# Uncooperative customers



## goeswiththeflow (Feb 24, 2018)

To this point I've done mostly residential service and some new construction. I've been helping out some of the other guys on some commercial calls recently, and one thing that stuck me is how uncooperative some employees of the businesses we serve can be. I'm used to most of the tricks and annoyances that homeowners can throw at us, but this was new to me.

I get it, it's not their property so they don't care, we can be in the way, they're still trying to do their jobs, etc, but the outright animosity and even refusal to help us with such things as moving their supplies or equipment so we can access what we need to, or even answering simple questions or directing us to whom we need to speak to has been surprising. Some places you can get a real feel for how fuking miserable a place is to work just by the general attitude of the majority of the employees. They don't have to put on that friendly face with us like they do their customers, and man they sure don't waste one extra smile that they don't have to.

I had one owner of a company ask me how things were going on the first day, and if all his staff was being helpful. It struck me as odd, thinking that, well why wouldn't they be helpful if they want us to fix their bathrooms. Then he was gone the rest of the week, and boy did I see why he asked. No one there was going to even hold a door open for us if they didn't have to, save for one girl in the office who I hit it off with. One guy even got into it with me because I hadn't told him personally that the water was going to be shut off to one bathroom. I didn't even know who the eff he was or where he worked in the building, and had never even seen him before he started in on me. I think he expected me to let him walk all over me like he was used to doing with his underlings. That sure didn't happen, and he told me to fuk myself and walked off.


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## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

goeswiththeflow said:


> To this point I've done mostly residential service and some new construction. I've been helping out some of the other guys on some commercial calls recently, and one thing that stuck me is how uncooperative some employees of the businesses we serve can be. I'm used to most of the tricks and annoyances that homeowners can throw at us, but this was new to me.
> 
> I get it, it's not their property so they don't care, we can be in the way, they're still trying to do their jobs, etc, but the outright animosity and even refusal to help us with such things as moving their supplies or equipment so we can access what we need to, or even answering simple questions or directing us to whom we need to speak to has been surprising. Some places you can get a real feel for how fuking miserable a place is to work just by the general attitude of the majority of the employees. They don't have to put on that friendly face with us like they do their customers, and man they sure don't waste one extra smile that they don't have to.
> 
> I had one owner of a company ask me how things were going on the first day, and if all his staff was being helpful. It struck me as odd, thinking that, well why wouldn't they be helpful if they want us to fix their bathrooms. Then he was gone the rest of the week, and boy did I see why he asked. No one there was going to even hold a door open for us if they didn't have to, save for one girl in the office who I hit it off with. One guy even got into it with me because I hadn't told him personally that the water was going to be shut off to one bathroom. I didn't even know who the eff he was or where he worked in the building, and had never even seen him before he started in on me. I think he expected me to let him walk all over me like he was used to doing with his underlings. That sure didn't happen, and he told me to fuk myself and walked off.


Yea i hear you there, some places have some unpleasent people.
Luckily now these days i dont speak the same language of half the people i have to deal with.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

goeswiththeflow said:


> To this point I've done mostly residential service and some new construction. I've been helping out some of the other guys on some commercial calls recently, and one thing that stuck me is how uncooperative some employees of the businesses we serve can be. I'm used to most of the tricks and annoyances that homeowners can throw at us, but this was new to me.
> 
> I get it, it's not their property so they don't care, we can be in the way, they're still trying to do their jobs, etc, but the outright animosity and even refusal to help us with such things as moving their supplies or equipment so we can access what we need to, or even answering simple questions or directing us to whom we need to speak to has been surprising. Some places you can get a real feel for how fuking miserable a place is to work just by the general attitude of the majority of the employees. They don't have to put on that friendly face with us like they do their customers, and man they sure don't waste one extra smile that they don't have to.
> 
> I had one owner of a company ask me how things were going on the first day, and if all his staff was being helpful. It struck me as odd, thinking that, well why wouldn't they be helpful if they want us to fix their bathrooms. Then he was gone the rest of the week, and boy did I see why he asked. No one there was going to even hold a door open for us if they didn't have to, save for one girl in the office who I hit it off with. One guy even got into it with me because I hadn't told him personally that the water was going to be shut off to one bathroom. I didn't even know who the eff he was or where he worked in the building, and had never even seen him before he started in on me. I think he expected me to let him walk all over me like he was used to doing with his underlings. That sure didn't happen, and he told me to fuk myself and walked off.



