ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area the Last Electrician.....

Man i am so sick of these service calls where i fix problem A, only to be told about Problems B,C etc with the comment "Well, you were the last electrician in here" line meant to insinuate that i had something to do in said problem(s).

Do these stinkflink Darwinian's think i just fell off the turnip wagon or what? If they'd really like me to pick out all the Uncle-Fester-Non-Inspected,Non-Permitted,Fire waiting to happen wiring i'd have to bring a a team of scribes with 3-ring binders.

Last Thursday, I was demoing a laboratory. While I was there, and AC unit on the other end of the building went dead. ("It didn't go off until you got here!") It had a bad control xfrmr.
Later that afternoon, a loose neutral connection internal to some office partitions opened up, and cooked about 6 PC's and some phones. Voltage was jumping around at about 160 to 180. ("It didn't happen until you got here!") By this time I was steaming mad.
I told the customer that I had been in his building on 9-10, but had nothing to do with the events in NY of 9-11.
(I've had a customer call to ask "what I did" when they've had problems after seeing me driving through their parking lot. I had been doing a job walk on the building next door.)

One of the main reasons I don't do "favors" for other than immediate family and very close friends. Everyone else is looking for something for nothing. If you try to explain what really happened they just think you are b.s. ing them with techno babble.

All;
I did a service revamp this summer and in the fall got a call from that lady, she said, that when they turn the switch for the outdoor receptacle off the lights in the front of the house go off too.
After looking over what I had done and could find no problems I finnally asked her where is the switch that is causing all these problems and she pointed to the service panel she said those switches over there, before we could turn off the outside lights, that were on the outside receptacle, with that switch, and now we cant do that.
So I put in a new switch for the outdoor receptacle and charged her for a service call and parts and aggravation.

Yuppy!
I've learned to hold my tounge, walk away and think about it, but i sure have a bad case of rectal lightning in the meantime.

"what I did" when they've had problems after seeing me driving through their parking lot.
Scott, that beats all!
I could easily be tempted to get out my circuit tracer and wave it around said customers head..
yup, gotta short here too....

JUST SAY NO TO SIDE JOB'S !