WALTER GEORGE BERGMAN

WHERE DO I BEGIN TO DESCRIBE THIS NIGHTMARE? FIRST OFF...BERGMAN OVERCHARGED ME TO THE EXTREME. I WAS DESPERATE TO FIND SOMEONE TO DO A REPAIR TO A TENANT''S SHOWER, OTHERWISE I WOULD NEVER HAVE USED HIM. IT TOOK HIM 2 WEEKS TO DO WORK THAT SHOULD HAVE TAKEN 2-3 DAYS (NOT FULL DAYS...2-3 HRS PER DAY WITH DRYING TIME IN BETWEEN PROCESS STEPS). MY TENANT FOUND HIM ASLEEP ON HER COUCH ONE DAY. HE WAS VERY EVASIVE WITH HIS INITIAL ''ESTIMATE'' (WHICH WAS NOT FREE, BTW), HE KEPT SAYING THAT HE COULDN''T TELL UP FRONT HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST. WHEN PRESSED, HE AGREED THAT HE WOULD CHARGE $60/HR AND IT WOULD BE NO MORE THAN $2500. GUESS WHAT? HE CHARGED ME $2500. I KNEW IT WAS BAD NEWS BUT MY TENANT WAS READY TO SUE ME AND I COULD NOT FIND ANYONE ELSE TO DO THE WORK. POSTSCRIPT: THE TILES ARE ALL FALLING OUT OF THE SHOWER. I''LL FIX IT MYSELF THIS TIME...IT CAN''T BE ANY WORSE THAN MR. B AND WILL CERTAINLY BE LESS EXPENSIVE.

MR. BERGMAN APPEARS TO BE AMONG THE MOST EXPERIENCED TILE-MAN WE HAVE USED. HE ONLY WORKS ON REPAIRS AND SAYS HE WILL DO SO 7 DAYS PER WEEK. HE EXPLAINS WHAT HE PLANS TO DO IN DETAIL AND WHY IT IS NECESSARY. HIS RATE IS CURRENTLY $65/HR, WHICH SEEMS EXPENSIVE, BUT HE WORKS EFFICIENTLY AND WILL ARGUE AGAINST DOING WORK THAT HE CONSIDERS UNNECESSARY. HE IS QUITE TALKATIVE (AND SOMETIMES REPETITIVE) OFF-SUBJECT WHEN GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY BUT ALWAYS INTERESTING. WE WOULD USE HIM AGAIN WITHOUT HESITATION.