# Do any of you discriminate by location?



## DUNBAR PLUMBING (Sep 11, 2008)

Have you ever discriminated against an entire town/city/area due to the conditions, the types of people, the attitudes or danger levels associated with the work? 


I did that today, and as soon as I heard the location I did everything to get out of going, which initially I said yes to. 

There are 2 areas in my work range that I'm hard pressed to work for people, and it's for many reasons, mostly the people. 


I don't think the customer on the other end of the phone was happy with me, but that's not my problem.


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## express (Nov 22, 2008)

I will only go into certain neighborhoods at day light hours


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

The last company I worked for had a rotating on call schedule for the weekends. 

When it was a supervisor from my office and a call came in to some undesirable location he or she would either tell them we would wait to in the morning or they would have to pay for two of us to come.

The kicker was when the home office supervisors in a city a hour and a half away would be on call. They didn't know the lay of the land and would demand we go on this call in a bad part of town. I had a few of them I had to tell them rather bluntly that I would take my last check from them before I went in there by myself. They finally figured out what parts were bad and what wasn't after some persuasion.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

*do it all the time*

I dont care to lose my life or my truck....
and I want to go home tonight and see my kids.
and I would like to see them graduate from college some day too..


.we dont go out to some locations even during the 
daylight....the money is not worth the risk.....


_ keep a 9mm in my truck but _its nothing personal, 
I just want to stay above ground


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

Master Mark said:


> I dont care to lose my life or my truck....
> and I want to go home tonight and see my kids.
> and I would like to see them graduate from college some day too..
> 
> ...


Ultra Lite Snub Nose .38 special revolver for me. For those up close and personal confrontations.


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## plumb nutz (Jan 28, 2011)

Washington D.C. hate going just about anywhere there. Traffic sucks, traffic lights are on the corner and you can't see the f-ers. $2+ to park if you can find a place. Don't even get me started on the people who live there....


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## ranman (Jan 24, 2010)

I work for who and where and do what i want to. i pass on the bad areas and crappy work.


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## DIZ (Nov 17, 2010)

Master Mark said:


> _ keep a 9mm in my truck but _its nothing personal,
> I just want to stay above ground






Plumberman said:


> Ultra Lite Snub Nose .38 special revolver for me. For those up close and personal confrontations.


All my guns are in the safe....thats Canada for ya! A piece of pex with a fitting on the end of it makes for a decent defense.


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

DIZ said:


> All my guns are in the safe....thats Canada for ya! A piece of pex with a fitting on the end of it makes for a decent defense.


lol, go figure, the americans have guns for self defense and the canadian use a gentle piece of pex.


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## Duall Damage (Apr 3, 2011)

Make sure you use that pex weapon only at night because of the UV rays during the day will cause it to crack just as you pull it out to save your life.


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## easttexasplumb (Oct 13, 2010)

I dont have any guns at all, so what ever government spybot intercepts this post, I dont have no guns. :whistling2:


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

easttexasplumb said:


> I dont have any guns at all, so what ever government spybot intercepts this post, I dont have no guns. :whistling2:


Me neither!


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## Dun' Right (Sep 27, 2010)

In downtown kansas city, there are alot of high class, high dollar customers that live right on the edge of downtown. Go two blocks in either direction there are undesirable area's. I don't know why the rich folks would want to live down there, but they buy these historical homes which usually always need alot of work. 

I'll take these calls, but you can be damn sure I'm taking my .38 special with me.


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## suzie (Sep 1, 2010)

I have gone to look at work in certain neighboorhoods during mid-morning and I wonder if my van will be there when I come out. I usually pass on those jobs:whistling2:


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## nhmaster3015 (Aug 5, 2008)

I started my career doing oil burner service in Boston. My boss told me on the first day that carrying was just about manditory


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## BROOKLYN\PLUMB (May 21, 2010)

I work in bed-stuy, bushwick, south bronx, harlem, Spanish harlem and many other notorious neighborhoods I have never had any problems (im a 5'10" Jew boy) except when Ho gave access but failed to tell the gun wielding supper or drug dealers but as I was taught to see nor hear anything, personally I get more nervous around guys in suits.


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## Airgap (Dec 18, 2008)

Anybody see the movie "Wrong Turn" ? There's a lil bit of that going on around here....So, the answer would be yes to discrimination.....


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## nhmaster3015 (Aug 5, 2008)

I'm an equal opportunity discriminator


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

easttexasplumb said:


> I dont have any guns at all, so what ever government spybot intercepts this post, I dont have no guns. :whistling2:


I lost all of my guns in a boating accident. Man boats are dangerous....:whistling2::whistling2:


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## DUNBAR PLUMBING (Sep 11, 2008)

I had a feeling guns would become part of this topic, knowing there is good reason to discriminate certain areas on the map for safety reasons as a primary one.


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2008)

Live outside of Washington DC ,, People offer MAD $$ to come there ,,, I refuse . 3 times i worked there ,,, 2 times truck was cleaned out ( robbed ).

F -- That !


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

http://www.courant.com/community/new-haven/hc-new-haven-shootings-0320-20110319,0,6614383.story

Would You?

I Do! :yes:

Some places I wouldn't go to at night.... No Way!


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

DIZ said:


> All my guns are in the safe....thats Canada for ya! A piece of pex with a fitting on the end of it makes for a decent defense.


