Painters

Last summer Chris and I needed to get our house painted, and being small business owners ourselves, we thought we would get estimates from some independent companies, as well as big corporations. Every spring we get a bunch of flyers in our mail box from local landscapers, painters, etc., so Chris thought he'd give one of them a shot; so he called them up and they came over for an estimate.

The appointment was made for 4:00 p.m., at 4:40 we received a phone call that went like this:

Painter: What's your address again?
Chris: It's 1726 Peach Street.
Painter: Well I'm standing here in your backyard.
Chris: No you're not, because I'm standing in my backyard.
Painter: No, I'm standing in your backyard, I'm looking right at your pool.
Chris: We don't have a pool.
Painter: Yes you do! I'm looking right at it!

-Pause-

Painter: What's your address again?
Chris: 1726 Peach Street.

- Pause-

Painter: Oh, I guess I'm on Plum Street...give me 5 minutes

5 minutes later a man showed up in cut-off acid washed denim shorts, flip flops, and a Metallica t-shirt. He was smoking a cigarette and reeked of alcohol.

Painter: My, uh, business associate will be here in a minute, she has the "portfolio"

Moments later a 1983 Chevrolet Malibu pulled into our driveway, and a woman emerged carrying a photo album, and wearing nothing but an over sized Looney Tunes t-shirt...literally nothing else, not pants, no shoes, just a Tazmanian Devil Tee

Painter: Ahh yes, my "portfolio"...Brandi, if you please...

The "portfolio" contained pictures that were clearly out of magazines, and not even remotely plausible pictures: there were parts of the White House, sections Buckingham Palace, and I believe, even, the Taj Mahal

Chris: Well this certainly is impressive...umm we'll let you know!

Moral of the story: take chances on small businesses, even if it doesn't work out, you could end up with a good story!