number. Forgetting that Enugu is small.
Most skilled workers seriously don’t need to be paid in full to save yourself from this kind of problem. Some of them don’t even think about tomorrow. This is normal in this part of the world where people claim to know how to do stuff they haven’t tried before. When it chokes them, they start looking for someone to bail them out.
If you don’t know how to do anything, why not be humble and learn?
Well, between me and the guy, Yadiba.
