# Help me help others ...



## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

I need help. I seem to never get the answers I'm looking for from GC's, my boss, apprentice, family. I'm specifically referring to when I text people. I try to get my point across clearly, but I obviously fail since this type of response is what I very commonly get back from all of the previously listed people. Where did I fail with this last text?

Sent the exact same text back, gonna sit here on the clock until someone shows up to let me in or 4 o'clock rolls around.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

What I realized some time ago when people reply an answer like that it means they don't know what to do, it doesn't compute in their brain. Its like a fail safe on a car. It will get you home but maybe not efficientlty. 

Also a reply like that usually demonstrates their level of intelligence.

The answer I hate the most when you ask an opinion to someone is when they reply "It's your decision". That ends my conversation right there.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

I want to point out you didn't ask a question in the text. It could be interpreted as a statement. You also received a statement without them needing to think what to do.

Maybe you should ask in the first place, "What do I do, every door is locked? It will force them to think a little more and give you an appropriate answer.


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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

True, I really wasn't asking a ? but making a statement. In my mind, my text telling him i can not get into the jobsite should let him know to get his arse over here and unlock it since he has the keys. He knew I was coming today. His reply should have been, "My apologies, I am currently on my way to unlock it for you." I didn't need to ask him what to do, after 15 years of working with this GC, he knows i don't play around. I couldn't in good conscious milk the clock more than I did, I finally went home at 1:30.

I guess me being sick and tired of all the BS has really shortened my patience.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

chonkie said:


> True, I really wasn't asking a ? but making a statement. In my mind, my text telling him i can not get into the jobsite should let him know to get his arse over here and unlock it since he has the keys. He knew I was coming today. His reply should have been, "My apologies, I am currently on my way to unlock it for you." I didn't need to ask him what to do, after 15 years of working with this GC, he knows i don't play around. I couldn't in good conscious milk the clock more than I did, I finally went home at 1:30.
> 
> I guess me being sick and tired of all the BS has really shortened my patience.




You are just a servant to him and he has better things to do instead of running over and letting you into his home.... 

So why cant you come out Satruday after 2 ?? I am golfing in the morning but should be done to let you in the house by 2.... will that work out ok>>>>???


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

Should be and isn’t equals a one hour service call added to the total bill.

I get it once in awhile with tenants. I wait 15 minuets if no response, then I walk and charge. If they answer or call back and say they’re running late, I’ll wait. It’s not like a line hasn’t taken me longer than expected before.


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## goeswiththeflow (Feb 24, 2018)

True you didn't form it as a question, but it was obvious that you needed help getting in. What a stupid answer. Next time call instead of texting, so when he gives you that stupid answer you can resolve it right there, tell him that it doesn't matter that the garage is "usually" unlocked when you are there now and need to get in now because it is locked now.

Good for you for having integrity and not milking it until 4:00. I used to think that hitting them in the wallet will make them smarten up too, but even that doesn't seem to help. But just let something that is your fault cost them money and see how much you hear about it. It's all just part of dealing with people. Just keep piping the good pipe man.


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## goeswiththeflow (Feb 24, 2018)

OpenSights said:


> Should be and isn’t equals a one hour service call added to the total bill.
> 
> I get it once in awhile with tenants. I wait 15 minuets if no response, then I walk and charge. If they answer or call back and say they’re running late, I’ll wait. It’s not like a line hasn’t taken me longer than expected before.


I just love it when the tenant isn't there when I arrive, absolutely love it. It has a major effect on my attitude when I have to sit there through endless back and forth calls and texts between me, the boss, the landlord and the tenant. I shouldn't care since I'm on the clock, but all I want to do is just get in and get the job done and go on to the next one. If I wanted to be a communications expert I wouldn't have gone into plumbing. I wish that my boss would do the 15 minute wait thing and then charge, but he is too easy going. Sometimes it seems that they even get priority the later we are because of their carelessness. Other people on the schedule have gotten bumped because of these clowns and/or our day majorly reworked, causing us to work late, with no penalty for the responsible party. Boy how things are going to change when I rule the world.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

Hurry up and wait is the number one reason I didn’t re-enlist.


