Pride in Workmanship

When was the last time you saw someone really take pride in the work they do, enough to do it as well as possible? As I think upon my experiences in the last few years, I honestly can't remember the last time I saw someone who really took the time to do their craft well.

My house has had several things done to it lately. Roof repair, remodeled kitchen, new floor installation in a few rooms, as well as a few other minor things. All of those jobs had "sloppy" written all over them. I had to follow up with all of those jobs and inspect them myself. The roofing job was done so badly, that I had the company manager come in and look at it. He apologized profusely and had the job redone at no cost to us. That's great, and I'm glad he made it right. But why was it sloppy in the first place?

The kitchen? None of the molding fits. There's gaps all over the place. None of the stone counter tops are cut right. Again, there are gaps all over the place. There's bits of dried glue here and there. There's gaps between the tile floor and the wall, even after the molding went in.

It seems like every time I get a burger, half of the condoments are all one one side, while the cheese is sliding off the other side, and half way falling out of the bun.

So help me, if I ever find a craftsman who takes pride in his work, I'm going to hire him, have him do ALL of my house projects, and tell everyone I know to use him as well. It just makes me crazy every time I see poor work done. Where's the pride in craftsmanship, or even just the pride in a job well done?

Hey America: If you're going to do something, take a few seconds and DO IT WELL! Your customers will notice, and they will appreciate it!