Dear Eric: The home next door is vacant. I think it is a rental property. There is a huge tree in the front yard that is coming over my property. A tree from this property fell on my house a few years ago. This caused my homeowner’s insurance to be canceled because it was considered to be an act of nature.
I need to see if this can be avoided because the tree is old and the dead branches are falling on my car. Do you have any idea what can be done?
– Neighbor Dilemma
Dear Neighbor: Start by collecting information. Your local tax assessor’s office will have a record of who owns the property and what their address is, if the house is not their primary residence. Be sure that if you search online, you’re on the state or local government’s site. There are many data-harvesting sites that will try to charge you for this free information. Don’t click on the first link you find in a search; scroll until you find a city, county or state site.
With this information, you can reach out to the owner directly, or you can reach out to the housing authority. Many housing authorities have task forces specifically charged with monitoring code violations. Even if yours doesn’t, a phone call to the housing authority will alert you to other options that might be available to you.
Dear Eric: I just can’t come to grips with the new style phone etiquette where you send a direct question or comment to someone (texts mainly, or emails, messenger, etc.) and it seems now optional to answer or respond, or at best get a “liked…” or a smiley face wearing sunglasses in reply.
My communications are important, take thoughtful effort to compose and like in the old days, you’re supposed to call the person back. I’m not talking about silly status posts on Instagram; this is two-way conversation and so many people interpret a texting response as optional!
Is it just me or is this an epidemic that is killing courtesy and good manners in modern society? What should I do, fire my friends and family? It’s tempting.
– Text Back
Dear Text Back: Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to label it an epidemic. But it’s true that texting etiquette – and texting practices in general – can lead to miscommunication and frustration. Because it’s relatively new, at least in comparison to the telephone or, say, writing letters, we’re still iterating on it as a culture.
All that to say, don’t fire your friends and family. If you want a text back about sometime specific, include that request in the text. Or consider having a broader conversation with friends and family about how you’d like to communicate. It’s good to ask for what we want. They may not always be willing or able to comply, but they won’t know this is something you’d like unless you tell them.
And, when all else fails, just don’t text. If you have something to say, you can initiate the phone call, thereby sidestepping any emojis.
Dear Eric: I read with interest the letter from the woman who had rooms in her house painted in colors other than what she’d specified (“Painted Over”). She wondered where the fault lied.
How about this: I placed a cookie order with a new local bakery. My husband picked up the order. Well, the order was botched – not even close to the cookie flavor I’d ordered. When I notified the baker, he apologized, saying that my email address was similar to that of someone else who had also placed an order. He offered to do the correct order for me for a ”discounted” price. Huh?
Why should I be made to pay again for an error that was not my fault? Needless to say, I have not done business with this bakery since.
What are your thoughts on this? I did not agree to this resolution. Instead of paying again, I just kept and used the incorrect order, despite my disappointment. Some customer service!
– One Smart Cookie
Dear Cookie: I agree with you. This is not great customer service. Moreover, while the baker may have to eat the cost of the botched order, if you’ll excuse the wordplay, it’s the right thing to do. No reason for you to (chocolate) chip in. (OK, wordplay over.)
The baker acknowledged that the error was all his. That’s fine; we’re all human and these things happen. The next sentence should be, “we’ll make this right as soon as possible.” Businesses often operate on small margins, so errors like this can impact the bottom line. But fixing a mistake without fuss is a small price to pay in comparison to losing a customer.
(Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.)
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