Hello strangers - not posted for a while!
Outside the house nxt door but one they have cordoned off the road in both directions & diverted traffic due to them having to dig road up to lay new gas supply to end house. They started this morning. The teenage boy nxt door but one to me the other way is severely autistic & hyperactive, & has learning difficulties but is a lovely kid. He is basically akin to an adult sized 6 yr old, and when I was in my driveway lastnight he came up to me and said how excited he was about all the diggers etc arriving today as he wanted to watch them. I knew he would be there the sec they arrived, and wasn’t sure how the workmen would take to being watched . Sure enough 1st thing this morning,in the rain, he was out there standing by the road blocks watching them, following them up and down whenever they moved.
About half hr ago I decided to go and offer them a cup of tea/coffee in this horrible weather, and he was still standing with them. I casually said to them, in a joking manner, was he helping them, and their response shocked me. They grinned and said yes, he was keeping a close eye on them, and that they have given him ear defenders(ear blocks) to help him do a good job. I looked at him and sure enough he was proudly wearing his headfones.They then said that after their coffee break they are going to start up the big digger and are going to show him from a distance how it works and shout out to him what bits do what etc
Honestly, you couldn’t imagine a bigger grin on this kids face - he looked in utter heaven. Not normal teenage smoking/drinking/etc, just big diggers!!
Maybe it's the only thing BG manages to get right ? Certainly their customer service and ability to bill properly, and avoid demanding money while telling lies to try to justify it, nor their failing to have the engineers availabke to do agreed jobs at the booked time, doesn't show them in a good light
Certainly their customer service and ability to bill properly, and avoid demanding money while telling lies to try to justify it,
Just dont write that ! very sore point: I have a credit black mark for not paying under these circumstances
and all I got from Karen Clinton of BG ( customer assistance supervisor) was an assurance that screwing my credit rating was done in the best parsible taste ( and stayed).
What's more the service they gave they rated themselves as near to perfect as one can do in this world
I’m still watching them all from my window and even I’m quite teary watching them all. True to their word they are in the digger, well one of them is, and one is standing with Nathan pointing it out and obviously explains what does what. This kid is bigger than him! Yet he is being so compassionate with him and so patient. Just lovely to see.
As they always have done, PP. How would you deal with people who don't pay their bills and owe huge amounts of money with no prospect of repaying it. Better than cutting them off.
I'm surprised that it's actually British Gas...whenever gas work is done around here, it's contractors who do it (same with water and electricity work).
gingejbee - it might actually be a sub- contractor, I can’t see the sides of their vans since they moved them earlier. But it was British Gas who came and did all the inspecting, etc etc. and we’re here yesterday.Assumed they have then turned up this morn to physically do the digging/pipe laying etc but will stand corrected if I’m wrong.
Otherwise I'm not feeling chuffed with Br. Gas, who have just deducted £400 from the church a/c as this month's payment of the electricity bill! It's because the Churchwarden was on holiday last month and didn't read the meter.
It's usually miniscule in Summer. Good job we had the funds to cover it, but now we have the fuss of sorting it out. :(
Nice story Smow but it will not be British Gas doing the supply to the house. It will be Cadent, or some other contractor, who deal with all mains supply. British Gas are responsible for the gas in your home, not TO your home.
Cadent are very good with young people. They always try to encourage them into the business with Work Experience, especially females!