Even Simple Projects Can Get Out of Hand
We needed a new dryer.
My husband Glenn and I went and bought a relatively inexpensive model. The store said they would deliver it and install it for a small fee, but Glenn wanted it right away and prefers to do things himself. So he had a guy there help him load the thing into the back of our Pathfinder.
Once we got it home, we realized that we no longer had the burly loading dock guy there to help us, and I was a poor substitute. Glenn called his brother to come over to help wrestle the dryer out of the SUV.
They loaded it up onto a dolly and pulled it up three steps. Here, I should mention that our house was built in 1940 and thus had narrow doors. We found that we’d be able to get the dryer through the door frame, but only if we first removed the front door entirely.
After removing the front door and dragging the dryer into the house, we discovered the same issue with the door to the basement, and had to remove that as well. During a review of our stairwell it was ascertained that we’d also need to remove the wrought iron banister so the damn thing would fit down the stairs.
At this point, frustrated with a seemingly simple process that was taking hours, I left the room.
Moments later, there was a deafening series of crashes. WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
I screamed, fearing for my husband’s safety, and ran back to the basement door. There I discovered that he had DROPPED THE NEW DRYER DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS.
They had not tied the thing to the dolly.
Our new dryer sat crumpled and sideways at the bottom of the stairs, partially embedded into a hole it had gouged in our wall during landing.
Glenn and his brother pried the dryer out of the wall and found that the dryer door would no longer close. He closed it by pounding it shut with a rubber mallet.
They put it back on the dolly and wheeled it over to where the old dryer had been. He went to hook it up and discovered that we had…wait for it…BOUGHT THE WRONG KIND OF DRYER. We needed a gas dryer. This one was electric.
God help us, it would have to go back.
…
Let’s just say that we survived this ordeal. We eventually got a new dryer and were able to move on with our lives.
There are probably a number of morals you can take from this story, but here’s the one this post is about: let people help you. Let them do what they are good at. You may want to do everything yourself, but that’s not always a good idea. It can cost you—in more ways than one. Even a simple project gone wrong can wreak havoc.
For your digital marketing strategy, enlist the help of experts and listen to them. Just because you can do something yourself, doesn’t mean you should.
Want some help? Need some expert advice? That’s why we’re here. Let’s Talk.
Diane Callihan
With more than 20 years of experience writing for some of the country’s top brands, Diane helped to shape Roger West’s content strategy, lead generation, and PR efforts as Director of Marketing. She currently serves as President of Callihan Content Creation.