Man:
Oh, hi Ruth. How are you?
Woman:
I’m sorry to bother you, Alastair, but I’ve been having some problems.
Man:
Oh. Come on in ... What’s happened?
Woman:
Basically, I had a leak from one of the pipes in the bathroom and water started coming through downstairs and the kitchen ceiling’s badly stained. I’ve got the leak fixed temporarily but I wasn’t happy with the plumber and I wanted to ask your advice.
Man:
Of course ... Well, the first thing I’d say is make sure you choose a local company ... that way if things go wrong you’re close by and it just makes things easier.
Woman:
Let me write this down ... Right. Yes. The plumber who fixed things yesterday was from quite far away but I chose him because his advert said he did emergency repairs.
Man:
Well, fair enough ... you needed something in a hurry. But another piece of advice I’d give is try to avoid calling anybody on weekends. That’ll really bump up the prices. Leave it till Monday, if you can.
Woman:
Well, yes ... I think I can do that because the temporary fix should hold. And obviously I’ll need the ceiling plastered and eventually re-decorated.
Woman:
So who would you recommend? Is there a directory?
Man:
Well, there’s quite a good website covering this sort of work. It’s www.plasdeco.com.
Man:
A C, P-L-A-S-D-E-C-O dot com.
Woman:
Got it. Well I’ll try and have a look at that.
Man:
Yes, it gives price and quality comparisons.
Woman:
Oh, that’ll be useful, but I find personal recommendations really helpful as well ... you know, you can find out whether you can rely on the company.
Man:
Well, I know a couple of reasonable plumbers and also some plasterers.
Man:
There’s a company called Peake’s Plumbing ... now they’re a father and son team. They’re really friendly and they tell you information you need in a clear way ... you know, so they really understand what the problem is.
Woman:
Right, well that’s good to know. Are they reliable?
Man:
Well, that’s a down side - every single time I’ve used them they arrive late. And friends have said the same thing.
Woman:
But is the work good quality?
Man:
Absolutely ... Another one is John Damerol Plumbing Services - he’s very good.
Woman:
How do you spell the surname?
Woman:
Right ... got that. And does he do high quality work?
Man:
Well, it’s fine, you know, but I wouldn’t say that was his main point. Basically he comes out cheaper ... you know ... than other people.
Woman:
I sense there’s a ‘but’ ... is he unreliable?
Man:
Oh ... he comes when he says he’s coming BUT he’s not very courteous and he has the tendency to be messy ... you know so you have quite a bit of clearing up to do.
Man:
So it’s up to you ... they’re both good workers and they won’t cheat you.
Woman:
Right. And you said you knew some plasterers?
Man:
Yes a company called Simonson Plasterers did our living room last year ... we chose them because we wanted some fancy work on the ceiling - around the lights.
Woman:
So they can do a variety of designs?
Man:
You’ve got it. But it comes at a premium because they are more expensive ... you know ...
Woman:
... than the others ...
Man:
Yes ... Or you could go for a one-man firm called H.L. Plastering ... Harry Lester - he’s fine - very reliable, if all you want is a simple job ...
Woman:
Do either of them do painting for you if you want ... ? After the plastering’s dried out of course.
Man:
That’s what I was going to say. But I should explain that Harry’s quite old now and so he avoids doing jobs which involve tall ladders ... you know.
Woman:
But my kitchen isn’t too bad for that ... I’d have to ask him if he’s prepared to do it.
Woman:
So I’ll start by looking at the website.
Man:
All those companies are on there ... with their phone numbers etc ...
Woman:
Thanks ever so much ...
