funny experiences in the job

[phil d]

I did some work for a local Indian restaurant owner on his house and when it came to paying up he tried to do me out of a tenner, a tenner I mean, that's just silly. Anyway it was a fairly hot summer and about a week later he rings up on a Friday night in a right state, his extraction has gone off in the restaurant and his chefs are threatening to walk out, to make things worse it's the busiest night of the month. So being the cheeky sod that he is he rings me up to fix it, I go out and find it's tripped a breaker, no problem it's just tripped, but we have to make sure don't we, I order a pint and a curry and sit down, about an hour later everything is fine so I order another pint. I drink that and decide there's no problem with the extractors, they've still not tripped, I bill the guy for my time, 2 hrs plus call out, he pays up somewhat grudgingly, I thank him for the complimentary food and drink, well I assumed it was on the house, and leave. Do you know something, he never had a problem again, or if he did he didn't ring me, there are some clients you can well do without. 

 

[Tony S]

I'm obviously more cynical than you two!

Arrive at work.

Press one button.

Dream up some sort of fault to cover the production workers arse.

Go home.

Four hours at overtime rate in my pocket.

Multiply that XX times a week.

 

[user 28595]

Do you give commission?

cheers, Paul

 

[Tony S]

Commission? No, upset me and you’ll pay in other ways.

A production manager got stuck in the lift, he had to wait four hours for me to show up. Previously he’d tried to con me out of a call out payment.

 

[revjames]

A bit long but an excerpt from a book I am writing about some of my life experience. It will be worth the read

I spent most of my working hours with another local electrician called Spence. Scruffy, long haired and into heavy metal. The Electricity Board sent out leaflets to all the houses in the area advertising for work. We would do things like rewiring houses, putting Economy Seven heating in and installing showers. The leaflet showed smart looking workers wearing neat uniforms and ties. Smiling and clean shaven. The strapline was ‘Call the Experts’. The reality would arrive in the form of Spence and myself. I was not as scruffy as my colleague but still unshaven and with torn jeans and a grubby tee shirt.

We arrived at a house to install heating. This would mean one of us going into the attic to pull in the cables. “Looks like it’s your turn”, I said to Spence, motioning to the trap door with my head. He refused and a small disagreement followed. We ended up rolling around on the floor scuffling. It was just a laugh really, perhaps we had gone too far. The customer, an older lady, soon appeared in the hallway. She started screaming and threatening to call the head office and the Police. We got up from the floor and apologised, I convinced her we were really good mates and were just messing about and promised to do a really good job. So much for calling the experts.

The next job was on a site quite far away, over an hours driving in the van. At the end of the day, I decided I didn’t want to drive back as I had driven there. I jumped in the passenger side and put my belt on and locked the door. I saw Spence looking at me thinking of a plan. He grabbed my lunchbox and threw it across the car park. I had to get out of the van to retrieve it, by which time he was sat in the passenger seat. I grabbed all his beloved heavy metal tapes and threw them. After about an hour, things had escalated to the point where we were throwing each other’s toolboxes across the car park. Now we were going to be late. Childish behaviour, but we were both laughing our heads off. “OK Spence, I’ll drive” I reluctantly said. Things like this happened every day, I enjoyed my job very much. The pay wasn’t the best but what fun we had.

 

[Evans Electric]

The leaflet showed smart looking workers wearing neat uniforms and ties. Smiling and clean shaven.

I remember similar leaflets showing electricians in engineering , where I first started ......... a smartly dressed electrician in overalls with shirt & tie and an equally smart apprentice, collar & tie , gazing with simulated wonder in his eyes as the "electrician " posed with the leads of a tester poked into a motor terminal box.

One of the main safety things , even back then before the phrase H&S had been invented was NOT to wear a "noose" around your neck that could dangle into a rotating machine ... drag you  in & spit you out the other end . 

 

[Evans Electric]

The strapline was ‘Call the Experts’.

I also remember  this local "Electricity Board"     ...MEB  .... whose operatives thought they were a cut above  the electrical contacting fraternity .  Somewhere I have their form where they kindly condescended to recognise me as a contractor and would accept completion tickets from me . 

Ah! Found it

 

[phil d]

A bit long but an excerpt from a book I am writing about some of my life experience. It will be worth the read

I spent most of my working hours with another local electrician called Spence. Scruffy, long haired and into heavy metal. The Electricity Board sent out leaflets to all the houses in the area advertising for work. We would do things like rewiring houses, putting Economy Seven heating in and installing showers. The leaflet showed smart looking workers wearing neat uniforms and ties. Smiling and clean shaven. The strapline was ‘Call the Experts’. The reality would arrive in the form of Spence and myself. I was not as scruffy as my colleague but still unshaven and with torn jeans and a grubby tee shirt.

