Idiotic Customers

[village idiot]

I do not understand why some customers think that because you are an idiot, they can have one over you? I was off work Monday (visit to GP) and Tuesday (taking possession of new van).
Yesterday, Tuesday, I got a phone call around 1pm, customer claiming to have an emergency: ''My bath panel is broken and mouldy, I need it replaced now?''
How is that an emergency, I asked? It may not be to you, but it is to me. Do you want the job or not? I had no intention to work, but seeing as it was a quick and easy earner, I decided to attend.

When she told me she had a leak the previous day and some emergency plumber came round and sorted it. Why did they not sort the panel, I asked? Because the leak was an emergency, says she.
I went there, then told her it will be a minimum of £120 and I need £80 upfront for the materials. She told me all other plumbers always asked for payment after they had finished the job, so she will pay when I finish. I told her that will not happen. She then said she can give me £50 then pay the rest on completion. ''If you do not accept that, I will just give the job to another plumber.'' I just started walking away, encouraging her to get another plumber. At that point, she informed me that if I did not do the job, she will be reporting me to Gas Safe. I told her to please don't forget Watchdog and Trading standards.
TWART

 

[kris]

She sounds like a real HOOOOT, touch wood i dont get experiences like that , but it makes you wonder what goes through there heads, ( apart from sawdust)

 

[IDCHAPPY]

Knobs

 

[village idiot]

When she called and I queried how a bath panel represents an Emergency, her response already set alarm bells ringing. My sixth sense told me to not bother but I reasoned if she wants to class it an emergency, then who am I to say otherwise?
When I attended and saw how damp the floor underneath the bath was, I told her it would be better to let it dry out before fixing the panel.
No, she said. Except you can guarantee that there will be no mice coming in from there? I told her I could not guarantee that. At that point, she asked me to get down on my knees and look very closely all around underneath the bath to see if there is anywhere a mice might gain entry?
At this point, I was really holding back my desire to call her a few names and just walk away.
Goes to show why you should always take with a pinch of salt customers who come on here and blame tradesmen for one thing or another. It is my assumption that her attitude could be one of the things why the other plumber never returned to replace the bath panel

 

[galaxy_plumbing]

send her call out bill

 

[SimonG]

Just another day in the trenches.

 

[village idiot]

send her call out bill

My website and my business card says: NO CALL OUT FEE
So long as I attend and have my hands in my pockets and do nothing, I do not charge. OK, there are those times when you tell them (without touching anything) what is wrong with their system, then they go ahead and do it themselves or get someone else to do it. I consider the advice we give on here for free to be no different, except it is done remotely. In as much as we do not drive there, we still give free genuine advice to the best of our knowledge.
If I take out any tools, even a screw driver and touch anything, I charge

 

[kris]

I had a cracker of call out today, a new customer who had foned a local sparky because she had no hot water and that its all done through the immersion with off peak aswell , and the sparky told her its not electrical its a plumbers job and that it,l just be the element, so i said to her yeh il do it no probs but it is wires n not pipes , anyway off i goes , she swithched the boost on , i goes up into attic , climbing over the newly insulated attic,- no power at immersion, so i traced the cables back under the insulkation and found 2 switches 1 for the boost immersion and one for the off peak immersion, and one of the swithches was off, turned out the loft was newly insulated and the guys who done it knocked the switch off, ,,,, jobs a good ane, wish they could all be that easy

 

[Barry98]

Gas safe won't care , I had one complain about the batteries going in his timer after 3-4 month , they didn't batter a eye lid

 

[village idiot]

Gas safe won't care , I had one complain about the batteries going in his timer after 3-4 month , they didn't batter a eye lid

They will just answer her nicely and tell her there is not much they can do.

How dumb are these customers? Well, if someone thinks that a bath panel is related to Gas Safe, then they need help

 

[Paulplumb]

If I had a pound for every idiot 🙂

 

[Dotty]

If I had a pound for every idiot 🙂

You'd have £4.22.....

 

[Chris F]

I used to do a lot of responsive work in and around Smethwick, sparkbrook, Handsworth in brum, all the nice places. My brother was upstairs in a property when the tenants son got out of bed and started threatening my brother with a knife because he had woke him up (it was dinner time) we had the header tank out at the time, I calmly said to my bro "cap it" we walked out calmly, middle of winter, tnt asked how he was going to have a bath I told him to buy a bigger kettle. 🙂 I could write a book on the things I've seen.

 

[IDCHAPPY]

I've avoided most of the scum a retards thankfully 🙂

 

[WaterTight]

I had a cracker of call out today, a new customer who had foned a local sparky because she had no hot water and that its all done through the immersion with off peak aswell , and the sparky told her its not electrical its a plumbers job and that it,l just be the element, so i said to her yeh il do it no probs but it is wires n not pipes , anyway off i goes , she swithched the boost on , i goes up into attic , climbing over the newly insulated attic,- no power at immersion, so i traced the cables back under the insulkation and found 2 switches 1 for the boost immersion and one for the off peak immersion, and one of the swithches was off, turned out the loft was newly insulated and the guys who done it knocked the switch off, ,,,, jobs a good ane, wish they could all be that easy

In the last month I've had two tap tightenings. I think that's my favourite job. Line me up 20 a day.

 

[village idiot]

A customer told me the shower runs hot for a few minutes, goes cold then does it over and over again.
Turns out she had placed the pram next to the gas meter knocking the ECV almost off resulting in boiler being under gassed.
She was well embarrassed when I told her what the problem was. ''Please, do not let my husband know that was the cause''. Funny

 

[Ermintrude]

Just got a text from a twonk. Uses his wife's phone as she's fit and knows I won't answer his.

Do I have any time to do a CP12 TODAY? Err no. See you Monday p.s u owe me money!

 

[Chris F]

Went to a breakdown last night, switched off at the spur.

 

[village idiot]

Went to a breakdown last night, switched off at the spur. 

Out of interest Chris, how many staff do you have working in your company?

A customer called me about a month ago. Said her washing machine was not working, so she bought a new Bosch one. She is not happy as new one (same make/model) is displaying same message: NO WATER. She said she has turned on the valve but no joy??
Went there and turned on valve. You should have seen the embarrassment. She went all RED.

 

[Chris F]

Out of interest Chris, how many staff do you have working in your company?

A customer called me about a month ago. Said her washing machine was not working, so she bought a new Bosch one. She is not happy as new one (same make/model) is displaying same message: NO WATER. She said she has turned on the valve but no joy??
Went there and turned on valve. You should have seen the embarrassment. She went all RED.

Just me mate and sometimes I pay my mate a day rate if I'm snowed 🙂 or if it's some house I don't want to work in hehe. To be fair my mate is very handy, very good plumber and tiler and qualified carpenter and will graft his taters off for 120 a day 8 till 6 . There used to be 3 of us me, my bro and our mate but it all fizzled out 🙂

 

[village idiot]

So it wasn't you who is fitting 30 boilers a month then. Thought it was you

 

[Chris F]

So it wasn't you who is fitting 30 boilers a month then. Thought it was you

Lol 🙂 no mate, I wish.