Collect in-store next week?
Woke to a freezing cold house and in the throes of a mild hangover, my day didn’t really start until the early afternoon.
The night before it had suddenly dawned on me that the reason I had to pack out that timber in the attic, while supporting the joists, was because a part of the ceiling was sagging.
This wasn’t good, basically the whole area above the void crowning the stairwell had moved and if I’d attempted to fit the new loft staircase… or if I’d tried to crawl out over this bit of roof then it could have all collapsed. Worse still it could have fallen down with me on it, not just into the room below but down the void left by the stairs right down to the ground floor.
Anyway my day was spent on the internet figuring out what to do, what to do involved props, bottle jacks, joist supports and lots of hardware. Searching around I found the best mix of these items was supplied by ToolStation, so online I ventured and ninety odd quid later I had a basket full of bits, having checked the Darlington stock levels, I then had this bundle of bits and bobs reserved for pickup in their store.
Or so I thought.
The Darlington store is a thirty minute drive, forty with the roadblock I found halfway. Anyway it was time and diesel I could ill afford. Getting into the store I was asked for my details and told that as I’d bought it on the internet the delivery would be Monday. Now hang on. I’d ordered to collect from the store, all the items are in stock and even in the checkout it had confirmed that these items were in stock…. So even though this was the case it wasn’t going to be a classic collect from store, it was an order delivered from the depot and upon arrival it was then a collect from store.
I nearly got annoyed.
But I didn’t.
After some negotiating the only solution was to buy it all there and then from the current stock and on Monday I would have to turn up at the store and cancel my order in person.
Which I did – actually when I did cancel it the lovely girl (she was a thoroughly patient and nice girl) made me sign to cancel, then she split the cartons open from the delivery in front of me and made me sit through her putting them out on the shelves. This took ten minutes, actually ten minutes I found that I’d didn’t need to spend there and she could have just sent me away after signing the forms. I however was returning some items so once she’d finished I sprung these on her too. I doubt she was being vindictive, she was such a nice girl, it just seemed like it could have potentially been a waste of my time. Perhaps there was a good reason for it. Still I was polite and patient all the time, it’s the only way to be.
Anyway I got home and it was really too cold now to work, I finished off the work on the computer, set out the electric fires, one insisted on fusing the electrics every time I switched it on. I started my washing and dish-washing and then I fitted out the car with rough weather kit for the ensuing winter in the hills.
Too cold – I need my plumber.
Oh and the plumber who’d delayed his visit from Friday didn’t get in touch, I texted him twice and then once to tell him I had to go out shopping, nothing…
Still that seems to be the case for most plumbers, I hope the chap I met yesterday will turn out better, he seemed a good guy.