We all hate those phone calls where you go round and round, choosing options from a menu, conversing in monosyllables with an electronic voice. I've worked out that if you just pretend you're incompetent, and press digits that aren't in the menu presented to you, you get through to a real person more quickly. The other day I tried to do that verbally. When the cheery electronic voice asked me to say in a few words what I wanted help with, I just burbled down the phone at it. "Blurblurblur". It didn't work. The electronic voice said "I think you said you needed help with service availability. Is that correct?"
We had the packers in yesterday. If I have one tip for moving, it is this. Be ready for the packers. We had been told they would start the job on Friday and finish on Monday. But it was a crew of five people, motivated to finish as quickly as possible, and finish they did. Even though I've lived in America for five years, I think somewhere deep down I kind of expected them to find me at five o'clock on the dot, sniff, hand me an empty tea mug, and say "that's us done for the day... see you on Monday morning...". In fact, they stayed till 7.30pm, tidied up everything behind them, put their QuikTrip 32oz plastic cups in the trash, and left us in a house full of boxes.
So although I had kind of hoped that I might be doing bits of sorting and organising here and there while they were packing, it was just as well that Husband and I had got up at 4.30am to finish up as much as we could before the locusts descended. It's rather rude of me to call them locusts, because after all, they are providing a service for us, and they were polite and friendly. But it does feel a bit like that, when people are making all your possessions disappear into boxes, the treasured things and the daily items, undifferentiated. So it was good to get up early and be just a little ahead of the game. The bad thing about getting up at 4.30am, though, is that it catches up with you 24 hours later, and you are totally knackered. I am trying hard to look after myself during this whole stressful time, but I tell ya, it's not easy. I had arranged to have a massage yesterday evening, which was very nice. Actually, it was particularly nice because it meant I had to leave the locust house. I'd arranged it for 6.00pm (I really did think they were going to sniff and leave at 5.00pm on the dot, didn't I? I probably thought they'd be wearing brown work coats, have mustaches, whistle while they work, and be called Bill and Ted.)
Husband and I then dozed through a movie, in which Justin Timberlake lives in an imaginary world where no-one is older than 25 (a world, therefore, in which no-one falls asleep while watching movies).
Well, I am rambling, because I haven't had enough sleep, and because rambling is my default state. You know how if you have a power cut, all the electrical items in your house flash "12.00" at you when the power comes back on. That's their default option. Well, mine is rambling. Writing this blog post is the equivalent of me flashing noon at you. Or midnight.
Oh, I do have one more tip about moving. Before the packers come, decide whether you are going to tip. (See what I did there?) Otherwise, you will find yourself on the front porch, texting a couple of friends: "Do u tip moving ppl? Wot is etiquette here? There r 5 of them. There will be 5 diffrnt ppl on Tues. Getting expnsv! They r professnl cmpny, not just 2 guys & a truck. Dsn't feel right to tip, but dsn't feel right not to." You will then find yourself trying to discuss the issue secretly with your spouse - not easy with 5 extra people in your house - on the basis of your friends' advice. One friend told me "Oh gosh, am hopeless on this knd v thing." The other said "Hsbnd says no, but I'm not so sure. Cld u giv them cupcakes?" I replied "No baking eqpmt left in kitchen". See what I mean? Who needs that kind of additional stress on packing day? Work out your tipping policy in advance, Peoples.
She's coming home, she's coming home, Iota's coming home...!
ReplyDeleteThe process sounds grim, grim grim but you are very much in our thoughts and we can't wait till you are back! (So did you tip in the end?)
No. Decided that we didn't tip other people who have been in the house in the past couple of weeks (the air conditioning repair man, the electrician, the roofer), and that there was enough uncertainty in my straw poll of 3 people to make it OK to do either. But we did keep offering them drinks (they kept saying no), and Husband nipped out to Dillons and bought 5 nice boxes of bite-sized treats (brownies, scones, etc), one for each person. They would probably rather have had cash, but better than nothing! We also said that if they needed a recommendation, we would be happy to provide one. So we were friendly and appreciative, without coughing up.
DeleteI sound rather defensive, don't I?
DeleteTipping etiquette can be so difficult in the US. My (American) wife looks at me like the etiquette is obvious, but you tip all sorts of people in the US, that you don't in the UK, and there seem to be extra rules too!
ReplyDeleteI bought lunch and/or Subway Sandwich gift cards for workers who spent a few days in our home last winter. (And I regretted it after they left and I started finding shoddy work... but that's another story!)
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure that you don't have to tip the people who come to do service in your home. Although I never really thought about it living in the US, I find I have to remind myself to do it here in Eastern Europe, so that tells me at least that it is not natural for me. However, the offering of cold drinks is definitely a good thing!
ReplyDeleteI think the difference is that people who come to your house to do a service are paid a fair amount vs the people who serve you at a restaurant.
Sounds like a stress overload! I also think that cupcakes/lunch is a good idea if you're not sure whether to tip or not.
ReplyDeleteMy tip? Make sure you throw away absolutely everything that you don't want packing...
ReplyDeleteOur fruit bowl in London had one rather mournful pear in it that neither of us fancied - it had done that going wrinkly without ripening thing that pears inevitably seem to, but neither of us could bear to throw it out while it was, technically, still edible. So it was there.
And it was still there, wrapped lovingly in tissue, four days and 350 miles later after the packing people had been.
Too late for you, I realise, and you've got rather longer (in both time and distance) before you unpack, so am hoping you find no bananas...
Oh, and we did tip, by the way. But the people who packed were the same people who drove the lorry all the way, waited for the previous owners actually to move out (that wasn't annoying at all) and off-loaded all the boxes, so tipping seemed right.
Gosh, it hadn't even occurred to me that you would tip the packers! But I am always wrong about these things. I've never tipped anyone who has come to do work in the house - probably, I've made a terrible faux pas somewhere.
ReplyDeleteWow, THIS IS IT. Bon voyage! Don't worry about the tipping, a.) they are well paid anyway, b.)you have other bigger fish to fry & c.)you're BRITISH (ie a lousy tipper by definition)so they won't expect it anyway!
ReplyDeleteOh goodness, you're nearly on your way. I'm guessing you haven't sold the house yet.
ReplyDeleteIn a very un-British way, I tried to tip two lads at Homebase this afternoon who were very helpful lugging stuff around for us - and in a very British way they refused it. I think they thought it was just their job.
And planb reminded me of teh last time we moved and when we unpacked we found a box full of junk from a cupboard we'd forgotten about. And I mean JUNK. Banana equivalents.
noted your tips as we will be doing this in less than a month. Although I don't think tipping is an issue here. It just won't happen. I do however need to sort out the stuff I don't want packed otherwise we're going to end up with a million tiny broken bits of toy that I really could do without in my life. Good luck with it all. And please pop over to my new home on the blogosphere so that it doesn't feel lonely. tx
ReplyDeleteWe never tip our packers and movers - but we supply them with coolers of cold drinks, and we pay for lunches, dinners, and snacks. I don't envy you the packing and moving process - especially the international variety. Safe journey!
ReplyDeleteWow, I am impressed by your knowledge of cryptic text message language. Not at the forefront of technology? Pah!
ReplyDeleteOooh, another great bit of wittering!
ReplyDeleteI think I would have probably given them something as a team (tip-wise) but then I always worry that the person you give it to won't tell the others and then pocket it! (My rule of thumb, for any non-Americans, is that if you're impressed by their service, and they've perhaps gone above and beyond, then they might deserve a tip.)
should tip really
ReplyDelete