Another nutter

Sometimes I really really think we have this ability to attract strange people....here is yet another one....

So hubby is always on at me that my car is a mess.  I beg to differ - it is an organised mess. There is everything in there that could be needed.  Now to the naive onlooker it could look like a dirty, cluttered vehicle...but as I point out to hubby, try driving around with kids in the car and see how YOU do.  We spend so many hours in the car that I do let them eat and drink in there and especially with the colder weather, there are muddy footptints etc. However, in my defense, we have an industrial vacuum in the garage - I use it regularly.  All the car seat covers were washed just last week - and I put the car through the automatic car wash just last Thursday.

HOWEVER, hubby likes really clean cars.  So much so that he had saved an advert from the local advertiser paper about a mobile detailing service.  So I called this guy on Thursday.  He sounded a little strange.  Sad it was $60 (30 quid) an hour and that he would bring his own stuff.  He was a little strange about times - saying he would need to start by 1pm to allow him enough time to finish.....and did we have shade as he didn't like the sun?  So we agreed that Sun afternoon he would come over and detail the car - I was not 100% sure when we would be back as we were in the mountains again but we agreed that I would call him as I got near home today (this morning).

As it turned out we came home quite early this morning so I called him around 11am to say we were here if he wanted to make it earlier than the 1pm.  I unloaded everything from the car and threw away the trash that was there too.  It needed a good clean but wasn't too bad.  Really.  When I checked my messages there were 2 from him in 2 days - one leaving me his cell phone number and another saying he may be here more like 1.30 than 1.  I called and left him another message on his cell phone to say we were here. I had the right number but was a little put off as his answering message said something like 'Bob's massage clinic..' no mention of his car detailing service.

Anyhow - he arrived at 2 - no explanation for his being late.  He was a little cold.  Fine.  Showed him my car which was parked outside the garage and what we wanted doing.  I said we wanted him just for 2 hours.  He looked amazed at this.  I said I wanted him to concentrate on the inside - and he said 'So maybe 1 1/2 hrs on the inside, just 1/2 hr on the outside?' and I agreed.  He mentioned waxing the car and I said maybe - to see how it went - but no more than 2  1/2 hrs tops (which still in my mind was a lot of money).  He saw my industrial vacuum and asked if he could use it.  NO problem.

Hubby sees him and says hi.  He starts just after 2. I don't see or hear a lot of progress.  I am sorting things in the garage and he doesn't talk to me at all. He is still vacuuming on and off after 1 1/2 hrs.  I ask him how he thinks it's going and he says ok. 

After 2 hours he hasn't even washed the car.  At all.  I ask him when he is expecting to be done.  He says weeks.  I say 'no seriously' and he says 'well I am not really detailing it, just cleaning it..and now it is getting too cold to even wash it - it will freeze.'  So I say, when will you be done then?  And he says 5.  That means now 3 hours even though we'd agreed 2 - 2 1/2 for inside and out plus wax.  I figure he is must be making a good job seeing as how he is taking his time.  5 o' clock - he is still vacuuming.  Hubby goes out and tells him he needs the car - he says he'll be done at 5.15.

At 5.25 he knocks on the door with a scribbled invoice for $190.  I ask him if he thinks this is fair....

"What do you mean?" he says...

"Well, we agreed on 2 to 2 1/2 hrs for the inside and the outside and it waxed and you have taken far longer and there is nothing cleaned on the outside....I'[ll still have to take it to a car wash.  $190 seems a lot for just a 1/2 clean car."

"I did a good job!" he yells. 

"But this wasn't the price we agreed..."I say.

"What sort of person are you?" he yells?

"Sorry?" I ask

"Where are you from ANYWAY?" he yells?

"What?" I say in disbelief...?

"Give me my money or I'll sue you!"  he yells....

"Now wait a minute,"I say, "We agreed 2 1/2 hrs tops.  You haven't done all the work."

"You didn't come out after 2 1/2 hrs!" he says smuggly.

"What am I, your timekeeper?  You weren't even here on time.  You rolled up at 2.  I had left you messages that you could come earlier - you didn't even come as we'd arranged...'

