The Eye-Hook

When MOH (My Other Half) got the call from the Quality of Life Office telling us that Telecom would be at our new house on Tuesday, the day before we moved in, to install our telephone and establish our wireless connection I was ecstatic. It was unheard of. It normally takes a minimum of 30 days, if you are lucky, to get Telecom to come to your house. Many people go months without phone or internet when they move into a house here. MOH and I couldn’t believe our luck!

I came to the new house that morning with two of the dogs so that MOH would only have two to deal with while the housing people came to assess how much stuff we would be moving the next day. The Telecom guy showed up around 1000 in his little white Fiat with a ladder tied to its roof. As far as I could tell it was the only equipment he had. He came in, looked at the connection, pulled it out of the wall and announced that it was “impossible.” He said he would come back “domani” (tomorrow). Fine, whatever.

A representative from the Quality of Life Office called later to tell me that Telecom would NOT be back tomorrow, but that an electrician would have to come to install an outside line from the house to the telephone poll before we could have our phone and internet connected. The landlord would have to have this done and we could then schedule a Telecom appointment. Mmmm hmmm. Our landlord called two days later and said that the electricians would come Saturday morning between 0800 and 1000. They did. The four of them stood in my driveway for five minutes looking from the house to the telephone poll. The leader then announced that they would be back lunedi (Monday) doppo pranzo (after lunch). Fine. Whatever.

I went back to work on Monday and MOH rescheduled other housing appointments so that he could wait for the electricians. They didn’t come. We later learned from the landlord that one of them had a family problem. God forbid they send someone else. We were then told that they would come Wednesday morning. They didn’t. Another call to the landlord resulted in another promise from the electricians to come Friday – no idea what time, and no reason for not showing up on Wednesday.

The “electricians” came. And I am still in disbelief at what took place. The leader arrived with his elderly assistant. He got out of the car with a little power drill in his hand and promptly asked my husband for an extension cord. We only have American ones that we use with our transformers. I was more than a little steamed. Here we had waited seven days since the Saturday visit and the electrician doesn’t have any equipment? No, he didn’t. MOH’s solution was to let the guy use his own power drill which meant he had to haul a transformer upstairs and set it up for him. Once he did this, the guy then asked for a ladder. For the love of Pete! Seriously? Anything else we can get you? How about a nice café and some dolce?

After approximately 30 seconds of drilling, the leader and his assistant passed me in the kitchen and said, “Ciao!”

I said, “Basta” (finished)?

“Si,” they said. WTF?

“MOH, are they done?” me yelling.

“No!” says MOH.

“Well they’re leaving!” me still yelling.

I heard MOH talking to them from the balcony upstairs as they got into their car. And left. I went upstairs to see what the hell was up and saw this:



I mean really.

The electricians installed an eye-hook so that Telecom had a way to anchor the phone line to the house. I was actually speechless. Seriously. MOH could have done this himself a week ago. We waited seven days, rearranged appointments, sat at home waiting for them to show up twice when they didn’t, and this is what we got. It . . . took . . . seven . . . days . . . to . . . install . . . an . . . (insert very nasty work here) . . . eye-hook??! I could seriously cry. Telecom is supposed to come Monday (more time off work for MOH). Fine. Whatever.