Gas Conversion Kit

Wednesday 27th May 2009
We were hoping to get some new gas heating into the house before this weekend, but it looks like it isn’t going to happen.
About a month and a bit ago Ian found an imitation wood burner, it’s gas, in the sale at Kleenheat Busselton and put his name on it saying to the rep that he just needed to sort out a gas fitter and then we would have it.
The gas fitter pointed out that the model concerned was set up for bottled gas and that we would have to buy a conversion kit to use natural gas which is what we have, “they’re not expensive, about $90” said the rep.
The fire was heavily discounted so we agreed to it, told him we would have it and then set about getting hold of the gas fitter.
We got hold of the gas fitter but he was working elsewhere in the country and wouldn’t be able to come round and give us a quote for a week, we told the rep at Kleenheat that we were waiting for the quote but that we still wanted the fire.
A week later the gas fitter comes round, has a look at the job, says no problem, I’ll work on the quote over the weekend and get back to you”.
Two weeks later we still hadn’t heard anything from the gas fitter so we rang him, he said he didn’t have the quote on him but would ring that night.
About a week later we were still waiting, the rep from Kleenheat rang to make sure we still wanted the fire, we told him that we did still want it and that we would chase up the gas fitter again.
This time the gas fitter was able to give us the quote, which was acceptable, we always knew it would be based on the other work he has done for us, but you have to ask don’t you.
The gas fitter was unable to fit us in for a week and is booked in for this Friday coming, so we told the Kleenheat rep we would take it for then and he said he hadn’t got the gas conversion kit yet and it has to come from surprise surprise, the eastern states, god forbid that anyone could possibly be expected to buy a heater in WA and want it fitted to Natural Gas.
This plonker has had the fire on hold for us for over a month, in the knowledge that we have Natural Gas and that the fire would need a conversion kit and he forgot to order the kit, not that he admitted to forgetting to order it, god forbid.
He is trying to blame the supplier for the delay and in the next breath is saying that he can get one here from Melbourne within the next two days, as we used to say in England “we might be green, but we’re not bloody cabbages” why can’t the guy just admit that he cocked up, we are now looking at the prospect of cancelling the gas fitter and having a nice cold long weekend.
The week is picking up a bit at the Café, there seem to be a few more people about now and with the long weekend coming we’re hoping for a bit of tourist trade.
This afternoon Ian had a bit of fun with one of the staff, Fliss had gone off sick earlier in the day and she would normally work until 4pm, this meant that after 2pm there was only one member of staff who was rostered to work until 5pm with Ian.
Ian takes this sort of thing in his stride, after many years as the boss he now comes to expect it to be busy when there is a staff shortage.
However, the member of staff who was left to work with him decided that between the two of them, there was no way they were going to cope because she would have to do everything because Ian does nothing.
Ian pointed out to her that she was paid to work and it didn’t matter whether it was busy or quiet, it was still work.
She then suggested that she should be paid more because normally there would be two staff working, to which Ian replied that as the owner of the business it was up to him to decide how many staff were needed at any given time and if it meant working hard to get it all done, then so be it, they will have to work hard.
In a last ditch attempt to make the mole hill look like a mountain, the staff member then said that she had to leave work at 4pm so that she could catch her bus home, to which in replied “you are rostered to work until 5pm. She said that she had to leave at 4pm otherwise she couldn’t get home, Ian will never be held to ransom, said OK and left it at that.
This staff member lives just round the corner from us, has got a lift home with Ian after work on two or three occasions in the last couple of weeks, so knows that the’ can’t get home’ excuse is not a valid one.
Anyway, she went home at 4pm, Ian worked on his own for half an hour and then Carolyn came in for a while to help with the last of the clearing up while the kids were doing their homework.
Marisa was a star at school again today, she has got a fairly good eye for hitting a ball and having played tennis quite well for her age in the UK, looks for opportunities.
The class were playing Rounders or Softball or whatever they call it over here, all the fielders were over one side of the Oval which was the direction everyone was hitting the ball in, Marisa saw this a mile off and when it came to her turn to hit the ball, she gave it one almighty whack in the other direction and became the only person in the class to score a home run.
After the kids went to bed we watched the Mark Wahlberg film Max Payne, Carolyn enjoyed it more than Ian, it was a bit too dark, Gothic like and weird for him.