Tet + Business = Pain and suffering

It is now more than 10 days after TET. A person would think that life would be back to normal, but I am afraid that the lingering effect to TET will remain for some time. It was Thursday and people were supposedly back to work…… not so!! There are so many problems with the RipTide Homestay that have to be corrected, I am almost overwhelmed. I will not take guests until the building meets my standards, and believe me, they are higher than the Vietnamese standards. At the moment, all of The “so called” bacvk to work Vietnamese are telling m that they will come back to do adjustments after the weekend……. Well!!!! add another 5 days after the TET holiday…. Sheesh!! I have taken to do some of the work myself as sorely, I cannot trust a single Vietnamese person to do it correctly. For example…. I asked to have curtain rods installed. The first two were nowhere near level and after an argument with me saying it matters and the installer saying no problem…. Nobody will notice…. Canned!!! Today I did it myself. My 2 meter square patio door howl in the night with the wind and in the morning I discovered is now where near being square. The action they want to take is to cement my new beautiful patio doors permanently shut to stop the air leaks. I have since discovered adjusting screws on the doors for the wheels that might square them with enough turns…. We will see. One of the biggest issues I am now dealing with is the lack of a standard or the inability of the locals to use a level. New installed air conditioners are not level…. I have asked that they be fixed…. Hmmm….. They drilled through brick and mortar to mount then. Can they adjust for half an inch? The showers were all eyeballed in and all of them not straight, moreover, only 2 of 5 showers are tall enough for a above average foreigner. Save jack hammering all the walls out for a 3rd time, I have yet come up with a solution. I WILL FIGURE IT OUT! Most of the new windows in the building do not seal correctly. Water service to all of the building is good but for some reason, the water pressure to my new beautiful bedroom is almost nonexistent. I have to go downstairs for a shower….. My Foreman yells at me “normal” while I yell at him that he is an idiot (I really want to say asshole but it does not translate) What else is in need of fixing? Here is a few. Stairs are still uneven, pool water and need rails. Light switches need to be installed in rooms where they “FORGOT”!! Windows have to be sealed, Night light controls have to be moved to logical location instead of the bizarre placement they decided on, almost all of the showers leak and the toilets (though working) have an issue. Lights are not square, switches are not in the right locations, and a silly all room kill switch was put right by the door of every room that a person can mistake for a light switch. Egad!! My neighbors have complaints because for some reason all the storm runoff is directed into the lane in front instead of the storm sewer, It is raining and there are more leaks than I thought possible, the lower staircase fills your shoes if walking up or down…… that is if you do not trip on the uneven stairs and have your shoes empty as you plummet to your death. There are many more issues but I will deal with all of them. Every time I run into another frustrating issue, I voice it and Mai gives me heck! Damn!! I wish she would side with me, but the Viets always give her an excuse that it is my fault in some way, or that my concerns are not valid and often she believes them until the water causes a sanitary problem or the howling wind wakes her up. IF I work hard for the next week or so, perhaps I can repair all of the new construction and have a place ready for you to stay. It will be a very unique and interesting place to stay. Perhaps even controversial as it will be so very different from the main tourist experience…….. But we will see. I am still in hell and for another week or so, there seems no relief. I am dreading the next 2 days as I have a couple of major construction issues that have to be corrected. I have paid a great deal of money to make this place happen………. But experience tells me that there is no warranty…. I have to pay all over again for the substandard work by incompetent people just to screw it up all over again so I can be soaked out of more of my hard earned dollars. Sorry for the ranting. I have had a few tonight and just needed to talk to somebody….. Hope you do not mind.