You just can't get the staff (From Stroud News and Journal)

You just can't get the staff

STREWTH. What a palaver it is trying to get anything done these days. Recently I foolishly thought I would install a shower in my bathroom or rather I would find a plumber to do it for me.

Yes I did fall at the first hurdle all you cynics out there who have ever tried to get a plumber this side of Armageddon. But I am nothing if not tenacious and eventually found three who could squeeze me in before 2010. They all turned up promptly to give me a quote and their enthusiasm was commendable.

They loved the tea I made while they measured up and what they couldn't do with a monkey wrench was nobody's business. Then they went away.. and that's where they stayed. No phone call, no letter. Jilted by three plumbers who had all taken me to the dizzy heights of expecting the job to be done.

Next came the carpenter. Just a simple cupboard upon which to place the tv would do, nothing fancy. No problem, he said, in fact he had a free day Thursday week and would be in and out before I could say jigsaw. In fact he might even be able to do it sooner. That was eight weeks ago and I haven't heard from him since.

My curtains, I have been assured almost daily for three months are 'very nearly' ready but Blair may find WMD in Iraq before they arrive.

BT however, excelled themselves. They very swiftly and efficiently connected my telephone without too much wait. But after the work was completed they sent out three more engineers who rang me on my mobile en route to the SNJ on three separate occasions asking why, when they were standing outside my door, I wouldn't let them in to do the work.

But the biscuit goes to a well known electrical company. I waited three weeks for delivery of my cooker. It did arrive on time. It looked great. But some little niggle had prevented me from inviting six to supper that night. The delivery/connector man suddenly looked sheepish. He didn't have the right sort of cable on the van to connect cookers - he had left that 40 miles away back at the depot.

I won't go on...