Unreliability

As I write this I'm sat waiting for a housing association plumber to arrive to fix a problem we first reported over a year ago. Aside from mucking up the repair in the past (including a month of scaffolding disruption while they decided to fix the roof tiles for no apparent reason), they were supposed to arrive between 8:00am and 12:00pm today. My father took the morning off work in order to make sure they got it right this time. Unfortunately, they haven't yet arrived and he's gone to work.

I'm not unreasonable, I know that sometimes things happen that prevent appointments being kept. However, a phone call doesn't cost a lot. What I hate most is being left in limbo, unable to do anything because I'm waiting for somebody else. Unreliability irritates me more than I can articulate when it can be eased by just a word or an apology during the wait - I think this applies mainly to companies who should really know better. Perhaps it's because I wouldn't dream of keeping people waiting if I could help it. I used to work on the switchboard for a company and frequently had to deal with customers angry that a promised call had not materialised. Mostly, I was on the side of the customer - if you're going to promise something then adhere to it most of the time, not some of the time.

When I look at my characters I see that they all err on the side of reliability, even those indulging in affairs which seems rather odd to me! I think I need to mix it up a little, create an unreliable protagonist somewhere down the line. However, as things stand, it's easier for me to get inside the head of a murderer who keeps their appointments than a pleasant person who doesn't. That may say something profound about me...

I'll ponder that while I wait. And wait. And wait. Until 3:00pm. Then I'm out of here.

EDIT: He turned up in the nick of time but can't touch it because it's a heating-related issue. That sound was my head exploding.