This Guy

The week after we moved into our home, I had all types of workers at my house. We had plumbers come out to give us quotes on some projects. An electrician came out to upgrade the service. The Verizon guy was out to install the phone, internet and TV. We had a tree service company cut down a white birch that was infested with carpenter ants. We also had the exterminator stop by to spray and kill any remaining ants.

I did my best to schedule all of these guys on the same day. Much to my surprise they all showed up on the same day. The problem with having all these workers at the house at the same time is that they all like to chat with each other about the "last house I did." And they all try to outdo each other. So, I spent most of my day trying to get the workers to work.

The other problem I ran into was, that, as I would interupt their conversations trying to direct them to stay focused, each and every one of them, I guess from networking, "have this guy" that can do any job I may need to get done.

"Hey Bill, if you are going to get the house painted I have this guy that can do it for you." The electrician tells me.

"Bill I have this guy that can do the cabinets and countertops. I will tell him to stop by and give you a quote." Says a plumber

"You want these bushes removed let me know because I have this guy that can do it real cheap." Explains the exterminator.

They were all just being helpful and nice but by the end of the day it got a bit trying.

Around 4:30, just as most of the workers were finishing up, someone knocked on my door. I looked out the window and saw a heating and air condition truck at the curb. I was tired and I did not feel like dealing with one the guys from "I have this guy". I gritted my teeth and tried my best to look frustrated as I opened the door.

"Can I help you?" I said in my most dickish voice.

The man handed me his business card. "Hi." he said. "I'm Nelson. I own that Heating and Air company." He pointed towards the truck.

I thought this dude is going to try and sell me a service plan and I was not in the mood. "What do you want?" I asked.

"Are you the new owner of the house?" He asked.

"Yeah." Again I was trying to be a jerk.

"Well, congratulations."

I was thinking that he was trying to soften me up so I would allow him to give me the sales pitch.

I started to go back inside as I said, "Look I am not interested in any type of ..."

Nelson cut me off. "I just wanted to say welcome to the neighborhood. I live two houses up the street. If you need anything give me a call."

A few seconds passed and then it registered in my brain. He was not here to sell me something he was just being a nice neighbor and I was being a dick.

I tried talking about kids and the other neighbors but I think I overcompensated for my previous nastiness and I was overly nice. I shook his hand vigorously and thanked him like a hundred times for stopping by.

I think that maybe Nelson thinks that I may be a little nuts.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression and I feel so bad about how I treated Nelson and I don't know how to make it up to him. The only thing that I can think of is by sending business his way. So if you live near me, and you need some HVAC work done, I have this guy.