yup thats nothing new..the owners or managers that I have to deal with on the financial part are decent, but most of the time employees are just put off by the repairs, and who knows what their side of working at a place is...and who knows if they get their balls broken by the bosses...with that said and being owner of my company( aint nobody I have to answer to) if an employee gives me a hard time I explain I have a job todo just like them, ill give them once and only once the benefit of doubt, and if they come back saying anything I give it right back to them..and if an employee told me to go fuk myself...they sure would get an earful and then right to the owner to tell em about their schit head employee...
in my younger days that employee would probably be picking themselves up off the floor, but age and cooler thinking alleviates those actions now...:biggrin:


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

This is just a life lesson for you... that is all....
be grateful for the work that you do every day because you have it 
literally made compared to the SLAVES working in these hell holes every day...

*do you realize the reason that they are all mad and bitter is because that 
they are JEALOUS OF YOU......*:vs_laugh::vs_laugh:


I went to some hell hole factory nearby our shop this summer to look for a mystery leak in the mens bathroom This place probably has 100 employees sitting at milling machines all day long ....... 

the nasty dirty tile floor had water ponding on it right in front of the urinals ---- their were old access panels on the concrete block walls and I opened up a few of them to look around.... in one there sat a cock roach big enough to put a saddle on... but everything was all dry....

their were no floor drains in the room, and water was ponding right in front of the urinals, but their was a brass clean out near by flat on the floor that I took a chisel and poked a good sized hole through the brass so then they could sweep the piss water in the room down that drain when it ponded up too badly.......:biggrin: \

the old galvanized lines came up through the concrete and probably installed back about from the 40s so I was pretty sure it was gonna be a hell of a mess to find the problem and repair .....


While I was doing this , a break bell went off and it was break time for all the slaves . In about 1 minute all 10 bathroom stalls filled up with big fat bubbas and everyone of them took a massive dump that they had been holding onto for hours and the stink literally about knocked me down to my knees......... 
It was a Hot summer day, 10 guys blasting out in the mens room all at once, and NO BATHROOM FAN to pull away the steam and stench coming off these morons...:vs_laugh: 

I moved fast when I realized it was only gonna get worse before it got better and got my tools and ran the hell out of that bathroom and went looking for the foreman to tell them what I had done to get them by until some leak detection company could come out and find the leak for them..... He was hiding some where and would not answer my phone call.....probably cause he did not want to enter the mens room at this time...

So I just poked a 1/2 hole through a clean out flush with the floor and I think it is still working the same way today after 8 months...... 

I Never even billed them for my time and just dont want to go back into that dump ever again.........and they have never called me back either so its all good ......

You dont realize that you are a FREE MAN , something like a wild stallion running out on the range, with no saddle on you or bridle in your mouth like these dumb asses have to endure for the rest of their lives.......

So that is why they are mad and un-freindly 

just be grateful :biggrin::biggrin:


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## goeswiththeflow (Feb 24, 2018)

Excellent points. I do think to myself quite often how lucky I am. I too had those jobs way back when, when I was too young, naive or scared for my job to speak up like I would today. Still, I like to think that I didn't take it out on others, or if not helpful did not at least make things more difficult for people.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

goeswiththeflow said:


> Excellent points. I do think to myself quite often how lucky I am. I too had those jobs way back when, when I was too young, naive or scared for my job to speak up like I would today. Still, I like to think that I didn't take it out on others, or if not helpful did not at least make things more difficult for people.


all you have to do is look at society in todays world..people are wrapped so tight they are ready to explode for any reason...in reality people have few freedoms left and want their pound of flesh and will take it out of anyone they can, and someone working in their comfort zone/work place is easy pickings....just look at the amount of road rage, noone wants to give up an inch of pavement and will almost kill to keep you from getting infront of them...I say the daily pressures are more than many can handle, and the breaking point for many doesnt take much more for them to go ballistic...


