I had a new fridge delivered a few months ago. Due to the layout of my kitchen the door hinges needed to be moved from the right to the left. The guys that delivered it made up a bullshit story about the door interfering with the wall if the hinges were on the left and refused to do it. But they did refund me the £30 hinge swap fee. Called the store and they sent out a couple repair guys. These weren’t kids, both in their 40’s but one had no experience and they didn’t have all the tools they needed. They had to borrow my ladder as they didn’t have a step-up or ladder of their own. They didn’t have the power tools that would have made this a 30 minute job, it took two hours.
A friend has a 21 year old son who did a year of auto mechanics in the local tech college before dropping out. A tail light on his car burned out and he took it somewhere to be replaced. When his dad asked him why he didn’t do it himself he replied that they hadn’t done electrics in his year at tech college.
I have two toolboxes in the garage. One with general stuff like screwdrivers, socket set, wrenches and hammers and another with the specialist tools for working on bicycles, many of which are now obsolete. As a kid my dad taught me how to work on bicycles and as a teen I worked for an old guy fixing lawn mowers and other small engines. Later I worked in a Coast-to-Coast hardware store fixing mowers and general assembly work.
Before my programming career, and after framing and exterior trim work, I worked for two different lawn sprinkler companies. I then started my own (that eventually failed). But I learned a ton about plumbing. Everything from copper to poly.
At my new home, they did not install the system correctly. They did not put drain valves on the outside main line. This means you got to hook up your compressor and blow the thing out. With a proper design, you don’t need to do that. Just open a couple of drain valves. This, um pisses me off. I may install some drain valves. This could have been done in 20 minutes and $20 when the installation was done. Now it’s gonna be a pain in the ass.
I used to also do sprinkler repair, I seen some weird freaking systems, unfortunately and at my new house I have a bizzaro one. I guess, at least, I can deal with it.
I actually had a guy that owns a sprinkler system company come give me a hand, he said “I’ve NEVER seen a design like this before”
Yeah, me either. I sort of wanted to confirm that I’m not crazy. It’s been 35 years since I was in the business. It’s not changed THAT much.
You’re not crazy. Those installers can be described with one word: inept. Yes I too weep for our future, but I’m 64 so in a few short years I won’t care, except the inept cemetery workers might have trouble putting my coffin into the dirt. But still I won’t care.
I always carry a Swiss Army Knife in my pocket, and in recent years a Leatherman on my belt. With those 2 little tools I can fix many things. Even in the Marines, sure we loved our KA-BAR fighting knives but most of the time I used that little SAK in my pocket.
The best SAK? For me it’s the Nomad, with long locking blade, and a corkscrew for that bottle of wine I always seem to find. And it’s black, not red.
My dad was handy and took a carpentry class at the high school when I was a baby, so he had lots of tools. We kids loved his work bench vice! It was so much fun to play with. But I never had to use it for anything practical.
Decades ago we bought a TV cabinet from Plummers. It was a central cabinet with a lower level with two shelves with doors and an upper level for the TV with doors that slid back into the cabinet after they were opened. Plus two side book shelves that were easy-peasy to assemble. Well, we paid for delivery and assembly, and those two guys were there for over four hours putting that cabinet together. Best money we ever spent.
I have one of those long rectangular metal tool boxes with a handle where I try to keep all my tools. I do keep my hammer hanging up in the hall closet, because I use it a lot. I also have a hammer that I keep upstairs in the linen closet. My walls are literally covered with art, so I often have to adjust things if I get anything new.
This took me a good second. I thought, yeah, okay, maybe a darker cab or something could look kinda inky black in the right lighting. But why would the Marines care so much about wine names…?
Then I realized you were just talking about the knife…
Yeah, even though I have a shit ton of tools, I’m starting to get over my ‘Got to do it myself’ mindset. I’m not a kid anymore, my left hand is weak with nerve problems and numbness, and my back is not in the best of shape.
In my case it’s the years AND the mileage. I’ve beaten myself up pretty well. It’s been ‘fun’ though. But the important part is the knowledge along the way. I’ve gotten myself out of quite a few bad situations with that.
Mine are in the garage, in a built-in cabinet there, and some closets above it. A lot of them I got from my father, a few electric ones I bought. They are not well organized, but I know where they are.