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## PLUMBER_BILL (Oct 23, 2009)

*help me to help others*

CHONKIE ...

*I'm an old man now, 80 to be exact. When I started this trade and had a boss. When I needed to know something. I was on my own or at least I had to get to a phone. Not all people had them. The cell phone was still a dream. Dick Tracy was the only person who could talk through his wrist radio. One day I became the boss I wanted my employes to call me if there was a question or problem. Then very - very rich people started to get mobile phones the whole trunk was needed because they were so big the cops and fire departments had radios these were paid for through tax dollars, cost was no object. Still no cell phones, As my business grew we were able to purchase two-way radios - I will never forget the first ones frequency 27.235, right in between channel 22 & 23 on the CB network ... almost useless. Finally cell phones were invented -- my first was a bag phone. Battery and handset was in a bag that hung over your shoulder. Finally we got better radios working off a repeter maybe 50-60 mile coverage then we moved to Next-Tel phones, yes the cell phone had arrived, but when we used them we still had to call and talk to get an answer. My cell phone today is still a flip-top phone. The new way texting is your problem some people just can't read, or reply to a typed message maybe they are in a area where they can't see the screen on the phone -- bright sun and so on. The norm should be call an talk the word texting should never be used!*


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## MACPLUMB777 (Jun 18, 2008)

Remember those days Plumber Bill,

When I became a Boss on the job, went to a Apt building where I was asked 
to stand over in a corner while they handled some tenants in the office
so I said no problem as I was on the clock, suddenly I was pushed to the head 
of the line to get the keys I needed,

Another time at a restaurant at midnight completed a bid job on repair to
there their boiler, went to get Mgr's signature when the hostess said that
I had to wait no problem I told her I was charging at double time,
said that I could not do that as a bid job, 
I informed them that the bid was complete
that I was on my own time and that I had plenty of blank invoices, as a 
Master Plumber I was allowed to charge for my time just like a 
Doctor or Lawyer


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

It took me a long time to text. It was about four years before I figured out what the heck Bluetooth was. My first plumbing job I had to rent a pager from then... that was only 17 years ago. Do they even make pagers anymore? Technology is moving so fast these days.

Now my camera is WiFi! I can hand my phone to my customer and they can watch me video their line from their couch. I can record, take pictures and email them. No more vhs, no dvd, no stick....


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

goeswiththeflow said:


> I just love it when the tenant isn't there when I arrive, absolutely love it. It has a major effect on my attitude when I have to sit there through endless back and forth calls and texts between me, the boss, the landlord and the tenant. I shouldn't care since I'm on the clock, but all I want to do is just get in and get the job done and go on to the next one. If I wanted to be a communications expert I wouldn't have gone into plumbing. _*I wish that my boss would do the 15 minute wait thing and then charge, but he is too easy going. Sometimes it seems that they even get priority the later we are because of their carelessness. Other people on the schedule have gotten bumped because of these clowns and/or our day majorly reworked, causing us to work late, with no penalty for the responsible party. Boy how things are going to change when I rule the world.*_



I didn't have a cell phone till last summer! Now I call before I leave to the next job to confirm someone is there. No answer I leave a message they need to call back within a few minutes or the appointment will be moved to another time. I used to go and wait for the owner to show up, waste of gas and time if no one was home.

It also helps to say that the owner needs to be there for the payment. Because they do on purpose to give money to a relative only to have the exact amount of the lowest amount of the range you gave them. You're screwed when the bill is higher.

I've also experienced a few times the husband call for a job and when you show only the wife is there with the kids. When the job is done they say the husband has the money. You have to wait for him to come back, then he says let's go to the gas station, then he fills up his car and you wait, the atm doesn't give out enough money. Then you have to go to the bank.... Anyway when I hear their accent they are immediately disqualified.