"I called you twice.  Yesterday." he says.

"Well we were out of town in the mountains!"  I say

"Well what were you doing in the mountains?' he yells - seriously.

At this point I tell him I am getting my husband,  I am in my house - he is stood in my garage which is attached to my house and as I go to shut the door he puts his foot in the way and yells at me to give him his money.  Hubby comes to see what is going on and gets the guy into the garage.  The guy says to call the cops.  I am tempted.  I let hubby talk to him but this guy is getting more irrate.  We ask him to leave - he wants his money.  There is a lot of yelling going on and I am antsy to say the least.  Through the door I hear the guy yelling strange things!

"you don't know who you're dealing with!' - erm, yes you gave us your card - you clean windows and cars for a living - the massage line - well don't even want to go there.

"I will get you deported.." but we're here LEGALLY.

"I did a great job - it was a pigsty.  Bad fucking housekeeping on your part - just look at this garage - the floors are disgusting...."

Here is a  photo of our garage.

Garage

3 car garage - since the photo was taken it is filled a little more....

with some bikes in, an Audi Q7 and an Aston Martin DB9.  And this is from a guy who arrived in a 20 year old beat up toyota hatchback (not that there is anything wrong with that at all....but the very fact that he is so critical of us...pisses me off big time.)

'I will finsh you off!' he yells 'you'll be cleaning windows!' was another thing.

"Where are you from anyway!  You don;t know who I am.  I've been doing this for 23 years!'  Wow- must be raking in the money then.

"My dad has 9 kids you know!  Call the cops.  I want the cops."

'Why don't you clean your own cars you lazy fuck?' he yelled at hubby.  To which hubby replied - yes in a snobbish way 'Look at my cars!  Why would I clean them? Yours isn't lookiing that great!'  to which the nutter replied "It's a TOYOTA!  There is nothing wrong with it!" 

And I KNOW there is nothing wrong with a Toyota...that wasn't what was meant at all.  But his was dirtier than mine by far....despite his critisising mine...oh and our garage.

So I called 911 and explained what was going on.  Meanwhile hubby is getting him to back out of the garage.  He does.  The as hubby comes back to walk in our house, this guy runs at hubby with his dustpan and brush.  I mean charges at him.....

Absolute fruitcake.

*****

I stay on the line with dispatch - giving the info about the man - his car license plate, a description....do I think he is a threat - yeah, probably - has he been drinking - I don't know but he seems very unstable.

Police arrive within minutes - one talks to us and another to him.  We show ID etc.  We say we will pay him what was agreed on and no more - he needs to leave our property - he didn't despite our requests etc.

Meanwhile he is swearing his head off about us to his officer...and the Officer warns him not to talk like that.  He continues and the officer says he will arrest him for using that language in a public place.

He is yelling at them, and me about my sloppy housekeeping.  Our officer's eyes are nearly popping out of his head. We say we just want him to leave and never come back. 

They ask us if we want to press charges.  We decline.

They say we do not need to pay him if we are not happy with his work - there was no contract.  They see for themselves he has not cleaned the car properly. We give him the agreed amount - this was fair.  They get him to agree not to come back or have contact with us again.....he storms off doing 40 in the 25mph zone we live in.  The Police are really nice and one of the cars follows him out. 

Nutter.  Absolutey.  I told hubby.  NO more workers here we don't know.  Security guard or not (we called to get them to watch for him and he patrols 24 hrs but even so). 

Drive through car wash from now on.  $30 and $5 tip.  NO talking back apart from 'Lady - you're ready!'

*****

Thinking afterwards I was freaked and not by this 50 yr old running at hubby..but by his being so off the rails.  We had friends over last night who were telling us they had recently bought a couple of guns.  They had gone to the store, given their ID (drivers licenses) and social security numbers and had expected that it would be quite a while before they would be approved..... the guy told them to go grab a coffee and come back.  They had 2 hand guns and as much ammunition as they wanted within 90 minutes.  Oh and they ciould have then bought whatever they wanted ....semi automatics etc....and need to doctor them?  Just look it up on line.

It is scary that yes, a quick FBI database check and anyone, no matter how unstable can be armed.