Bit of a dilemma with a tradesman. A friend of mine has recently gone out on his own as a carpenter. Known him for donkey’s years and wanted to give him a bit of a leg up, so I got him in to do quite a bit of work: building in our stairs, some bunk beds, wardrobes and bench seating. He’s just starting out, so I wasn’t expecting perfection, and he’s not charging top dollar. But it’s still around 8 grand’s worth of work, so not exactly pocket change.
The problem is, he’s been pretty careless. He managed to get glue on our carpet, a patch about the size of a palm. He had carpet protector down but missed a spot, and this kind of thing just shouldn’t happen. He also leans offcuts and rubbish up against our expensive cream curtains. One piece had glue on it and stuck to them. Luckily it came off with just a small mark, but still, it’s not on. Then there’s the rubbish. He’s been chucking it in the front garden and it ended up all through the bush, damaging it.
He’s generally pretty messy and it’s starting to really get on my nerves. I want to help him out, but at the same time there has to be a bit of respect for our home. That being said, the work he has done has been good, not amazing but good and a good price. What would you say to a tradesman, especially a friend, who’s being a little careless?