We've had a list going of things we were going to do once we were vaccinated. One of those things was Get A New Dishwasher. Ours wasn't broken, per se, but was super annoying. If someone leaned against the counter above, it would either turn on or off, depending on the opposite of what you wanted to be happening. Twice a year, the top rack of dishes would begin to stay dirty after a wash. Fixing it was a half a day project of taking the dishwasher apart to clean out the grinder. Then there were the times that all of the buttons would begin blinking and we'd have to flip the breaker switch in the basement to clear it. Plus, it was our only remaining white appliance in the kitchen, as we had already had to replace all the others which are now stainless steel.
We went to the appliance store, expecting there to be at least a three month wait, as we are aware of the chip shortage for everything under the sun and shipping issues. The salesman steered us towards the two dishwashers that they actually had in stock, and we were quite happy with one of the choices, so we placed the order and arranged for installation.
I happened to read a funny bit on Reddit, where people were talking about repairmen coming to their house who complained about the last person who had done the job (whatever that may be). I had to laugh because this has been my experience every.single.time. Doesn't matter if it's a toilet, furnace, or fireplace, the repair guy complains that the last guy, "didn't know what he was doing." Usually, they will comment that it must have been a do-it-yourselfer, which seems rude to me, because it's like they're pointing the finger at you.
Sure enough, the dishwasher installer wasn't here more than 10 minutes, when he began to moan to me about how the old dishwasher was "just shoved in there without anchors" and that it must have been an "electrician or do-it-yourselfer who installed it." As always, I defended myself/my husband, telling him that the dishwasher was here when we bought the house. Just as I have done with every other home improvement we've had done in the last eight years!
Funny thing is, nothing has fallen apart, despite the terrible workmanship of the last guy(s).
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| Cursed Dishwasher |
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Shiny, New DishwasherAnyone else experience complaints about The Last Guy? |
I think that's a pretty common complaint-the last guy! I have paid to have dishwashers installed and I have done them myself. It's worth it to me to pay, cause they can be a pain to get properly seated and to have on hand (which I wouldn't) whatever you need to make the connections.
ReplyDeletehttps://fromarockyhillside.com
My husband always thinks it’s worth it to pay when plumbing is involved. Otherwise, we will have leaks!
DeleteNo. I am always the last guy and the next guy to do anything around the house. I want a new dishwasher. Once the current one goes, I am going to pay more and get a quiet one. I was always to cheap to pay more for appliances and would get the base models. I stopped that recently with the purchase of my frig.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, this one is really quiet. I guess you wouldn’t complain about your own workmanship! Ha!
Delete"didn't know what he was doing." OMG, that is so funny (and true) because even renting an apartment, the two maintenance guys we have in my building will trash the other maintenance guys work before him! One of the guys is actually very good at his job, however the other one is so careless. So I always agree with the one guy LOL!
ReplyDeleteOkay, and I have to mention how much I love the look of your kitchen. Love the tiled wall and the sink and faucet. VERY nice! And your new stainless steel dishwasher is so sharp-looking!
Congrats on the new appliance!
And have a great week, my friend! X
How funny that it’s happened to you with the two maintenance men! And funny that you diss the other guy with one of them! Thank you for the kitchen praise. The year after we moved in, we replaced the sink and countertops and installed the backsplash. The original design (1991) was mauve Corian counters and a white sink/appliances. I also changed out the cabinet hardware to the long stainless handles. I’m really pleased with what we chose.
DeleteThat is so typical, blame it on the last guy. I love your new dishwasher. It seems like we are always trying to convert to a new color and by the time the last appliance needs to be replaced it's always on to switching to something else. We are working on all stainless now too.
ReplyDeleteI'm still cracking up about accidently calling you Bijoux May the other day, and I really should have caught myself because someone else had recently called me Martha May lol!
We had upgraded all our appliances to stainless at the last house, so it was a bummer when we moved here in 2012 and had to start the process over. I know all white kitchens are popular now, but I have no desire for white cabinets, so we are sticking with this.
