Maintenance/Repair People??? are they really human?

Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share (MPSIMS)
#1

I have spent the better part of the day surrounded by waste paper bins full of dripping rainwater, while several of our companies finest stand about gazing at my ceiling trying to determine where the water is dripping from. I listen to them debate as if they are trying to determine the “meaning of life”. I watch them climb up and down the ladder into the crawl space (nice asses tho btw). I shake my head, as I myself remove the $5000 worth of computer equipment getting soaked while they debate just how to go about fixing it, and I gotta ask myself…are these people human?

Any one else have similar experience with repair people?

“Only when he no longer knows what he is doing, does the painter do good
things.” --Edgar Degas

#2

It’s time for… (ducks into closed room, emerges with toolkit…)

Bicycle Repair Man!

La franchise ne consiste pas à dire tout ce que l’on pense, mais à penser tout ce que l’on dit.
H. de Livry

#3

Within a week of moving into my apartment (the same one I still occupy), a part of the ceiling that didn’t previously have any problems with it started to leak, in a big way. I collected and discarded over 15 gallons within 24 hours. It took them months to repair it. I called about it constantly, but no one ever did anything. Because of the delays, they wound up having to replace a large section of the ceiling, rather than just doing a little patch job. Dummies.

The threat that seemed to actually get them moving was basically this: “From now on, I will only pay 5/6ths of the rent, since I am getting a floor and four walls, but not a ceiling.”

#4

You could fix it yourself…

#5

I would Cornflakes, but it isn’t in my job description. I always wanted to use that phrase… thanks for giving me the oportunity =) Actually, the union at my work frowns upon my doing anything of a maintenance nature. Personally, I could have… and it wouldn’t have taken me nearly as long. But I think the maintenace area of where I work is having slow time and they needed to make an issue out of it so they could gain job security… that or they are lacking in the common sense division LOL.

“Only when he no longer knows what he is doing, does the painter do good
things.” --Edgar Degas

#6

Sorry for the smart-assed post and run. We had a family emergency, then I had to run to work. Glad you got to use your phrase too. :wink:

I haven’t had this experience with repair men, but I have been through similar experiences as the repairman. Besides, I’m a third-generation craftsman, and I get tired of people saying that the maintenance guys/mechanics/whatever are dumb/lazy/crooks.

I’m surprised that the guys were trying to fix the roof; usually that stuff is farmed out. It is pretty hard to stop leaks in a built-up (flat) roof, which it sounds like your building has. Leaks usually start at one point and travel between layers before coming out at another point. Were the workers trying to match the leak to a crack on top of the roof or could they just not find the leak?

Our mechanical/maintenance group is probably the poorest funded of all the departments at my job. We’re always giving them handouts and helping them when we can. They’re also the department that’s worst hit when layoffs come, so I can understand if they try to act a little busier.

On the other hand, we did spend twenty minutes discussing whether to push a button on a machine last night (we didn’t want to screw up; the machine earns a month of my pay in less than an hour when it’s running.) Through the whole thing, I couldn’t help but laugh and wonder if we looked like your maintenance people.

#7

I am going to have to second cornflakes reply here. Water dripping from the ceiling does not mean the ceiling is leaky. It is most likely to be caused by a leak in the roof. As cornflakes already pointed out, a leak is difficult to pinpoint because it almost never takes a direct path to the ceiling.

What really prompted my reply was the seeming characterization of tradesman as witless dolts. Building codes are numerous and complicated and we have to know and conform to them. I myself own thousands of dollars worth of tools, many of which I’ll wager you could not identify, much less operate without loosing a limb.

Just try to keep in mind that the greasy jeaned carpenter may very well be able to sit down and operate your computer station as well as build your house for you.

I hope that didn’t come off as harsh. I just wanted to point out that some of us in the trades are as bright as your average office worker. And many of us (especially those of us who are self employed) are a margin sharper than average.

#8

Evil… point taken. I prolly overstepped the bounds of political correctness when I wondered if all maintenance people handled jobs in the same way that I had witnessed. I might also point out, that it is also stereotypical behavior in assuming that I know nothing of tools, repairing or building. Having rebuilt an engine in a car, built an addition on a house, and having knowledge of how to operate and repair most machine and woodshop tools, I would say my knowledge of tools is there. I guess my point I was trying to make was knowledge without common sense, is a bit comical. Kinda like if you try to change the washer in a leaky faucet without turning the water off first. I was amazed that they stood there trying to conceive of how to fix the leak without thinking about what the leak was distroying while they debated.

“Only when he no longer knows what he is doing, does the painter do good
things.” --Edgar Degas

#9

Purple, you missed my point. From reading your posts I got the feeling you were a “fetch my toolbox, the faucets leakin” type. Thats why I was a little surprised by the attitude. Your response makes it clearer why these guys are morons though. I can’t imagine a a professional whos first course of action wasn’t “get some plastic over those electronics”.

I’ll still wager I have tools you cant identify.