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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

I'm usually the type to call and not text, but with this gc that's how we do things. 99% of our work is in the boonies with crappy signal so texting is usually easier and more reliable. Usually a brief signal is enough to send a text as opposed to multiple call attempts that just get dropped.


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## goeswiththeflow (Feb 24, 2018)

> Now I call before I leave to the next job to confirm someone is there. No answer I leave a message they need to call back within a few minutes or the appointment will be moved to another time.


I like that idea. I'll have to remember that when it is up to me.


> Anyway when I hear their accent they are immediately disqualified.


 Funny how millennials and other namby pamby types get all bent out of shape about the horrors of racism, yet time and again certain groups prove why some stereotypes exist. There is one accent which sends me off on a rant whenever I hear it. My coworkers are quite amused when they see the name on the schedule because they know how I'll react, yet they hold other groups in even greater contempt. More often than not my prediction on how we will be treated comes true.


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## Debo22 (Feb 15, 2015)

PLUMBER_BILL said:


> CHONKIE ...
> 
> *My cell phone today is still a flip-top phone. The new way texting is your problem some people just can't read, or reply to a typed message maybe they are in a area where they can't see the screen on the phone -- bright sun and so on. The norm should be call an talk the word texting should never be used!*


A lot of my repeat customers just text me when they need service, it’s a lot quicker than a phone call. 
For example a customer will text “Hi Debo22 my kitchen sink is clogged, when can you come and clear it?” I text back and book the call. It beats the phone call with the BS small talk


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## Plumbus (Aug 4, 2008)

In a similar vein;


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## goeswiththeflow (Feb 24, 2018)

I've seen that before and I love it. It should be sent to every GC. I wish that my boss would subscribe to that philosophy. It sure as hell is going to get high priority when the decisions are up to me.


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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

Either I missed it or we need a facepalm emoji ... My recent exact text sent, "I will need to know which side (*when facing the tub*) to install the handheld on the tub deck at Oak Shores." Response was, "What do you mean?" So I called him and actually got a hold of him. I'm dumbfounded at why the call took 5 minutes of explaining what I meant by "facing the tub" and left or right side when doing so.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

chonkie said:


> Either I missed it or we need a facepalm emoji ... My recent exact text sent, "I will need to know which side (*when facing the tub*) to install the handheld on the tub deck at Oak Shores." Response was, "What do you mean?" So I called him and actually got a hold of him. I'm dumbfounded at why the call took 5 minutes of explaining what I meant by "facing the tub" and left or right side when doing so.


The roll eyes is the closest I can think of : roll

Sometimes I'm on the receiving end of the facepalm when someone is trying to explain a plumbing issue to me on the phone.

Here's an example this morning's email, no question or anything. She didn't read the first line in my ad that I didn't reply to ad emails...


> I have two bathroom rough ins to do. I am in ______. Catherine


 I replied anyway and she called 15 minutes later. After questioning she would act as her own general contractor for a house flip which included gutting the place and redoing 2 bathrooms and adding a new basement bathroom. After more talking she tells me for 4 year she had a under the table young guy doing her plumbing for her previous flips. I knew right there I had wasted my time on that conversation and at the same time she wasn't going to pay licenced labor.


What I don't understand in that province is how these people pass the city plumbing inspection when they do a project like that and everything is paid cash or hired hacks without licences??


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## GAN (Jul 10, 2012)

Yep either without a permit or in our case down here the home owner can do this one time. after that he need to hire a licensed plumber.

If a permit is issued no excuse by the AHJ. If not it's under the table and they would have to catch them. In my area I tell the licensed guys call me if you see something & I go check it out.


