Is this job worth it ??

[admin]

Re: Is this job worth it ??

Are you still working hands on into customers homes or are you sat in an office weilding a big stick getting staff doing it these days?

Both..If I stay in the trade..i wouldnt be stuck in the office.Tina would’nt let me…

Bryan

[Martin]

Re: Is this job worth it ??

r600a wrote:Both..If I stay in the trade..i wouldnt be stuck in the office.Tina would’nt let me…

Then I’m with the same mind as timdowning and come to terms with the potential alternative to not being in this trade. You, like us all for the most part have dug the hole you’re now sat in. The really good news is that you are, for the most part at least, in full control, work is in no short supply, staff are never without work…….then WTF is there to moan about?

Chill out, have a glass of wine, put your feet up and watch the telly. 💡

[VillageIdiot2]

Re: Is this job worth it ??

I see where Bryan is coming from! We call it ‘Quality of life’ here! I often think the same Bry, the sh1t we get from customers sometimes to be blunt is f**king unbelievable! And why? Because they have to wait in for a few hours to get an appliance repaired! Totally unjustified!

Thing is mate, we’re not the same as the Gardener, or the Bedroom fitter etc, they are all things that people want, so they can’t wait to take the day off because the new kitchen is being fitted, or the new plasma from Argos is arriving! We’re the guys that inconvenience them, as afterall, that dishwasher should be working, not broken, if you get me!

I’d suggest Bry, you close for a week, jump on a plane with Tina & the kids and do one! Come back, GET RID of the work that drives you mad, stand up, dust off & crack on from scratch!

For what it’s worth, you pal, are one of the best fridge engineers I’ve ever met, so keep that valued, and seriously think about BINNING the sh1t that makes your job not enjoyable as this trade NEEDS people like you!

Ade 🙂

[peterjay]

Re: Is this job worth it ??

think off the alternatives

staying at home with tina and the kids 24/7

i know what my answer to that would be id rather work for merloni 😆

[admin]

Re: Is this job worth it ??

I’d suggest Bry, you close for a week, jump on a plane

I already am..go tomorrow for a week..

GET RID of the work that drives you mad

Already given notice,service manager has contacted and discussed..doesnt want me to go but the so called M.D. has’nt bothered his arze what so ever and ive known him for years.

then WTF is there to moan about?

work suppliers who dont back you up even when you spend days finding the faults and getting fixes for the crap without charge..and no thanks what so ever and they cant be bothered to send out a tech bulletin for the engineers who are struggling.

Respect !!..I didnt come into this trade to lie to get paid for the work completed..

Bryan

[suedehead1]

appleelectrics wrote:I Keep telling himself that i am working stupidly long hours to make a better life for my family, yet working those hours is keeping me away from my family, how does that work?

that is scary i have been thinking that all day.
got an absolute earful from an old codgers daughter because i told the old biddy there was sod all wrong with her washing machine 2 days in a row.

ive switched the bloody phone off i am fed up with people phoning at half past nine asking “How much is it to fix my machine i dont know what kind i dont know whats wrong i dont know when i am in i dont know my phone no. i dont know my partners name.”

[kwatt]

Re: Is this job worth it ??

You know, some days I love it, others I hate it.

Dunno which one wins out statistically but I’m happier working for myself and dealing with the whining customers than doing paperwork. In fact, at least I can tell whoever I like to stuff off if I want.

If I was in a salaried job, I couldn’t do that.

And, I listen to people in such a job, especially manufacturer ones and engineers that are employed all the time. Are they any happier?

No.

Probably they’re more downbeat that we are. Which is sad but, it is what it is.

Bryan, wind your neck in, take Tina on holiday, get wasted and come back to do what you do.

Trust me, it’s the same river of **** elsewhere, it’s only the depth that varies.

K.

[bagman]

Re: Is this job worth it ??

Wow! I sometimes think I have bad days.

Being a one man band has it’s disadvantages, but one of the few advantages it does have is not putting up with any of that crap! Quite simply I tell the odd customer to ‘try somewhere else’. The shock in thier voice is worth every penny that I’ve just lost in doing so.

It may be a case of biting my nose of to spite my face, but I still manage to pay the mortage and have a decent family life at the same time. The biggest disadvantage is that holidays are few and far between. I can afford the holiday, I can just about afford the total lack of income for a couple of weeks, but there’s no way I can afford the good customers I’ve got going elswhere.

Enjoy your holiday mate, it sounds like you’re not ony due, but that you also deserve it!

