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Keeping Company

New Counter Tops
(Actual counter top not shown)

Recently my wife and I redid our kitchen counter tops. Which is to say, we had them redone. I bring many great qualities to the relationship. The ability to fix things well is not one of them. I think my wife would agree that I make up for this lack in other ways. For instance, making her laugh.

Ahem.

We picked a company and started the process. I would share the name, but I now have a fairly Lowe opinion of them. But here's the thing. They did great. As we worked with them and picked out our products, they were very helpful. They were patient as my wife painstakingly chose between various sinks and then saw the hundreds of choices for faucets.

They helped us see several places where we could save money. They served well. Then came the time for actually placing the order and having the work done. We were given a timeline for certain steps to be done. We were given the name of the third-party company who would actually be doing the building and installing of our counter top.

They didn't make one deadline. Not even close. It was very frustrating. See, the old counter top had been painted and then covered with wall paper. Then it pealed. Apparently my wife did not like that look. Go figure.

You might counter that the broken deadlines of the third-party company are not the fault of the place with which I now have a Lowe opinion. True, but who we choose to do business with reflects on us. Their standards are now our standards.

It's true in our personal lives as well. It's not hard and fast, as I can spend time with people who do not share every value I do. But if I'm going to put my name next to theirs and vouch for them, then I better be prepared to be compared with them.

Have you ever been compared with someone? Did it help you or hurt you? What did you learn from the experience?
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