Building a house is challenging

Dear Editor,

Today, I went to a hardware store to buy nails.  As the store clerk was weighing the nails, I saw that he gave me a quarter pound short. When I brought it to his attention, the entire staff denied that he was trying to rob me. But I know better and that is why I was keeping my eyes on him while he was weighing the nails. Little annoying things like this are what people who are building have to put up with.

Editor, what’s wrong with some hardware stores? Do these people have a conscience? Do these people have any integrity?  How can they rob people of nails?  Nails. This is why I encourage people who are building to remain vigilant when shopping for materials because some store owners want to rob you.

Immediately after leaving the hardware store, I went to Massy’s Supermarket, and there I had an amazing shopping experience. While shopping, I was enjoying some of the best gospel music. The atmosphere and ambience in the supermarket makes shopping a breeze and a delightful experience. One of the supervisors, Mr Fitzpatrick, was very cordial and friendly.

Last week, I had another bad experience. My contractor was very disrespectful to me. Although the contractor is very good at his job, he talks to me in a disrespectful way. This behaviour is very common in the country. Some contractors believe that they are the boss. Editor, there aren’t many good contractors around. So when the contractor disrespected me and dared me to fire him, I had no choice but to keep him because the next contractor may be even worse.

This week a representative from a government department came by where I am building. He said that my neighbour needed to move a truckload of sand off the street because it was blocking traffic. While I agree that it is wrong to block the streets with sand, this gentleman saw nothing wrong with the sand on the street once you paid him a bribe.

Building a house is challenging. There’s the challenge of people stealing building materials, hardware stores trying to rob you, and if this is not enough, you have to deal with some staff members from government and the police harassing and trying to shake you down for bribes. Added to this, there are people from outside the community dumping abandoned vehicles in our neighbourhood, and when we report it to the relevant agency, nothing is done.

Yours faithfully,

(Name and address provided)