DeleteI did notice someone else call me Bijoux May. Some people seem to have an icon between their name and the date on your comments page, but I don’t. I guess next month, I’ll be Bijoux June! Lol!
Wow, Bijoux, now that you mention it, I must have heard that "last guy" bit a million times.
ReplyDeleteThere's an old expression that goes "the absent are always guilty" so I guess it's human nature to point the finger at somebody who ain't around.
My sister-in-law used to do freelance technical writing. She told that there were times she was hired so the regular workers could blame her for a project that had gone off-track.
They'd blame the freelancer and not get fired.
The new dishwasher looks cool, by the way. Enjoy.
Isn’t it crazy that we’ve all experienced this phenomenon? I guess that expression is spot on! Ugh on being hired to take the blame. That would just piss me off.
DeleteThanks; we are enjoying our clean dishes.
I can't speak to appliances, but in the work world, whenever you start a new job "the last guy" is always the one to screw up. I think it's just universal human nature to blame the person who isn't there to defend him/herself, ha!
ReplyDeleteLol, I’m trying to remember that when I worked, but I can’t think of an instance. Maybe it’s not so much errors, but different ways of doing the same thing. And our way is always better!
DeleteThe shiny new dishwasher looks great. And yes we hear a lot about the last guy when someone comes over to install something in our house. Our house was also built in 1959 so that has a lot to do with it as well.
ReplyDeleteOh boy, I can only imagine the complaints with 1959 electrical and plumbing!
DeleteHa! I've had to listen to a 'last guy' complaint too. I like your new dishwasher. I hope it gives you good service for years to come.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Liberty! It’s universal!
DeleteI like your new dishwasher! We need one but I'm afraid what the installers will find because this house was a rental before we bought it for like 12 years and the owners did minimal repairs only as necessary and I'm sure they did the majority themselves so I know we'll hear those famous words "the last guy." Our home in Billings was the same in that the previous owner thought he was a great repairman. Turns out, of course, he wasn't and we paid a lot for his mistakes when we had to get them repaired. Hubby and me learned real early not to try to attempt ourselves to repair anything that involved plumbing or electricity :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the new dishwasher!
betty
Thanks, Betty. I think rentals are notorious for problems because of DIY landlords and renters not taking care of anything because they don’t need to. Yes, my husband gave up on plumbing and electric fixes long ago. It never ended well!
DeleteThis, among other reasons, is why I shun "professionals" in the repair industry. The first few I hired did exactly that same thing, one of whom WAS the last guy though he obviously didn't remember. Should have seen the look on his face when I showed him the bill from the install with his name on it!! And requested that I get a discount on service since I paid for a flawed install.
ReplyDeleteSo now I am that last guy and I keep install manuals around just to embarrass 'em. And to give a reason to dismiss 'em as I find that the ones who complain the most seem to be the ones who botch it up most often. Again, just my experience.
Sure glad I can bumble my way through myself, most of the time.
My Dad was the same way. He could fix anything from a watch to a car. I give my husband props for trying in the past, but he honestly doesn’t have the time or the skill, and never the right tools to get the complicated stuff done. And yes, I did see people online say the same as you; the last guy was often the same guy!
DeleteYears and years of botching it up made me the mad-man I am today! Your husband is smart enough to NOT go through the pains to become handy. And it IS a pain when I wanna hire someone else and Queenie says "But you can do that and I can xxxx with the money we save!!"
Delete:)
My husband’s motto, “It’s not a problem if you have money to throw at it.”
DeleteWe just purchased a new pellet stove to replace a failing unit and had to pay for 'professional' installation in order to get an incentive from the state. Big mistake. Five visits it took for them to get it done and I finished the work myself to keep from having to let them in a 6th time. It was pathetic.
DeleteWhat in the world?
