The Deliciousness of Karma

Occasionally, something memorable happens during my day that makes me pause and appreciate the goodness in other people. These things always seem to follow on the heels of doing some kind deed, so for that very reason I believe strongly in karma.

Last Thursday the sickening sight of dirty drain water rising back into the basin of our kitchen sink really brightened my day. No amount of plunging, Liquid Plumber (which apparently is a big no-no), time, hot water, a 20 foot snake, general man power, and of course my super human arm strength could provide me with an empty sink. As a bonus, the filthy water eventually began draining into the dishwasher which would then over spill onto the kitchen floor.

The man did all he could, but we were in need of a plumber.

Mr. Eli and Mr. Andre (I'm giving these guys their actual names because there was no other negative feature to distinguish them by) arrived at their designated appointment time. Not only were these two gentlemen professional, but they were actually kind and sympathetic. Mr. Eli noticed my vibrant paint palette, which I dutifully gave credit to my mother in law for, and Mr. Andre also had his own 4 boys and a girl to relate to.

Both guys covered their shoes with disposable booties and politely introduced themselves before going straight to my sad sink.

The job was scheduled as a $79.99 any drain, clear your clog special. Although, while I was folding laundry I began to hear words like "roots" and "grease" and "jet" and "roof" and "bust up the tile", and I knew deep in my soul that my hopes for a $79.99 fix were sneaking out the window.

Mr. Eli broke the news to me gently, but confidently. They needed to get Santa-y and hop up on the roof to snake the roof vents. Bummer dude...this job was priced at $152, but the good news was my cost never built up, it just invested itself. The money I would have paid for the standard drain unclog went towards the cost of the new attempt. I like investments, I hate expensive.

Less than an hour turned into a few hours, and before we knew it the guys were waiting on another Mr. Plumber to come provide a second opinion and a cost estimate. Mr. Eli didn't seem to be feeling well, and Mr. Andre insisted they never take lunch breaks anyways. If it were my man out there working through lunch, he'd be a grumpy fool, so I fed them. A ham, pepperoni, salami, lettuce, and swiss sandwich seemed to be a very welcomed lunch on the job for the two devoted plumbers. I also threw in a warm bottle of water from the garage, but Mr. Andre said it didn't matter...lunch was great!

Fast forward through the hour we all spent waiting for Mr. Plumber to arrive. He came as promised, and we know now this man as Mr. Brad (also worthy of a proper title). Mr. Brad tells me he's from a family of 8 sisters, and he just adopted his 16 year old half brother, so he's on the up and up when it comes to big families. I should say so!

I'm going to touch briefly on the camera work, the black "pudding" as he called it, the near tears eyes, and the man leaving for work, and from there we'll move on to verdict part of the story. Mr. Brad says there is no way around it, the clog is grease buildup mixed with cast iron scale and general debris which created a hard "pudding". No water was going through it, and even when the snake poked through, the "pudding" immediately closed around the puncture wound as soon as the snake was pulled back. We risked possible corrosion behind the clog because this has likely been building up for quite awhile...as in years, which I hear as "not my fault". We have two options: dig up the kitchen tile and replace the piping, or hydro jet our pipes and restore them to their day 1 operating status. Option number 2 was cheaper and more practical, but still pricey...$1600.

Hmm...I can live without a kitchen sink for awhile, right?

Mr. Andre and Mr. Eli become bystanders at this point, so it was all up to me and Mr. Brad. I don't have $1600, and in light of the fact that I just bought a brand new van, plane tickets to Kansas, plane tickets to California, plane tickets to Tampa, and a security system...I'm close to broke. Mr. Brad says he'll do it for $998 (remember the investment policy).

This is around the time the man leaves for work, and the near tear eyes come out. It was starting to look hopeless and my days were going to be filled with washing dishes in my shower (yah, I did this). It was also going on 4 hours that the guys have been in my home. Mr. Brad tells me he understands budgeting for a large family, so to tell him honestly, without fear of insulting him, what I could afford to pay him monthly.

Say what? This professional plumbing company is really and truly trying to make this work for me and not just pack up and move on to the next paying customer. I threw out a very meek number compared to the nearly thousand dollar bill, and Mr. Brad left to his truck to speak to the owner.

I'll wrap it up for you...Mr. Brad, Mr. Andre and Mr. Eli all vouched for our "responsible people" appearances, and promised to be liable if we skipped out of the country without paying our bill. They took my meek monthly payment and a promise to pay in full upon next income tax, and said no problem, let's do it. No interest, no contract, no paperwork. Just a promise from me to deliver payment on the 19th of each month...oh and those sandwiches.