A Hole in One...Two...Three...?

On Monday, Thames Water came to sort out our connection to the water main.  A new 60mm pipe was to be fitted to increase the water flow to our house and make it more fitting for the distance that the water has to travel, thereby increasing the pressure.  Or something.

They arrived on Monday, the traffic lights having been waiting at the side of the road for a week.  They dug the hole. Then, despite the fact that someone had been the week before to undertake a survey of the job, they decided the road was too busy to proceed, packed it all up and went away again, leaving the hole.  They would be back on Saturday, they said.

On Thursday, Joe, the heating engineer, came rushing in to say that they were filling in the hole.  I rushed out.  "But you haven't done anything with that hole yet, other than dig it. Are you sure you want to fill it in?"  It turned out that they had a permit for the hole that was only valid until Thursday.  And they would be fined.  Obviously, it was more cost-effective to re-fill the hole than to risk the fine. And they were only contractors so what did they care. So they filled it back in, re-tarmac'd the pavement and drove off.

On Saturday, they arrived back to re-dig the hole. 

No wonder our water bills are so high when this level of inefficiency prevails.

Thames Water Brand Activation - Enjoy the Irony!

I feel the urge to write a letter of complaint but am comforted by a story of an encounter between Thames Water and my dear friend, S, in London. She had issues with a leak in her cellar and, after much ado over a number of months, she rang to speak to the man in charge. "What's his name?" she asked the woman who answered the 'phone.  "I'll spell it for you", she replied.  "It's Mr K.H.U.N.T." "Mr K. Hunt?" "No, it's all one word."