DeleteRight? It started out all innocent, manufacturing defect. Then they showed up with the wrong part. Then they found the right part but an hour after they left a service panel fell off. They came to fix that panel and installed another one incorrectly. Oh, and scraped off paint all over the back. Then smoke started leaking out of the chimney pipe every time it started up because of a defective pipe (so they claimed, I think they installed it improperly). They fixed that, then improperly installed the access panels again. The State incentive was $1500 if we paid the $600 install fee. Was not worth it.
DeleteI used to hear that line about "the last guy" quite often in the past, but I haven't heard it for a while now. Probably because everyone's heard it and they know it's just a line to make the present guy sound professional. Talking of dishwashers, there was a brand new dishwasher when we moved into this house but it never worked properly. There was always a pool of dirty water left in the machine. Four or five engineers looked at it but couldn't work out what the fault was. We've been washing up by hand ever since.
ReplyDeleteThat is a shame that the dishwasher was new but didn’t function properly. I guess you decided you didn’t need one!
Deleteoooh what a lovely dishwasher, I want to change mine now! I don't think we have had any complaints about the last guy.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I really like its sleek look.
DeleteThey've never outright complained about "the last guy", but I know they are probably thinking it. My husband thinks he's Mr. Fix It, but he always half asses the job then has to call the repairman to fix what he couldn't LOL. We're always up front though and say, "hey, we tried fixing it ourselves so we probably left you a mess, but we're happy you're here to fix it now." Usually makes them feel good about themselves, even if they are cursing us under their breath.
ReplyDeleteMy husband really wanted to be a Mr. Fix because both of our dads were good at that sort of thing. He has many talents, but that’s just not one of them! What you tell your repairman is what I do when I get a haircut! Lol, I always admit to trimming my bangs myself so she doesn’t think she was drunk the last time she cut my hair!
DeleteThat's hilarious! My friend is a hair dresser and gets ticked when I go cheap and use a box dye to cover my greys. I'll trim my own bangs between sessions too that she always has to fix. I suppose I want to be a Mrs. Fix It when it come to hair and I clearly have no talent for it either hahaha!
DeleteIt’s just hard to cut your own hair. Since Covid, I’ve been going to a friend, too. She’s not trying to sell me product and seems to think drugstore shampoo, color, hairspray are fine. I’m seriously thinking about never going back to the salon because it ends up being less than half the cost and no waiting or smelling fumes!
DeleteI hate saying it, but I hate going to the salon. I feel like hairdressers are the most judgemental people on the planet, and that includes my friend. It seems like every one of her facebook posts is griping about what her clients want done in the way of trendy hair or how she has to fix their at home jobs all of the time. I don't see anything wrong with boxed dye. To the untrained eye (which most of us are) you really can't tell the difference between a home job and a salon job. Well, unless it's really botched, then I recant that statement.
DeleteOh wow! I went to the same stylist for 28 years.I think because the clientele is older, I didn’t see any of that. My complaints have been about cost and wait time. They are always way behind on appointment times. I do feel bad about ghosting someone I’ve had such a long relationship with, but maybe Covid just gave me my out!
DeleteDear Bijoux! Your brand new dishwasher looks great. I dont enjoy "last guy" or "last guys". Generally they come late, they dont smile etc....
ReplyDeleteHaha, you’re correct. Always late and not very friendly!
DeleteKen was an apartment maintenance guy so he was always coming home with stories about how the last maintenance man had no idea what he was doing when he installed a toilet, faucet, hot water heater, ect. It always made me laugh.
ReplyDeleteI bet Ken had great stories about the crap he saw! There are a lot of clueless people out there.
DeleteThat is hilarious and SO true. I've had this happen with my plumbers even though I've used the same company for 20 years; they're throwing each other under the bus. I love your new one-I have a feeling you're going to enjoy it for a long time and the fact that it won't go off and on so easily.
ReplyDeleteIt’s nuts that they complain about plumbers in the same business! Yes, we are already enjoying its quietness compared to the last one.
