Where do you draw the line ?

[goldstar]

I get a lot of laughs on the job when I snap on my nifty latex exam gloves before I start any work and this is one of the reason's why I use them:

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k130/goldstar13397/ServiceCall001.jpg

I went on a service call yesterday to replace a burnt receptacle. When I walked through the door of this residence the smell nearly knocked me over. There I was facing the burnt receptacle but there were 4 open-topped kitty litter boxes with cat excretions in them. In addition there were at least 25 empty cat food cans and lids strewn throughout the first floor and basement. This girl had 4 cats and 3 dogs.

Then I went down to the basement to shut the breaker off and found this :

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k130/goldstar13397/ServiceCall002.jpg

You got it!!! Land mines all over a brand new rug. I had to tip-toe to the breaker panel.

This girl had a lot of problems. She stayed in her room the entire time I was there. It's no wonder - I wouldn't stay in those rooms either. She also hadn't done her laundry in weeks :

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k130/goldstar13397/ServiceCall003.jpg

So, here's the question : Would you do the service call or walk away ?

Just for the record - I did and got about $200 for an hour's worth of work and some materials. But, I wiped down all the tools that I used with handy wipes, I wiped down my arms and legs with handy wipes as well and after experiencing this I certainly will NEVER hold a mini flash-light between my teeth again - no matter how clean a house is !!!

 

[Sparky555]

When you were a kid & ate dirt, what do you think was in that dirt?
This is work for real men. Suck it up & move on to the next one.

Dave

 

[emahler]

so.....was the drop cloth to protect the floor....or you?

 

[boboelectric]

Been there.Friend says divorced daughter has power problem,Can you help?Go there ,that's what you find.Cat urinates into receptacale.

 

[ultramegabob]

When I used to work for someone else, I did service calls in places as bad or worse than the pictures you posted. Although I still do some residential service calls, they are not my target customers, If I could see piles of animal waste and smell an offensive odor, I will most likely pass on the job. I keep busy enough now that I can be a little picky who I work for.

 

[brian john]

I did a service call and I could smell the home made ammonia and urine as I opened the gate. I was knocked on my tushie when she opened the door, I have no clue how many Collies, adults, puppies, herds of turtles everywhere urine soaked through the hardwood. I was barely able to fix the problem, which was in the basement liquid dripping and more Collies .

Returned to the shop and told the boss never again, a no service card was put in the Rolodex with her name in Capitals.

 

[jrannis]

I get a lot of laughs on the job when I snap on my nifty latex exam gloves before I start any work and this is one of the reason's why I use them:

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k130/goldstar13397/ServiceCall001.jpg

I went on a service call yesterday to replace a burnt receptacle. When I walked through the door of this residence the smell nearly knocked me over. There I was facing the burnt receptacle but there were 4 open-topped kitty litter boxes with cat excretions in them. In addition there were at least 25 empty cat food cans and lids strewn throughout the first floor and basement. This girl had 4 cats and 3 dogs.

Then I went down to the basement to shut the breaker off and found this :

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k130/goldstar13397/ServiceCall002.jpg

You got it!!! Land mines all over a brand new rug. I had to tip-toe to the breaker panel.

This girl had a lot of problems. She stayed in her room the entire time I was there. It's no wonder - I wouldn't stay in those rooms either. She also hadn't done her laundry in weeks :

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k130/goldstar13397/ServiceCall003.jpg

So, here's the question : Would you do the service call or walk away ?

Just for the record - I did and got about $200 for an hour's worth of work and some materials. But, I wiped down all the tools that I used with handy wipes, I wiped down my arms and legs with handy wipes as well and after experiencing this I certainly will NEVER hold a mini flash-light between my teeth again - no matter how clean a house is !!!

OK whats with the prybar? Protection?

 

[cadpoint]

Where was your vicks vapor rub, for your nose ?

One of the TV shows used something else . . . I can't remeber that one ...

 

[ohm]

I responded to a call where the wall was literally smoking and 30A fuses (should have been 15A) were blowing. I seems the owner was the dog and the person was the pet. I repaired a BX fed receptacle by cutting back into fresh BX and installing a GFCI receptacle (since the branch circuits didn't have grounds). Well everything held for a few weeks when the person called and said he couldn't keep the GFCI receptacle set. It seems the dog liked to pee on it.

The home didn't have smokes but the person said the dog had started bark a few weeks earlier. I told him I'd seen dogs detect smoke long before a human or a smoke detector and he really needs one, even if dogs are better at it.

Well I never charged for the repair (I'm a softie) but begged off on returning. I said he needs to train his dog first.

P.S. I too didn't lick my lips for a long time afterward.

