DEAR ABBY: I moved to a smaller city from a larger one seven years ago. There are fewer businesses here. I often struggle to get home repairs done because people here operate on “regional time,” meaning they get to stuff when they feel like it, if they feel like doing it.
Some of my home repairs had to wait nine to 12 months. Often, I receive no response to my inquiries. What they call regional time, I call rude, inconsiderate and a waste of time.
It’s not like I can take my business elsewhere, because they realize they are the only business in town that can do the needed repairs. I have tried things like buying them lunch when they show up in a reasonable amount of time to thanking them for their “outstanding” service, but it seems to have no effect on improving service in the future. Any thoughts on how to light a fire under them? — PROMPT IN CANADA
DEAR PROMPT: You might offer these tradespeople a generous gratuity if they show up in a reasonable amount of time and do a satisfactory job. Other than this, my only suggestion would be, in light of the emotional cost of dealing with these issues in a small community, to consider returning to the big city.
DEAR ABBY: I’m a married professional woman with three kids, a demanding job and responsibility for my aging parents. I don’t have a lot of downtime. Really, there isn’t ANY downtime. I’m barely balancing the things on my plate and caring for my family.