Renovation Fun

We're doing some work on our house, or trying to. And, part of the process is hiring a contractor.
There are some very specific things we need done, so we've been interviewing (is this even the word) different contractors.
I actually thought this would be an easy process. Not so much! It's really hard. I've been making lots of phone calls. Some people I've ruled out over the phone. (Rule 1, if you call me "Sweetie" then I will keep looking)
Others have stopped by.
Tonight's guy was Phat Daddy's and my favourite.
He came over for a "free quote". We showed him the basement, he talked, and then he told us he couldn't give us a quote because he needed to do some work first - at $50 an hour. Oookay. Moving on.
He then proceeded to talk to us about his experience and his ideas for the job.
I was still back at the whole paying for a quote. But, whatever.
He seemed okay. Phat Daddy seemed interested. I asked the next logical question:
"Do you have references?"
His answer? Classic.
"Yes. But, it's not like I'm going to give you anyone's names or phone numbers or anything. And they all live in a different province."
Really, I wasn't quite sure what to make of that comment. The fun continued when he said he does plumbing and electrical, but if there are any problems we'd have to call in the experts, and "who knows what they charge?"
At that point we knew we would have to keep looking.
Who knows, maybe I've set my standard too high!