The case of the missing electrician.

So as I said before, I met an amazing electrician a few months ago. I bought lighting fixtures for a client of mine and was looking for someone to install them. I called the store where I had bought the lights from and they gave me his number. Turns out he is extremely qualified and also has a great artistic sense which helps when you have to hang some fancykindoftrickytoinstall chandelier. He will basically tell you how it needs to be done, why it needs to be done that way and the final result of his work is always amazing. Anyways, enough said, the guy is awesome so I really really want him to work in my house. Only problem, as we all know, geniuses aren't perfect and this guy is unfuckingreliable... which really makes me wonder if I should even bother with him. Will his awesomeness make up for his unreliableness (I don't think this word really exists but who cares?)?

As an example, Tuesday night, we were supposed to meet with him at 6:30PM, meeting which he has scheduled himself. Anyhow, around 5:30, I was getting a strange vibe, so I called him and got his voice mail right away (not a good sign). I left a message asking if we were still on. 

6:00: nothing. 6:30: no one at the door (maybe he is late), 7:30: still no sign of him. 8:00: WTF, where the hell is he? 9:00: well, I think we can forget about it. 11:00: should I call the police and report a missing electrician? 

Now, one little question comes to my mind: why not call and cancel? Is it that so difficult? That makes me a little (that's obviously an understatement) mad to say the least. But but but but but BUT... since I really REALLY need him to do the job, I have to be extremely tolerant and realize that, being the genius that he is, these are just flaws I have to deal with and be understanding of. Ugh! Not easy and at this point, I am not totally convinced I am making the right decision with this fellow. Anyways, I spoke to him today and it was like he was reading right out of this little book my super cute little (well not so little anymore) sister got for me called "Excuses and lies, lines for all occasions" (You don't say, I think I am going to start using this book as well). It kind of went like this:


- me: "so what happened to you?".
- him: "I couldn't find my keys anywhere/ I wanted to wait until the laxatives kicked in/I was dealing with a personal matter/ Didn't we cancel that meeting/ I was at a client's until 11PM/ It is not you, it's me (huh?)/ two words - bad clams."
- me: "this sounds awfully familiar". O_o


What I want to say here is this: while it might be tempting to use the complete arsenal of ridiculous excuses you can think of, it might be smart to use caution when ditching a meeting with a potential client.  
Right now, I am very tempted to move on. I am giving him one more chance to prove that he can be somewhat reliable. I am not asking for absolute perfection in the reliability department, I am only asking that if a meeting can not be attended to, I will be given fair notice (via a phone call or even a text message saying "sorry I can't make it" will do... See I am not very demanding). I don't think it is THAT unreasonable, even for the construction industry extremely low standards.