Help needed!!

[Bjornstar]

Hello all, I have a bit of a problem regarding some 'gardeners'. DH is furious with me as he asked me to contact these people to arrange some cutting back of hedges to our garden.

Two men came to quote - an older man in 70's and his son (presumably) in mid forties. They gave me a quote of ?330 and I relayed this to DH later that night - explained there was an older man too and they would take the rubbish away included in price. DH thought it was a fair price.

This morning, they showed up on time as promised but DH not very happy as the older man was stood there holding a ladder. He said I didnt tell him the man was older (when I did) and feels ripped off as it is just one man getting stuck in. DH has just called me at work to say they are now asking to borrow our ladder as theirs was stolen, and they only have a little hedge trimmer 1m long (like the one he has). There is no way they are going to be able to do all of what we ask.

DH said it is clear they are not gardeners and is really cross with me. I suggested he tell them to just do the front garden if they do not have the proper equipment to do it all and just pay for what they can do.

DH is reluctant as he believes they are travellers and is worried they will come back for the rest of the money later.

I know I have made an error here but it is done now. What would you do to rectify it?!!!

Anyone?!!!

He's 'furious' with you? I had a husband like this, now XDH. What exactly does he think you did wrong? The price quoted was to get the job done,doesn't matter if one or ten people do it.

However, it might have been better if you shopped around - where did you find these guys?

He asked you to contact them and now he's furious with you? What did you say to him?

It was a leaflet that came through the letterbox and DH asked me to phone them to arrange a quote which I did. They turned up promptly and it didnt bother me that the man was old - thought nothing of it and agreed to the quote. I double checked this with DH that night and he was ok with it too.

Now he is really cross as he said they are clearly not landscapers but travellers and expected that I would be better at picking people!

He got out of bed on wrong side anyway, i took him a coffee in bed and when he woke up it was cold and he spilt it on his feet as he took it to microwave to heat it up. Then the landscapers turned up and he was v stressed when he saw them. He said he doesnt like being ripped off.

Your problems are bigger than some shoddy gardeners.

i took him a coffee in bed and when he woke up it was cold and he spilt it on his feet as he took it to microwave to heat it up.

That is a minor annoyance, not a cause of being "v stressed".

Maybe SliceofSoup - but I am quite clumsy and things do go wrong for me! I think he gets frustrated by me!

Can you give some other examples?

Yes I was recently on holiday and we hired a boat for the day and I was stood up as he went over a big wave a bit fast and I tumbled and as I fell, I snapped off a bit of the windscreen.

Later that day, I managed to drop some elctronic objects in the sea. They fell out of my bag as I was trying to pull the boat towards me.

Other than that, not usually clumsy,it has just happened in space of week.

Those things are not especially clumsy.

The bottom line is that if he was so worried about being ripped off he should have sorted out the gardener himself. Them not being up to HIS standard is not within YOUR control.

Is he often very stressed out over minor things? Are you often walking on egg shells around him because of that?

Yes he does react badly to things like this. The atmosphere immediately changed when he realised they looked like travellers and he was parting with ?300 to a non landscaper. Not pleased at all. Yes I suppose I am walking on egg shells a lot. He is displeased a lot.

Wwid? Tell him to deal with it and refuse to comply with such pa tactics, setting you up to inevitably fail, in future.

That is his issue. It is not because you are clumsy or anything else.

We all get frustrated at other people at times, and people make mistakes. But HE decided the gardeners were not acceptable, and you came on here asking how YOU should rectify the situation. If the gardeners are not to his liking then HE needs to go out to them and say "sorry guys but we no longer need your services, here is £X for the work already completed." And then HE needs to find another gardener and arrange a quote.

This didn't happen because you are clumsy or frustrating.

Yes I know. Everything always ends up my fault! Even if he is the out of order one!