 

[mdshunk]

I don't know what to say. I think you crossed some sort of line, in my mind, when you took pictures of carpeting and dirty laundry, both of which have nothing to do with electrical work. People have a right to live any way they want to, in much the same way that you could have packed up your tools and moved on. I'm certainly not trying to say that this girl should live like that, or that it wasnt' a miserable place for you to be. I'm only saying that I support her right to live like a pig, and I don't like what you did, taking pictures of the private areas of her home.

 

[jmsbrush]

I don't know what to say. I think you crossed some sort of line, in my mind, when you took pictures of carpeting and dirty laundry, both of which have nothing to do with electrical work. People have a right to live any way they want to, in much the same way that you could have packed up your tools and moved on. I'm certainly not trying to say that this girl should live like that, or that it wasnt' a miserable place for you to be. I'm only saying that I support her right to live like a pig, and I don't like what you did, taking pictures of the private areas of her home.

With the laundry, I can see you're point, the basement floor I disagree, He was stating this is what I had to walk through to get to the electrical panel, "Job Hazards".

Some one needs to call the health department or the animal cops on her. People have the right to live they want to an extent, and having feces all over the place is not one of them.

 

[blueheels2]

I've only had one job that I refused to do and that was in my first year of electircal work. We got a service call to work at a house in the historic district. These calls are usually a nightmare anyway because of outdated wiring, extremely tight and wet crawl spaces and all of the houses are at least 100 years old. This guy had a problem and it required getting under the house . When I opened the crawl space door I knew that I was not going underneath the house. Right near the entry was under the kitchen. The kitchen sink had been draining straight under the house for years. I told the mechanic I wasn't doing it, and then I called the boss and told him to. We packed up our stuff and left.

 

[djohns6]

My concern would have been for the animals . I would have called Animal Control in a heartbeat . People have a right to live like savages but their pets don't have a choice .

 

[electricmanscott]

\I went on a service call yesterday to replace a burnt receptacle. When I walked through the door of this residence the smell nearly knocked me over. There I was facing the burnt receptacle but there were 4 open-topped kitty litter boxes with cat excretions in them. In addition there were at least 25 empty cat food cans and lids strewn throughout the first floor and basement. This girl had 4 cats and 3 dogs.

So, here's the question : Would you do the service call or walk away ?

Bye bye filthy pigs.....

 

[ItsHot]

make a request!

make a request!

Make a request before doing the work! It's simple.. "if you would like the work done I will return to do so ,after you have cleaned up"!

 

[Brady Electric]

Where do you draw the line?

Where do you draw the line?

I agree with Dennis
You don't have to do the job, just walk away
I was in a house like that yesterday and I just did my job and moved on after washing my hands in the truck before moving out of the driveway.
My help was holding my tool bag and gave me a look as to where to sit it.
After looking around at the Range, Microwave, Counter Space, Dryer, and floor. I chose to sit it on top of the trash can lid which was the cleanest of all the rest.
Just being a little funny, because I never sit any tools on anything without a cloth to protect there stuff no matter how dirty.
They have rights too!!!!
One last thing I found out that she worked at a Bakery. Yum Yum
Semper Fi Buddy

 

[Brady Electric]

Where do you draw the line?

Where do you draw the line?

I agree with Dennis
You don't have to do the job, just walk away
I was in a house like that yesterday and I just did my job and moved on after washing my hands in the truck before moving out of the driveway.
My help was holding my tool bag and gave me a look as to where to sit it.
After looking around at the Range, Microwave, Counter Space, Dryer, and floor. I chose to sit it on top of the trash can lid which was the cleanest of all the rest.
Just being a little funny, because I never sit any tools on anything without a cloth to protect there stuff no matter how dirty.
They have rights too!!!!
One last thing I found out that she worked at a Bakery. Yum Yum
Semper Fi Buddy

SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I said Dennis but I meant Marc
Marc good advice, I've seen allot worse and didn't take pictures
I've never turned down a call on count of this but it sure makes me work faster.
Semper Fi Buddy

 

[normbac]

Did her husband and 4 children die in a car accident two weeks earlier etc etc
some people have tragic lives this is not the right forum for this.

 

[jeremysterling]

I've been grossed out by service calls at restaurants where I've previously eaten. I'll still work on their gear, I'll pass when they offer me ice for my drink!

As the late Marvin Zindler used to say on the KTRK restaurant report,
"...and they all had, say it together, now: SLIME IN THE ICE MACHINE!"

The OP must be grateful he didn't become a plumber.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

Did her husband and 4 children die in a car accident two weeks earlier etc etc
some people have tragic lives this is not the right forum for this.

I had the same reaction-- this woman seems either very depressed or mentally unstable. Of course this is an at home diagnosis from a guy with a worthless BA in psych but I think you get the picture. There are many people all over the world in just as bad and worse situation and we seem to all have worked in those houses. I find it very sad indeed.