We ordered our sprinklers blown by company ABC.

Joe-Bob arrived for the appointment. He was indeed the person assigned, since they called me on the phone to report that he was outside, since I'd not answered the doorbell because I was putting Katherine down for a nap. I also didn't answer the phone, but, fortunately, listened to it first thing on getting downstairs, so that I could go racing out the door and grab him just as he was starting his motor. But I digress.

Joe-Bob did the deed with a smile, then, after I'd written the check for company ABC, said, "Let me give you a sticker, too, so you remember us next year." Well, that's fine, and, since we were dumping the last company we used, I wanted to be sure and get that sort of reminder.

He handed me a pair of stickers for company XYZ, which I didn't notice until I got inside.

ABC and XYZ have different phone numbers, though both are in the Yellow Pages. ABC's address is not there, so I don't know if they are the same companies or not.

So, was Joe-Bob really working for XYZ, or does he have XYZ as his own personal sidelight, and was doing contract work for ABC, and this is his way to drum up more business?

Should I report him to ABC for trying to drum up business for a competitor? Might have been innocent (if XYZ is really ABC under a different name). Or he might do contract work for both firms, and just handed out the wrong sticker.

Should I use XYZ in the future instead of ABC? The quality of the job was only fair (but adequate), but the cost was higher than I was used to. But the price might have been set by ABC (and even the quality, though that's less likely).

Filed under :: Big Business
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