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## MACPLUMB777 (Jun 18, 2008)

Tango I worked for a house flipper back when I lived in SLC, UT
he never pulled permits, but everthing that I did was to code,

On another note my older brother has done lots of house remodels both
with and without permits, he is now 72 yrs young and does some new
houses where the owner pulls the permit, as doing the work but hires
my brother to actually do the work,
he does Plumbing,Electric,Heating,residential Fire Sprinklers, & septic tank installs

He has never taken the License test because he can not read above the
third grade level other wise he would be a Licensed in all these,
but he does know all the currant codes


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Tango said:


> The roll eyes is the closest I can think of : roll
> 
> Sometimes I'm on the receiving end of the facepalm when someone is trying to explain a plumbing issue to me on the phone.
> 
> ...



You probably passed on a good opportunity with this lady....she was probably paying that "under the table plumber" for more than plumbing service too... most likely some stud service was included......

you would get to lay some pipes during the day and then really pound some pipes deeper in at night . If you would have given her a decent price, you could have been the new stud on the block ..... plumbing with benefits :vs_laugh::vs_laugh: .


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Plumber and gigolo at a discount. Oh boy! As I saw someone with the signature : piping the good pipe!


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Tango said:


> Plumber and gigolo at a discount. Oh boy! As I saw someone with the signature : piping the good pipe!



we had a job once where the marble man was banging the doctors wife... here we were going about our business in their million dollar house and both of them were upstairs in her office trying to figure out what kind of expensive italian marble they were going to install in the bathrooms...... 

The marble man was getting his knob polished real good ..... but when the bill came due the lady choked on the price and expected a discount for all the time spent polishing his knob.......

eventually the doctor found out and kicked the marble man out the door and put his wife on prozac and got her a face lift...........:vs_laugh::vs_laugh:


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

What an awesome story! Do you need an employee, I'm willing to travel!:wink:


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Tango said:


> What an awesome story! Do you need an employee, I'm willing to travel!:wink:




It was not a good job to be on.... the lady was a spoiled bitc/ wanting french faucets installed in her home... everything special just to please the old hag.. I had a few words with her while trying to please her..
the only thing that made her happy was banging the marble man......:vs_laugh:.

we actually installed a grape colored urinal made in france in her home on the marble wall the marble guy installed....... The urinal valve was bad from the get go and we shut it down before it flooded out the place......
and we told them to call us back when they finally got the new parts in from france to repair it......

never heard a word from the doctor after he found out about the affair.....he probably tore it all out and had her comitted to some place to dry her out for a month or two :vs_laugh:.


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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

:vs_mad:

From now on, this guy gets a text, an email, a phone call, and maybe I'm gonna check into voodoo or something like that.


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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

Should have been easy. Now i have to relevel the tub or have them redo the tile. Personally leaning towards them redoing it.


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## Gargalaxy (Aug 14, 2013)

chonkie said:


> :vs_mad:
> 
> From now on, this guy gets a text, an email, a phone call, and maybe I'm gonna check into voodoo or something like that.


Classic









Let them redo the tile.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

chonkie said:


> Should have been easy. Now i have to relevel the tub or have them redo the tile. Personally leaning towards them redoing it.



The hammer in the video seems very tempting to go wild with it. You can never rely on the other trades. Never! Its like they live in a 4 forth dimension. 

I remember when I was a second year my mechanic told the drywall guys not to do a particular wall during the morning break, we had to maneuver a black pipe. We came back 20 minutes later and they had done both sides. He was so pissed he took his hammer and demolished the whole area. We didn't get lash back for that.


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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

I was going to make a nice cut then bust up what I needed to until i saw how unlevel and higher up (almost 1/4") the added tile is, that i would need to redo my pvc and relevel the tub. Told him to get the tile guy over there to fix it. I'm already on to another job.

