On Mon, 30 Jun 2003 20:20:19 -0400, "Jean B." wrote:

Oh, I have tried to tell them numerous times what I want. Part of
the problem is that a) the head of the company speaks virtually NO
English, and b) the crew's English is minimal at best. I think
part of my solution is to find an outfit that speaks enough
English, so I can communicate my desires, and also one that
actually knows that it is doing. I have found such a company (I
think), but I have to wait for an opening.

I feel your pain. :-) My ginger-destroyer was Japanese -- a non-PC
guarantee of expert plant knowledge in California.:-) It's hard for
anyone to envision all the horrible things that may happen with Hired
Help. I keep learning in retrospect, not planning in advance. Who
thinks to tell the roofers not to drop old material onto blooming
annuals? Or heavy trucks not to plow through tree branches? It
requires a lot of imagination to plot out everything that might go
wrong. And (the generic) we seem to think, for example, brick-layers
know something about the physics of walls and erosion. Nope. Not
often.

Movers carefully pack ashtrays full of cigarette butts, and wrap Irish
crystal in a single sheet of newspaper. Painters paint. Everything.
Plumbers walk from sewer overflo through (carpeted) livingrooms.
They're all doing their jobs. Good luck with the English-speaking
company. Get it in writing. :-)