I'm in the South, everybody has a gun.... Mine are just bigger and shoot farther 


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## PeckPlumbing (Mar 19, 2011)

If you drive through a neighborhood with couches on the front porch and pitbulls in the front yard, 85 percent of the time they can't afford to have the service done right.

----


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## affordabledrain (Nov 24, 2009)

I had 2 guys shot right infront of the house .I was working at 2 weeks ago while. I was doing a remodel. I grabbed my gear and left quickly.

i had a house in a nice part of town last week. That was crazy. the tenants were all drunk and fighting by noon. Couldn't wait to finish up and leave


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

I have heard stories about areas in Chicago. One of my dad's friends used to run off a pickup, and one time when he stopped at a red light some guys grabbed the spartan 100 and ran off. His partner and him jumped out to go after them and another guy smashed the window on the truck and jumped in and took it.

My dad always chained down his rods, and he also had a homemade enclosure on the top of his truck which had a chain that went through a hole he made in the bed of the truck that he put a heavy padlock on. So to open the back of the truck he had to reach under the bumper to remove the padlock to get in the back. But if he had any tools in the cab, he was always sure to find his window smashed out and the tools gone.

Till this day we have vans with no windows in the back and secure the back in such a way that who ever wanted in really would have to work at it. Also no tools in the cab what so ever. Also all our trucks are unlettered so we do not advertise to the thieves out there what kind of tools and equipment we have.


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

> Till this day we have vans with no windows in the back and secure the back in such a way that who ever wanted in really would have to work at it. Also no tools in the cab what so ever. Also all our trucks are unlettered so we do not advertise to the thieves out there what kind of tools and equipment we have.


 We do the same thing with our work vans -- And no pipe rack on top either.

We have hollow consoles bolted to the head ache cage in the cab to accommodate ten foot lengths of pipe.

If we need 20 footers or 21 foot lengths of gas pipe, I deliver them to the job in my pickup outfitted with a pipe rack.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

*good insurance*



Plumberman said:


> I'm in the South, everybody has a gun.... Mine are just bigger and shoot farther 


I used to do a lot of winterizations in repossessed vacant homes from 1998 through 2009.... 
Around 300 per winter.. .5 a day ....every day...all by myself.

The first rule 

#1.even in a nice neighborhood, never go into a vacant home without your gun in your hand ...their could be some crack head sleeping in the bedroom........

#2 always carry your gun visble so everyone in the area can see what they are up against ...
a shiney nickle plated one scares off evil spirits..

3. never go down into a dark basement without a good flashlight and a 9mm with a 13 round clip...
:yes::yes:

4. a small back up 22 is also a good idea in the more 
nasty neighborhoods...

5 never answer the door or come up the stairs to see who just walked in on you....
they make a better target when they are comming down the stairs..
make them come to you....:yes:


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

Master Mark said:


> I used to do a lot of winterizations in repossessed vacant homes from 1998 through 2009....
> Around 300 per winter.. .5 a day ....every day...all by myself.
> 
> The first rule
> ...


Here in WI, all you are allowed to do is open carry (concealed isn't allowed here yet). I have worked on some terrible jobs for a slum lord when I first started out. Always carried a nice full sized .45. It's fun whe you catch them in your van and you yell with your hand on your holster. Man do they run fast.....


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## DUNBAR PLUMBING (Sep 11, 2008)

*I discriminated by the job today*

I got a call for a sump pump replacement that was in a basement.

What 'really' the true situation was?


Crawl space, 7' ceiling, mud floor with a foot of water throughout, a 3' by 3' opening leading down a rickety/unsafe ladder. <<< Found all this out by prying info from my bed, laying down with my eyes closed waiting to get off the phone so I could fall back to sleep. LOL!!!



I had given him one price, and when I got the true scenario, I backed out. He couldn't tell me if the check valve (didn't even know if he even had one) was above the water level in the basement. 


If it was, I was going to jump on this call as soon as I went and bought a pair of concrete boots to keep meh footsies dry. 

But since this guy couldn't convince me there was a check valve, I pushed it off to another plumber. 

Bad knees, suctioning through mud? Not my problem. It came from a good referral but it's not my place or time to do that job.

If I wouldn't of asked first that would of been an underbid job. It also made no sense that he needed me immediately when he went and rented a trash pump yesterday, pumped the basement dry only to think that his pump wouldn't malfunction again? 

It was easier to toss the job, I had calls already lined up and I'm waiting for a response on another sump pump job that came in. I might of lost that one because I didn't return the call fast enough. I don't know for sure but if it came by good referral then they will call back.


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## Hillside (Jan 22, 2010)

I'd rather work in a nice neighborhood and charge my regular prices than work in the hood & charge more, dodge roaches,rats and thugs anyday, leave the hood to hood plumbers


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

DUNBAR PLUMBING said:


> I got a call for a sump pump replacement that was in a basement.
> 
> What 'really' the true situation was?
> 
> ...


 Sometimes you have to go with your gut instinct.

I've done it more times than I can count.

This is a Service we're offering -- Not charity.


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## DUNBAR PLUMBING (Sep 11, 2008)

Widdershins said:


> Sometimes you have to go with your gut instinct.
> 
> I've done it more times than I can count.
> 
> This is a Service we're offering -- Not charity.


 

With the situation above, I'm not happy I lost the sump pump call today. Should of brought the cell phone in with me. I was lining up work though for the customers in front of me, one or two toilet replacements and some shutoff replacements at another. These were 3 repeat customers today that I value greatly, all are elderly and like/trust me.


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