Why is every customer stupid?

Discussion in 'Electricians' Talk' started by peter palmer, Jun 26, 2018.

  1. Astramax

    Astramax Super Member

    Have been decorating a 2 bed flat all the way through over the last 3 weeks, ceiling and walls finished and all paintwork in every room undercoated up and ready to apply top coat today, couldn't go yesterday as had another commitment elsewhere for the day..............back to the flat this morning ready for spending the whole day glossing up only to find all new carpets fitted in every room. o_O:mad::(:eek: so left the job and enjoyed the day in my garden!:)
     
    KIAB, Dr Bodgit and Heat like this.
  2. metrokitchens

    metrokitchens Screwfix Select

    o_O:);):(
     
  3. peter palmer

    peter palmer Screwfix Select

    Another loony one today, got the phone call about it last minute. Client had replaced 12 boilers in a flats complex that had just been renovated and wanted them all wiring up ASAP. He had already bought the stats and when I got there they were the wired variety. No previous stat or wiring so every one of them had to be trunked.

    His reasoning was they had to be hard wired because wireless ones go flat and he would have to go back and fit new batteries yet the ones he bought needed batteries anyway and just had a volt free relay in them, sheer lunacy I tell you.
     
  4. metrokitchens

    metrokitchens Screwfix Select

    I spend many hours on kitchen fits filling 'holes' because the client has mice sometimes. Never mind that the walls are brick and the floor is concrete I have to fill in every gap the client deems a possible entry point. Only snag is the back door is open all day every day and the cat is a great mouser!
     
  5. Gordon J

    Gordon J Member

    I was painting various rooms in a Ladys house. She moaned like hell because I hadn't painted her own bedroom yet. I reminded her that she still hadn't chosen the colour, despite her having been asked several times.

    But the Customer is always right eh?
     
  6. From a customer-

    It's fortunate us clients are stupid because then you can charge us twice what a job is actually worth!

    I was very specific about my requirements when I had electrical work done. I'd put everything on a drawing and marked the positions of all new sockets on the walls. Despite everything being explicitly described AND actually quite simple the electricians still made dozens of errors. When I made a snagging list they told me I was a dick. And I'd just picked out the worst of it.

    I've yet to get correspondence from a tradesman of any sort who knows the difference between Your and You're or the difference between there, their and they're or knows that spelling of the word know is know and not no!

    Their grasp of maths is awful which is why they're incapable of providing a realistic quote to save their lives. Quotes are always wildly different even on small jobs, this shows I'm getting a series of total guesses which they've then doubled because they don't have a clue if it's right or not.

    The older ones know very little about modern materials or techniques and they all stain the house with their putrid energy drinks. They all treat the house like a bloodey building site and have no concept of time keeping or decent correspondence.

    They have terrible writing and maths skills because they didn't pay attention in school, whereas I studied engineering, and yet they're legally allowed to screw up my electrics and I'm not.
     
  7. ramseyman

    ramseyman Screwfix Select

    But we can spell 'bloody' correctly though!
     
    Heat likes this.
  8. Dr Bodgit

    Dr Bodgit Super Member

    An American customer then...:D
     
  9. WillyEckerslike

    WillyEckerslike Screwfix Select

    Their our fart ooh many generalisations being maid. I resent you're notion that all tradesmen are illiterate as we are not. In the mane, they are a product of a failed education system but have managed to learn and develop a trade. I see a similar number of grammatical errors in online newspaper headlines and articles as I do on hear - including from the beeb.
    What really galls most of us is that when mistakes are made by clients (some of whom are other tradesmen of course) we are expected to absorb the costs of wasted time and materials et al. All the literate professionals that we might encounter charge us for the privilege!
     
    Heat and ramseyman like this.
  10. I Dont like it when people say that our education system is failing people. I went to one of the crappest schools in town and the only thing getting in the way of education were the naughty kids. The teachers were learned and the curriculum was comprehensive and challenging. And I don't for a second accept that children can never be held responsible for screwing their own education up, at the very least I would blame their parents. I know too many teachers to think they're not doing a fantastic job.

    Its a product of today's culture that people want to deflect blame from themselves. Tradesmen seem to be very good at this, blaming customers, suppliers, the government. Getting a tradesman to accept responsibility for their mistake is a nightmare, you only need to go through a forum like this to find disgruntled customers worried about confronting tradesmen when they've clearly been wronged. And there's always a horde of replies saying "yes, you shud definitely not pay for that" where are all the trafesmen that know what they're doing, not in my area.
     
  11. Dr Bodgit

    Dr Bodgit Super Member

    Turned into keyboard warriors on this forum :D
     
  12. Sorry I'm being mean. I'm just tired.
     
  13. WillyEckerslike

    WillyEckerslike Screwfix Select

    I agree with you in part. I consider an effective education system to be wholly inclusive involving children, parents, staff (teachers and ancillaries), advisors, managers, governors, inspectors, policy makers and so on. Maybe I'm setting the bar too high however it can and has been achieved.
    Minor point but I think you're missing some punctuation. As a simple tradesman however, I must be wrong.
     
  14. rogerk101

    rogerk101 Screwfix Select

    Since pedantry seems to be on topic here, here goes ...
     
  15. Dr Bodgit

    Dr Bodgit Super Member

    "Their" is not necessarily plural, can be singular or plural. Infers possession.

    The tool belongs to him, it is their tool.
     
  16. rogerk101

    rogerk101 Screwfix Select

    Not true.
    The tool belongs to him; it is his tool.
    The tool belongs to her; it is her tool.
    The tool belongs to them; it is their tool.

    No grammar pedant would ever agree with "The tool belongs to him, it is their tool." for the simple reason that "their" is a plural possessive pronoun and not a singular possessive pronoun.
     
    retiredsparks likes this.
  17. retiredsparks

    retiredsparks Super Member

    Soulconspiracy.
    I would tend to agree that a lot of people doing trade work are just aweful, ill educated untrained and useless.
    That's not the same as time served and experienced 'tradesmen'.
    I use a plasterer who could not calculate cubic capacity of a room but can look at a 5m x 4m ceiling and make up plaster with a just a spoonful of waste.
    What I require of a tradesman is the ability to do his job correctly, right materials, on time, on budget and without mess or fuss.... as agreed.
    When I needed an awkward bathroom tiled with tanking by the shower several years ago I went to the local large tile supply shop. Explained that I was a really fussy begger and could he recommend a good one...from the 15 people locally.
    He could only name one. (par for the course I suspect and applicable to all trades).
    On the other hand...a customer is quite happy to spend 1500 quid on a new TV system...and go white when told it will cost 60 quid to install a new socket and test it.
    Two sides of the same coin...but I do tend to try to do ALL my own work when needed.
    Rs
     
  18. retiredsparks

    retiredsparks Super Member

    Ever heard an argument between two grammar pedants.......it's crazy.
    Rs
     
  19. Vin

    Vin Screwfix Select

    What if the tool belongs to a limited company?
    A limited company is neither male, female or plural but the tool would still be theirs.
     
  20. rogerk101

    rogerk101 Screwfix Select

    The tool would be its ... for the simple reason that there is only one limited company.
    If the tool were shared by multiple companies, then the tool would be theirs.
    Fun, isn't it?
     

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