Another homeowner, another pain in my...

[NecessaryCatharsis]

Yeah, so I went back there today, we usually try to send the same supervisor to a job through completion because they know what is up there and to avoid possibly missing special instructions or something. Homeowner/DIYContractor let us in, apologized (again) for nailing me, and went and hid in the basement for much of the day. He also offered to go for a coffee run for us, but I explained that I had to use the washroom anyways and he sent me with 20$ when we went, in order to buy coffee and donuts for all. I suspect he somehow knew I wasn't pleased yesterday, I am really not sure how he got that? We will probably be done there Monday so hopefully that will be the last of him.

In answer to some of your questions, yes I do have my tetanus up to date - rarely does a year go by when I don't need stitches for something. I brought the guys 'sorry I was such a crank' cupcakes today, and bought a 26 of CC on the way home tonight for the guy who saved my bacon yesterday because .... well because he has terrible taste, and also I told him I was very grateful.

I don't have the power to fire a customer, although I don't think any supervisor has called the boss wanting to pull out and the boss said no. The only reasons we usually will though is because the customer has threatened not to pay, we are fighting with someone (usually another trade due to horrible scheduling) and it's getting ugly enough we think we should leave or because someone (usually the customer) is making it impossible for us to work. This wasn't impossible, just a huge pain in the ass/arm.

As for the hoverers, in most retros the homeowner is there. A lot of them stay out of the way, great. Some will hang out in the next room and keep an eye, doing something on their computer or watching tv or something, good enough. Some hang right around, watch you while you work, say nothing, just follow you around and stare. It's a little unnerving, but it's acceptable (pro tip, if you are doing this I will make sure you finish the day at least as dirty as I do, and no you won't know I am doing it on purpose). Most people want to know what we are doing, how it's done, why. If you ask I will explain it to you, why it's done certain ways, what to look for in a quality job, but 1/2 - 3/4 of an hour is about my limit. If you are still asking questions after I've spent that amount of time, you are pissing me off, just google it already, or apply for a job if you need to know that badly. If you are just randomly chattering at me, go make a friend or buy a dog or something, please!

[Pimento]

apologized (again) for nailing me!

Sorry....had to :P

[mathnerd]

As for the hoverers, in most retros the homeowner is there. A lot of them stay out of the way, great. Some will hang out in the next room and keep an eye, doing something on their computer or watching tv or something, good enough. Some hang right around, watch you while you work, say nothing, just follow you around and stare. It's a little unnerving, but it's acceptable (pro tip, if you are doing this I will make sure you finish the day at least as dirty as I do, and no you won't know I am doing it on purpose). Most people want to know what we are doing, how it's done, why. If you ask I will explain it to you, why it's done certain ways, what to look for in a quality job, but 1/2 - 3/4 of an hour is about my limit. If you are still asking questions after I've spent that amount of time, you are pissing me off, just google it already, or apply for a job if you need to know that badly. If you are just randomly chattering at me, go make a friend or buy a dog or something, please!

That's why I always ask permission first. Everybody is different. Some people just love to talk about their jobs and teach other people what they're doing, others would rather work alone. I seem to have run into only the first type. I've not hired a lot of people do do things, and they haven't been things that are huge, multi-day jobs. Actually, the longest time I can recall was less than two hours. If I was ever told no, I'd stay in the house, out of the way, but in shouting distance should the workers run into an issue of any kind. I'd likely just putter around doing whatever household chores that needed to be done or playing on the computer in another room or something.

[houdini]

I suspect he somehow knew I wasn't pleased yesterday, I am really not sure how he got that?

He SHOT YOU IN THE ARM WITH A NAIL GUN! That's not the sort of thing you can usually do to someone and, y'know, gain their eternal affection...I suspect he knew that he got off lightly just because you didn't do anything unfortunate to him with the nail gun!

[Kittykat]

I'm glad you're okay! Did you go get it checked out? If so, make sure you bring the bill to the guy to pay it.

[Shalom]

I don't know if this is the ultimate in hovering, but it must be close to it: Doing a circumcision on a newborn baby boy with the parents standing right there watching.

What's unusual about this? My son was circumcised on his grandfather's lap, and I was standing right next to him. That's how it's always done in my community.

[Moirae]

I suggest going to the hospital and then charging him with the medical bill just to stick it to him.

[NecessaryCatharsis]

If I went to the hospital I wouldn't get a medical bill, and I have medical at work so even antibiotics or painkillers, if I got some, would come in about $3. Unless I told the doctors I did it at work, and then the bill would go through WSIB to my company, and if the boss wanted he could try to get the money out of the homeowner. Not worth the time and effort really.

[Jetfire]

I recently had a guy come over and replace my light switches and 2 fixtures (still waiting for him to get an opening to come over and replace 2 more with fans). When he was here, I tried to stay out of his way for the most part, while helping a bit (Removing wall plates).

When we got to the light fixtures, I was there to help hold it up (and caught him before he missed some of the fixture tubes he had to run wires throuhg; nothing major; he would have caught it himself since the ceiling cover wouldn't fit otherwise), but all in all I tried to leave him be, and did some light talking.

Granted at the time I was day 0 of coming down the flu which was rough. I was trying to avoid exposing him too much while making sure to keep a close enough eye to see what was going on (not that I needed to watch closely)

[Shalom]

When we got to the light fixtures, I was there to help hold it up )

This is very useful with ceiling fans, I can tell you from experience. I've installed two of the bastards, though not an electrician myself. Balancing that heavy motor on your shoulder while connecting the wires with one ear jammed against the ceiling wasn't all that easy. I think the new ones come with a hook you can hang it on until you're ready to connect it up, but this was in the '80s.