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Yep working at places where you get minimum wage or not much more you get angry and miserable all the time. I remember working at the big box store working in the plumbing isle while going to plumbing school. It sucked big time you'd get flak for anything and everything and they made sure you had a 3 1/4 hour shift because if it was 3 1/2 shift they had to give you a break. I rarely got breaks. 


They'd change the schedule during the week and blame me for missing a shift. Well the second time they pulled a stunt like and missed a shift I was prepared as I'd rip the schedule off the board and went to make a photo copies. My supervisor was so damn pissed when I showed him proof. One day I got into trouble when the owner of the business asked me why the shelves were empty, I handed him all the paperwork of the stuff that needed to be ordered, I had printed out for the last 3 month of pages to let him know my supervisor didn't do his job and order stuff. My supervisor was furious he got caught being lazy so from then on I was stuck in the tin banger isle. When a customer would ask for help I'd say to them if I get out of the isle I would be fired. Then he gave me the job all for myself to do all the plumbing inventory at the end of the year. That task was given to 6-8 employees in the past and he wanted me to be miserable. What he didn't know I played a game and not one item balanced out! They probably ordered 8-9 times too much or on some the stock was empty and I had written it full. hahah payback's a biatch.

So that's why you may get grumpy employees. :devil3:


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## mtfallsmikey (Jan 11, 2010)

Tango said:


> Yep working at places where you get minimum wage or not much more you get angry and miserable all the time. I remember working at the big box store working in the plumbing isle while going to plumbing school. It sucked big time you'd get flak for anything and everything and they made sure you had a 3 1/4 hour shift because if it was 3 1/2 shift they had to give you a break. I rarely got breaks.
> 
> 
> They'd change the schedule during the week and blame me for missing a shift. Well the second time they pulled a stunt like and missed a shift I was prepared as I'd rip the schedule off the board and went to make a photo copies. My supervisor was so damn pissed when I showed him proof. One day I got into trouble when the owner of the business asked me why the shelves were empty, I handed him all the paperwork of the stuff that needed to be ordered, I had printed out for the last 3 month of pages to let him know my supervisor didn't do his job and order stuff. My supervisor was furious he got caught being lazy so from then on I was stuck in the tin banger isle. When a customer would ask for help I'd say to them if I get out of the isle I would be fired. Then he gave me the job all for myself to do all the plumbing inventory at the end of the year. That task was given to 6-8 employees in the past and he wanted me to be miserable. What he didn't know I played a game and not one item balanced out! They probably ordered 8-9 times too much or on some the stock was empty and I had written it full. hahah payback's a biatch.
> ...


I've been there, feel for y'all having to deal with crap like that. Now, I'm on the other side as a building engineer, I go out of my way to make our contractors feel welcome, help in any way I can. I hear a lot of stories about my brethren acting like sh!theads.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

mtfallsmikey said:


> I've been there, feel for y'all having to deal with crap like that. Now, I'm on the other side as a building engineer, I go out of my way to make our contractors feel welcome, help in any way I can. I hear a lot of stories about my brethren acting like sh!theads.





I dont like engineers or architects..most think there schit dont stink when in fact its the stinkiest....
I have locked horns with a few on jobs and that just reinforces my feeling...yes there are some that actually have some common sense along with their book smarts...those are the good ones....


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## JimmyMac (Nov 4, 2015)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> I dont like engineers or architects..most think there schit dont stink when in fact its the stinkiest....
> I have locked horns with a few on jobs and that just reinforces my feeling...yes there are some that actually have some common sense along with their book smarts...those are the good ones....


Best line I have heard in a while..."Engineers need to get back to driving trains"


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

JimmyMac said:


> Best line I have heard in a while..."Engineers need to get back to driving trains"





my pet peeve is allowing someone to design stuff they never laid a finger on or built or installed it, or never worked in the field to know how it all goes together..there should be a minimum 5 years hands on experience in any area you want to be an engineer or architect...I bet that would have a good outcome to having better engineers and architects ...