We arrived at a house to install heating. This would mean one of us going into the attic to pull in the cables. “Looks like it’s your turn”, I said to Spence, motioning to the trap door with my head. He refused and a small disagreement followed. We ended up rolling around on the floor scuffling. It was just a laugh really, perhaps we had gone too far. The customer, an older lady, soon appeared in the hallway. She started screaming and threatening to call the head office and the Police. We got up from the floor and apologised, I convinced her we were really good mates and were just messing about and promised to do a really good job. So much for calling the experts.

The next job was on a site quite far away, over an hours driving in the van. At the end of the day, I decided I didn’t want to drive back as I had driven there. I jumped in the passenger side and put my belt on and locked the door. I saw Spence looking at me thinking of a plan. He grabbed my lunchbox and threw it across the car park. I had to get out of the van to retrieve it, by which time he was sat in the passenger seat. I grabbed all his beloved heavy metal tapes and threw them. After about an hour, things had escalated to the point where we were throwing each other’s toolboxes across the car park. Now we were going to be late. Childish behaviour, but we were both laughing our heads off. “OK Spence, I’ll drive” I reluctantly said. Things like this happened every day, I enjoyed my job very much. The pay wasn’t the best but what fun we had.

I have wrote a book but it looks expensive to get it out there, any ideas?

 

[revjames]

I have wrote a book but it looks expensive to get it out there, any ideas?

look up self publishing on amazon. They have a framework in place to do this. I am still editing and getting proof reading and formatting. 

All the best with it

 

[steptoe]

I have wrote a book but it looks expensive to get it out there, any ideas?

look up self publishing on amazon. They have a framework in place to do this. I am still editing and getting proof reading and formatting. 

All the best with it

or,

get friendly with some local monks?  :C

 

[phil d]

I did think of serialising it on here tbh, I've wrote it and I'm happy, ok it may not be published but I've done it. I wonder if it would go down well on here? would there be any interest in reading it?

 

[Lurch]

I did think of serialising it on here tbh, I've wrote it and I'm happy, ok it may not be published but I've done it. I wonder if it would go down well on here? would there be any interest in reading it?

I think you'd be better off making it an ebook. You at least have some sort of book to distribute to those who don't frequent this forum, and it's also readable and preserved rather than being lost on the forum. You could do all this yourself for next to nothing if you really wanted to, even a decently formatted PDF would be better than just posting it on the forum TBH. You could do both, some people might read the odd post here rather than sit and read a full book but I would definitely get the ebook done first.

 

[Tony S]

Publishing fees are high. Going back 20 years page foils for a 48 page magazine cost £1.5K, print house £4K, distribution £1K, ISBN registration £500.

 

[revjames]

I did think of serialising it on here tbh, I've wrote it and I'm happy, ok it may not be published but I've done it. I wonder if it would go down well on here? would there be any interest in reading it?

 well I shared a few paragraphs, why not put a taster on here?

 

[Evans Electric]

I did think of serialising it on here tbh, I've wrote it and I'm happy, ok it may not be published but I've done it. I wonder if it would go down well on here? would there be any interest in reading it?

Respect for writing a book . 

A few paragraphs on here wouldn't hurt .  Give us a chance to take the pee  .....make constructive cricitism.

Revo;

I didn't see your "shared paragaphs" :C

I'm been a consistant reader since my Mom taught me to read with the Rupert Annual ..  ( I'm now on Just William !!)

 

[Doc Hudson]

I'm been a consistant reader since my Mom taught me to read with the Rupert Annual ..  ( I'm now on Just William !!)

If you are good then we may let you read a Bleep & Booster story in one of the old Blue Peter annuals, kept in the forum archive. Sidewinder pretends they are back history wiring regulations reference, 14th edition and earlier.

Doc H.

 

[Evans Electric]

I've not heard of those  Doc .     I thought Sidewinder had moved up to The Famous Five books , now he's conquered 5 letter words. :innocent

 

[Tony S]

You have to be of a certain age.

AKA in your dotage.

 

[revjames]

Revo;

I didn't see your "shared paragaphs" :C

 try looking at the end of the first page of this thread

 

[Evans Electric]

Ah   I did read that after all .  I  didn't take on board it was from a book .