Ps. He got the original text stating clearly what I needed done. He said he told the tile guy.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

I've met only a few tile guy who were meticulous and took care of doing things right. The rest are like drywall guys, they don't care. I've seen many who held their lunch sandwich in one hand and screwgun in the other so they could leave 30 minutes earlier at the end of the day. They also didn't use the bathroom, pee bottles behind the wall or poop in a box. The porta potty was 5 minutes away with a guy driving the construction elevator all day.

We had a big meeting on that and 2 guys were caught and kicked off the job site.


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## GAN (Jul 10, 2012)

Tango said:


> I've met only a few tile guy who were meticulous and took care of doing things right. The rest are like drywall guys, they don't care. I've seen many who held their lunch sandwich in one hand and screwgun in the other so they could leave 30 minutes earlier at the end of the day. They also didn't use the bathroom, pee bottles behind the wall or poop in a box. The porta potty was 5 minutes away with a guy driving the construction elevator all day.
> 
> We had a big meeting on that and 2 guys were caught and kicked off the job site.


Several years ago we had a general that would never get a porta-pottie on a job. Most of the time we were near someplace. Hide in the back and pee. Poop in a box and throw it in a dumpster. Several us would still *****.

One job out the country in a new subdivision with no woods around it he himself pooped in a box, left it inside. The Lady he was building for came by and though the box was one of her lighting fixtures. SURPRISE,,,,, she opened it. Guess who got his ass completely chewed.

Hard to enforce but since them in Illinois Plumbing code facilities must be provided. They don't say on every job. Technically a contractor could claim a neighbor allows them to use their restroom and problem solved.


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## M&S (Apr 4, 2018)

I find that when the clock is running, people make access a priority. If you don't value your time, neither will they.


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## Alan (Jun 18, 2008)

My boss always does the texting thing. It drives me batty, because he'll send me on a call and I ask a specific question about it before I leave and his response is either to read me the text conversation, or my favorite "They didnt say."

Its not their job to say. YOU know the information that is needed to complete a job in a timely manner with minimal amount of trips (or at least I hope so) and the correct response in that case would be : I asked but they didnt know or I asked but they werent home right now to check.

😐


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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

What decade did we stop reading and comprehending?


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

chonkie said:


> What decade did we stop reading and comprehending?


Damn the last line is funny. Your boss with his head in the clouds counting money or something?!!


For a long time I didn't want to get a cell because of the constant phone calls from the boss my co-workers had. To top it off constant texting in the evening.


By the way there is a proposition to pass a law so the employers stop texting employees in the evening because it's your time off and want peace and quiet not spending hours texting back and forth planning the next day. If they text and call it will be considered to be remunerated work.


I only had a cell since last May of last year and it was only for my business. Anyway in that period I had to work for a bad boss and he would text 3-4 times asking questions about my work that day and for the next day. He'd text at 10 pm when I was already asleep. It got on my nerves big time.


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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

Head is somewhere but it isn't the clouds. Closer to the orifice located a few feet below the shoulders.


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## Alan (Jun 18, 2008)

chonkie said:


> Head is somewhere but it isn't the clouds. Closer to the orifice located a few feet below the shoulders.


😂😂😂😂😂


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Alan said:


> 😂😂😂😂😂


This is what we see from your reply.... a bunch of script. probably emoticons from space.


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## Alan (Jun 18, 2008)

Tango said:


> This is what we see from your reply.... a bunch of script. probably emoticons from space.


My bad. I was laughing out loud at that one. :biggrin:


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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

I asked him if he clicked "view all", he said he did. Said he read it twice and did not see it on my list. So i highlighted it and resent it as pics. :vs_laugh:


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

You have time to type all that on a cell phone!! I try to use the voice to type texts It doesn't work. All I get is gibberish. The cell keyboard is so damn tiny. 

Call me or call you.

No way I'm texting!


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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

I always text my parts lists. If I called him and told him what I needed, there would be even more wrong or missing parts. Calling the supply house and ordering the parts direct doesn't work either, they almost always mess up an order at Ferguson.


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