Need to let off some steam

[paul burrell]

# 1- Inspected a police officers house for a client. He called me two nights later raising heck that I messed his furnace up and it would not come on. He was so bent out of shape I told him to call a heating service company and I would pay the bill. I do know the furnace was working when I left job site. Anyway he would not call hvac company because he said he did not trust me to pay for the service call. I asked him if he had taken any access panels off he said yes. In report I recommended changing filter which was not inside air handler compartment, was in return air duct. I told him to take the access panel off and depress the automatic cutoff switch he did and lo and behold the furnace fired. He had done this himself but in his out of shape mind he blamed it on me.

He also informed me he was a police officer so now when I am in his jurisdiction I guess I better be careful[^].

# 2- I have lots of calls for inspections and the caller talks so fast I can not hear their phone number. This is a time consuming pain in the &%#.

OK I am through.

Paul Burrell

[mgbinspect]

1. I'd be tempted to fire off an e-mail to the police department documenting the entire event and stating that I'm more than happy to come down and sign an affidavit confirming it all. Venting on the part of this officer is understandable. Threatening you with his position and power is quite another.

2. Having to listen to phone numbers numerous times is a pain in the %$@!!

3. Take two aspirin, get some rest and call me in the morning.[:-slaphap

Whenever I think it can't get any worse, I'm always reminded of what a good friend of mine who almost lost his son to suicide once said, "There's always room for worse."

[Brian G]

The cop sounds like just the kind of guy who shouldn't be a cop; unreasonable, quick to judge without the facts, and willing to abuse his authority. Jeez. If it helps, think what a miserable life he probably leads most of the time with that attitude.

I get a few calls like that, and it is aggravating. I was taught to always repeat the phone number at least once more when leaving a message, but I guess others were not. I beleive these are the same people who never begin filling out a check while waiting in line, preferring to wait until everything else is done to even take the checkbook out. [:-crazy]

Hang in there Paul. Don't let the *@%*^# bring you down. [^]

Brian G.

"There's a fool born every minute, and they all live." My late Grandpa, Waymon Goodman

[Steven Hockstein]

I would not get into it with a cop that is angry and has a gun. There is nothing to gain by causing him more trouble. Even if you reported him, the other cops will find out what you did and possibly harass you. Let it go.

Your worst problem should be that you can't understand phone numbers of potential clients. Just think about how you would feel if there were no calls, no messages, and no business.

Maybe you should include a request on your machine for clients to repeat their phone numbers so you can make sure that you will have the correct number to return their call.

Time for a tall cold one and just relax.

[mgbinspect]

Good suggestion.

I know of one guy who says to leave your number slowly twice. And, I do leave it twice for him.

[Jeff Remas]

I can't believe you were so quick to offer to pay for a service company to come out.

Tell the seller to get a rubber mallet and some sand and try to pound the sand up his a$$

[mgbinspect]

Lol (I'm sure glad Jeff's on our team...)

[Norm]

Our phone service package includes caller ID. The phones will store and save the numbers of the last 100 calls received. It's easy to compare the stored numbers with the ones you couldn't understand since all you need is a couple of the digits from the message to do this. This also happens when someone is calling from a cell phone and even though they don't speak rapidly there are voids in the transmission.

NORM SAGE

[paul burrell]

Thanks guys for letting me vent and all the good advice. I know that if we deal with the public in a service business like ours we have to put up with bad treatment from time to time.

The consolation is depositing the check at the bank.

I have no doubt the officer has a great deal more personal issues than a furnace that he messed up his self by not re installing the air handler access door properly.

I did a couple budweisers and am now off the ceiling and walking on floor again and all is well.

Thanks again,

Paul Burrell

[mgbinspect]

Here's one for you Paul. (I don't believe I've shared this on TIJ but forgive me if I already have)

I received a complaint from a real country bumpkin jerk once alleging that I left the heat all the way up and he came home to a house in the 90's. (I had my doubts from the start because I always just inch the thermostat up over the current temp just in case I forget to return it.) At any rate, after explaining that to him then I'm calling him a liar, blah, blah, blah, So, like you, I offered to pay him for the power he lost (which ends up computing to about $1.50 or so which ticked him off even more. I guess he was hoping to at least get a six pack out of it.)

After hanging up, I realized I DIDN'T EVEN INSPECT HIS HOUSE! I had merely left a brochure in his mailbox while I waited for my client to arrive because his house was on the market!

When I called him back to inform him of this he merely hung up. No apology!

It takes all kinds.

[Bain]

This same furnace issue happened to me last month. The homeowner, however, was quite polite when he called at 7:00 pm and said his furnace wasn't working. I told him I didn't believe in coincidences, and said I'd be right over, figuring I'd neglected to slip the blower-access panel back on tightly enough. When I hopped up into the attic, though, the panels were snug and secure. Well . . . I thought. Maybe I stepped on the thermostat wire and pulled a connection loose. Hoping said loose connection was properly color-coordinated, I traced the wire and found it to be intact. Only then did I, the idiot, glance up at the power switch mounted on the valley rafter. Sure enough, I apparently bumped it with a shoulder or elbow 'cause it was in the "off" position. I flipped it up, heard the burners fire and then told the homeowner to give me a call if there were any more problems. [:-paperba