Much More Than a 9 to 5 Job

03 February 2011

Isn't it funny what a difference a day can make? Yesterday I was incredibly stressed out knowing that the new tenant in the top flat was due to move in that afternoon. I was up at 5.30am (I should have just stayed the night there!) and was cleaning and touching up walls and paint for three hours.

But I am thankfully able to say that the job is now finished and the tenant has moved in and she is over the moon with it. Obviously she came to look at the place when it was literally just a shell and now it has new everything. She didn't even complain about the stairs and pointed out that she gets the advantage of the view.

The funny thing is that I didn't even take a minute to appreciate that. The bedroom looks out over green fields, with a church in the distance. It is picture perfect and I failed to even notice. Typical. Wood for the trees is the saying, I believe.

Despite this I did give her a hand with her furniture as I was making a start on the middle flat. It was a case of me heading down the stairs with the old bath and piles of ripped off plasterboard and her coming up with armfuls of books. I felt like that didn't really make sense as there wasn't enough room for both of us. So I did the gentlemanly thing and offered my assistance.

For that I have been promised plenty of cups of tea while I am working here, can't ask for better than that I guess! Oh, her name is Eva and what a lovely lady. Don't start getting any ideas, those of you who have their minds in the gutter. She is a good 15 years older than me and not quite my type!

It did make me think about how often us builders are told what a good job we have done. It seems as though most people have no idea the amount of effort which is required to take their kitchen from a 1970's bombsite into a sleek and modern, appliance filled room. Many of them seem to think that as long as they are paying for it then they have the right to just walk off without a word of thanks.

The thing is that for us builders (the vast majority anyway) getting things right and making sure it looks great is a labour of love. We think about it when we aren't even on site. We wander around B&Q or the timber yard looking for the exact right item for the client’s needs. Then we take the time to ask them exactly what they want and accommodate them as far as possible.

It is so much more than just a nine to five job. Our reputations are on the line every time

we sign off a job. If we have put in less effort than we should then we know it will come back to bite us on the proverbial. It isn't like most jobs where the boss usually takes the can. We are in charge of our work and we work hard to get it right.

A pat on the back and a word of thanks is all we ask for. Oh, a bonus might be nice too!