DeleteI'm laughing because every person who came to look at our deck said the same thing except for the guy we hired. He commended the workmanship of the previous guy and said that it would save us money because the foundation of the deck was solid. It was part of the reason we went with him! The dishwasher looks great, but I'm loving your kitchen cabinets and backsplash. If I was to redo my kitchen, it would be to look very similar to yours.
ReplyDeleteOk, that’s crazy that your deck guy said the opposite of the others! Glad your foundation is a good one. Thank you! The cabinets are a ‘pickled oak.’ I guess it was popular in the 90’s when this house was built. The original owner was a pink fanatic and the counters were a mauve Corian. We’ve removed almost all traces of pink except the half bath tile and flooring. I tried to get someone to remodel it two years ago, but couldn’t find anyone willing to do a half bath. It’s super hard to find anyone to do anything, which will be another post!
DeleteI'm thankful to have a husband who can pretty much do everything so the last time we bought a dishwasher he installed it himself! Your dishwasher looks nice!
ReplyDeleteThat is very lucky!! Thank you!
DeleteWe had an issue with our dishwasher and called out a repair guy who fixed it, but it cost nearly as much as a new one would have cost, so we regret it now.
ReplyDeleteAnd no I don't tend to find one workman blaming another, as usually they come from the same company. :D
It’s a ripoff to get appliances fixed, as well as televisions. It does seem like for another $100, you can get brand new.
DeleteCongratulations on the new dishwasher! It's so nice to have one that works well, every time. EVERYTHING in our house seems to have been done badly by the last guy. We notice it, too, though, which means it's really, really bad when the two of us, who aren't even close to being pros, can tell how bad it was. The people we bought our house from owned a ton of rental properties, and were in way over their heads when everything crashed in 2008. They were selling things off in a hurry, and from talking with neighbors who also bought some of their properties, just did enough to make things look nice and look fixed and repaired.
ReplyDeleteOh boy. Sounds like landlords living up to their reputation. I hope you at least got a decent deal for the house.
DeleteI had never heard this "last guy" lament before, most likely because my husband has been the first and last guy who worked on some of the appliances in our homes. Now that we are living in an apt, none of the appliances belong to us, and so the "last guy" would be whatever maintenance or outside contractor was called in for servicing. We also have a stainless steel DW unit and fridge as well and they are notorious to keep shiny, just saying.
ReplyDeleteAnother of my commenters that lives in an apt complex says that their two maintenance men complain about each other. It seems universal!
DeleteYes! Yes! Yes, and absolutely irrevocably YES!!!! I have been saying this since time immemorial. EVERY time someone comes to fix something -- or you GO to have something fixed -- the LAST GUY is the one who gummed up the works. I don't care if it's clearing a sluggish drain (WHY did that guy put THAT sink in here, with THAT drain cover, the last plumber said) to brain surgery (I don't exactly have an anecdote for that one but just give me time), no matter what the situation, it's always the fault of the guy who went before. It is like some kind of blame phenomenon. LOVE your new dishwasher! xoxo
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Exactly! You have to wonder if it’s just their way to try to impress you or if they need to put others down to feel good about themselves? So nutty! Thanks for visiting! I’ll stop by your place shortly.
DeleteOh man, I've actually been on both ends of this. Having spent many years in apartment maintenance I've been in a unit repairing or re-repairing something that was historically problematic and was told by the apparently forgetful resident that the "last guy" blah, blah, blah, etc., etc., etc., and I was actually that last guy. In my defense, all I can say is that older complexes with strict or no budgets force one to get creative.
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense! Thanks for giving the other side of the story.
Deletehahaha I've heard that soooo many times. The last guy's fault. Pffft. on and on they go. Now some things are crappy workmanship, but some people just don't want to do the extra work and when they have to they whine about the last guy. That must have been a pain that it would turn on when randomly hit. New for the win.
ReplyDeleteGlad I made you laugh, Pat!
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