Someone from a small, long-established family firm near me was meant to come out and install a new waste pipe to my washing machine yesterday.    It didn’t happen.

Someone rang me this morning to say sorry, and re-book the appointment.

“I’m soooo sorry.   One of our engineers was taken ill, and a family emergency meant we had to shut the shop suddenly too.”

“Well, these things happen, I guessed something must have gone wrong.”

We’ve re-booked.  Hopefully this time the process will run smoothly.

The thing about family firms is that they are families, not machines.   And that’s why I chose them.

I’d rather wait an extra day or two than turn someone into an overworked cog.

 

PS Only a man who’d never done a load of washing can have designed that machine!