Trev

[Cras]

Re: Is this job worth it ??

agree with bagman we run a small company two engineers ,me and my nephew and it does give you the option to let the customer seek a second opinion if they start taking the p*ss or are in any way abusive.I will not put up with any abuse whatsoever ,we had a customer a few weeks ago called the nephew a f**king thick t*at when he pointed out that it was the oven thermometer that was faulty and not the oven (we had fitted thermostat 6 months previously) told nephew to pack his things and leave ,customer has rang on numerous occasions to complain about my nephews attitude :rolls: but i will just not communicate with him .The way i look at is for every one person that thinks we are crap i can produce 100+ who think we are the bees knees Cras

[admin]

Re: Is this job worth it ??

Never forget it’s your business ……and you run it how you want it to run

My customers try to take over and tell me how ….what ….when …
They want me…. To jump ….. Then I tell them this is how I am going to do it .

If you do not like please.. GO somewhere else….! 8)

When you first start off you do have to take the sh…t…but as you get on
You can pick and choose the sh…t that you need to pick up..?

But still a lot better to be your own boss….than taking the sh..t of a paid
Job….! Now thats when you cant say NO…… 😯

And when you dont want to hear the phone in the evening ….or the weekend
just put the answer phone on and turn the ring off on your phone….i dont hear or care till i am ready again…to do so…. 😀

CANUFIXIT 😀

[wizard]

Re: Is this job worth it ??

I’m with Bagman and Cras on this. I’m a one man band having built up a nice sized customer base over the last 7.5 years. I don’t advertise so all new work is by recommendation. On the most part my customers do appretiate what I do and on the rare occasion they don’t then it’s ‘goodbye, not interested’. I make a reasonable living and am home every night with my young family. Sometimes the volume of work in either direction stresses me out but it’s never long before the tables turn the other way. I often think about taking on staff, but I read a thread like this one and think myself lucky to be how I am. I’d love a holiday once in a while but just can’t justify the loss of earnings. The only advise I can give is ‘keep things small’. Don’t get involved in big cotracts with manufacturers/insurance companies, then when you feel you must tell somebody to ‘go forth and multiply’ then it doesn’t have any impact on your other work. I know this doesn’t help you much Bryan but it does seem that you need a change of direction. You’re a legend amongst refrigeration engineers, I for one know that it’s a waste of time giving any advise on a tech thread that you’ve replied to.
Final word. Try and forget about those that don’t appretiate you and spare a thought for those of us that do. Namely anybody you’ve helped on this site.
Wizard.

[fraggle]

Re: Is this job worth it ??

staying at home with tina and the kids 24/7

I’m not that bad honestly!!!

Bryan, wind your neck in, take Tina on holiday, get wasted and come back to do what you do

my sediments exactly …. except im not going. Bryan deserves a break on his own he needs to get away from all the hasssles of this trade and relax.

me and the boys and the buisness will still be here when he gets back.

Get on that plane and forget about the UK for a week becuse if anyone deserves a break its you Bryan.

fraggle

[admin]

Re: Is this job worth it ??

im on my way to the airport……..

[admin]

Re: Is this job worth it ??

Get off my log in fraggle…youve got your own..

And im already at the airport exec lounge dringing the free drinks and food.

Bryan

[iadom]

Re: Is this job worth it ??

We all get our black dog days. 😥

As I have always been a ‘one man band’ since I left Hotpoint without the slightest inclination to employ I do have all of the advantages mentioned above. Also all of the disadvantages, holidays cost double due to complete loss of income. you go out to work sometimes when you are not well etc,

I have just returned from two weeks holiday and the usual mountain of bills was behind the door. I have just had e-mails from the gas & electric asking me to do a meter reading and the missus is contemplating taking voluntary redundancy from the local council ( no massive payouts there then ).

I was feeling a bit fed up with the constant pressure to maintain a steady income and wondering how long I could carry on.

On Saturday morning I went to do a call for a customer locally. She is around 58 years old and used to live back to back with us in the early 60’s. She told me she always fancied my youngest brother. Apparently I was considered out of reach because I was four years older and had a Lambretta. 😆 8)

She has been suffering with a very severe case of MS for more than 20 years and is now totally confined to a bed or wheelchair. She is very lucid and articulate but cannot move a muscle in her body save for speaking and turning her head a little.

I was shocked to see how much she had deteriorated since I last saw her three years ago.

I went back to my car, the sun was shining and I thought, ‘this isn’t such a bloody bad job at all’.

If you can stay healthy and earn a crust you are doing all right in my book.

Jim.

PS. Can I send my WTA subs next week Ken. 😉

[Author]

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