A have spent the last four days finishing my new bathroom. I had paid two builders what in local terms is a fortune for a refit but their work was just dreadful. They usually arrived about midday and some days did not turn up at all. They left rubble and rubbish all over the flat - I still have a WC and plasterboard sitting in the staircase, they had no tools but kept using mine, they had no work lamps and no means of transport. Picking up something from the hardware shop was a big drama for them and they kept asking for money in advance... and I stupidly gave it to them.
The work was to take just two weeks but they were still here in the third week with little done and us caked in dust and debris. After pestering them for detailed invoices, they eventually presented me with hastily scribbled notes with prices for each fitting that amounted to over 10 pounds for every hole drilled. Not even solicitors get paid that much. After the last cash handout they promised to finish off what they had started but I haven't heard from them since.
On closer inspection of the bathroom I see now just how awful they were. Nothing has been sawed in a straight line, the floorboards are damaged as they put no protection down, silicone and filler has been used to disguise the shockingly shoddy state of their work. My mistake was that I didn't keep a closer eye on what they were up to. They had no tools.
And yet I was so kind to them. I gave them 30 quid each just for carrying a table upstairs for me. In Lodz the average salary is less than 500 quid a month and for labourers much less. Friends have often warned me about being too nice... "You must be more Polish," they say, ie. hard and untrusting. I see now that it is true. I've been ripped off once too often. Those two jokers were obviously not builders and yet came on the recommendation of a friend's builder. I was an easy target, after having lived here for so long I should have known better. THEY HAD NO TOOLS.