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## mtfallsmikey (Jan 11, 2010)

JimmyMac said:


> Best line I have heard in a while..."Engineers need to get back to driving trains"



I'm not a degreed engineer, chief engineer is a title, but we are degreed in common-sense engineering. Save the hate for the geek engineers


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Architects are the ones I don't like because often they spec bullschit just because it's expensive and they get a percentage. And then the stuff doesn't go together correctly because nothing is standard.




I have met both engineers and architects. Both think the answer lies in the numbers. But at least engineers understand safety/fudge factor and keep within it. Architects go right up to the line to do something fancy.




Engineers are usually pretty common sense and use tools for hobbies in their spare time. Their weakness is trusting manufacturers specs. We all know that a goulds 1/2hp pump is much different than one from homeless despot or blowes even if they have the same ratings on the name plate.






.


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## jeffreyplumber (Dec 7, 2009)

Hope the next job better for you!


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## goeswiththeflow (Feb 24, 2018)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> my pet peeve is allowing someone to design stuff they never laid a finger on or built or installed it, or never worked in the field to know how it all goes together..there should be a minimum 5 years hands on experience in any area you want to be an engineer or architect...I bet that would have a good outcome to having better engineers and architects ...


Bingo! Sometimes I think some engineers must be liberal Democrats, because some of the things that they come up with are just so outlandish and unworkable that they just defy any sort of common sense or practical knowledge.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

goeswiththeflow said:


> Bingo! Sometimes I think some engineers must be liberal Democrats, because some of the things that they come up with are just so outlandish and unworkable that they just defy any sort of common sense or practical knowledge.


I have been of a few dormer jobs where the contractor couldnt go by the plans drawn because the house would fall down, how they got passed and stamped at the building dept remains a mystery, but either way, the way the architect drew them were no good...


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## jeffreyplumber (Dec 7, 2009)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> I have been of a few dormer jobs where the contractor couldnt go by the plans drawn because the house would fall down, how they got passed and stamped at the building dept remains a mystery, but either way, the way the architect drew them were no good...


 Sometimes work just gets stamped. Kinda like when I had to go back in on a bunch of houses and bust holes in wall to get it to pass gas test. Happens in our Trade too. Some of our citys dont care about gas test at rough in . they want to see it after cabinets and drywall. Plumber has to cover his but by testing befor drywall.


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## ironandfire (Oct 9, 2008)

goeswiththeflow said:


> To this point I've done mostly residential service and some new construction. I've been helping out some of the other guys on some commercial calls recently, and one thing that stuck me is how uncooperative some employees of the businesses we serve can be. I'm used to most of the tricks and annoyances that homeowners can throw at us, but this was new to me.
> 
> I get it, it's not their property so they don't care, we can be in the way, they're still trying to do their jobs, etc, but the outright animosity and even refusal to help us with such things as moving their supplies or equipment so we can access what we need to, or even answering simple questions or directing us to whom we need to speak to has been surprising. Some places you can get a real feel for how fuking miserable a place is to work just by the general attitude of the majority of the employees. They don't have to put on that friendly face with us like they do their customers, and man they sure don't waste one extra smile that they don't have to.
> 
> I had one owner of a company ask me how things were going on the first day, and if all his staff was being helpful. It struck me as odd, thinking that, well why wouldn't they be helpful if they want us to fix their bathrooms. Then he was gone the rest of the week, and boy did I see why he asked. No one there was going to even hold a door open for us if they didn't have to, save for one girl in the office who I hit it off with. One guy even got into it with me because I hadn't told him personally that the water was going to be shut off to one bathroom. I didn't even know who the eff he was or where he worked in the building, and had never even seen him before he started in on me. I think he expected me to let him walk all over me like he was used to doing with his underlings. That sure didn't happen, and he told me to fuk myself and walked off.


 Personality conflicts and psychological deficiencies are all the rage.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

ironandfire said:


> Personality conflicts and psychological deficiencies are all the rage.





I lost half my mind...and the other half went out looking for the first half...:vs_laugh:


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