I also have a bunch of drawers for screws and nails and stuff like that.
My father had a big workbench in the basement where he kept all his tools. I wonder if people who grew up in apartments and moved a lot don’t have a lot of tools. They are heavy.
That’s a good point. And, well, if you’re in an apartment, you should have a building manager or someone that will take care of things. I’m sure that that doesn’t always work out though.
It you own a home, you’re on your own. But YOU decide when the work is going to be done, and how it’s going to be done.
They are in two drawers in the laundry room. I’m not exactly Ms. Fix-It but I have occasion for a cordless drill, drill bits, several types of screwdrivers, a wrench and two pairs of pliers. And an assortment of nails and screws.
I don’t have a lot of mechanical knowledge so I pay people for the big jobs. But for minor stuff, it falls on me.
I like my drill, but I find it very heavy to hold for extended periods, which makes it difficult when I’m trying to use it in a deeply recessed area.
I was thinking more of not having the space to store a decent set of tools. Very little of my tool usage is for things that would require a super if I were in an apartment.
Another issue is that people move between apartments more frequently than you move between houses, and so shlepping a lot of tools during a move would be more of a pain. I have some tools from my father that I might have used once in 20 years.
Yeah, different lives. I’ve only lived in an apartment once. My tools got stolen out of my truck. I forgot to bring them in.
Ok, some complaints. The solar installers put a foot through our ceiling. Told the dry wall guy that it was a small hole. Ummm… No, no it isn’t.
Drywall guy comes out. He’s rather stunned. But does a good job and a good start. It still needs mud texture and paint.
No one calls to schedule a return visit. And I can’t reach anyone at the company. Turns out that ‘Oh, we all just changed phone numbers last week’
So I finally get ahold of someone to finish the job. They can do it September 29th. Ummm. No. It was supposed to be finished two days ago.
Oh and their entire communication system is f’d up. My wife gets the texts, I get the emails, I think I’m getting that sorted out with them. But it’s a mess. This is one of the biggest solar system installation company in the USA. Not some fly by night company.
I’m tempted to just go buy some mud, grab my tools and do it myself. But this is NOT my job, and I did not screw it up.
I called the guy that sold the system to us (actually got ahold of him). He claimed to be the project manager as well. But he said that the District managers NEW number was xxxxxxx. I texted him back - “AND? Who’s running this job, you, or me?”
I’m not hard to work for, I’m really not. I’ll always have water and Ice Tea for workers in a cooler. I loan tools obviously.
Accidents happen, but don’t screw around with me. I’ll give you a chance, but I will go over your head if I need to.
I had interior painters break a toilet paper holder off of a wall, and put dings in the walls in our stairway and other walls as they brought doors in and out, and leave paint smears on wood stairs and on walls. Very shoddy work, and they never copped to it.
What recourse do I have? Not much as far as I could tell, other than leave poor reviews on Yelp and Google.
I have plenty of recourse really. We have a loan for this system (that I will pay off as soon as it’s installed, and running, not before)
They loan company called me today with a ‘Welcome’ and asked about how it’s going. I told them. Apparently this solar company is one of their big clients.
They are pissed off about what I told them. They are also lighting fires under the solar company. The loan company asked for pictures of the hole in the ceiling, well OK.
This isn’t earth shattering stuff at all, I just want somebody to call me. Or someone that I can call.
Uh… I usually fly really low under the radar. But some things need a reaction. I guess I got one.
Oh, this is dumb, but when they cleaned up the mess, they knocked over a chess piece and apparently it got swept up with the insulation. They say they are sending a check for that.
The whole situation is just so dumb. I’m sorry that I’m escalating it I guess, but hey, they screwed up.
Yeah this. Rather a indictment of the skill level of the American workforce it’s a reflection of the “gig economy”. I’d put money on the fact there was at least one middle man involved here. Those workers were not employed by the “established company” that company farmed it out to a third party (who farmed it out to another in turn, more than likely) eventually those workers were “contractors” hired for minimum wage (or less as they are independent contractors not employees) to do this task.
Yeah, me either. I sort of wanted to confirm that I’m not crazy. It’s been 35 years since I was in the business. It’s not changed THAT much.
