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Love this website! While I am in the trades, and don't have a tonne of customer contact, I do have older stories I may eventually share about my times in fast food, waitressing, retail and a few other types of work. Of the customers I see though, the wacky ones really stick with you!
This guy wasn't sucky like a lot of customers I've had and stories I've read here but he weirded us out. Background/I am a sub-contractor, like a plumber or electrician, but in a different trade, working mostly residential construction but on this day am working in a church. /end background
We arrive in the morning and I warn the guys that we are to be on our best behaviour including no swearing in this church, being respectful, no raunchy rap on the radio etc, and even though I take some ribbing for it get a grudging agreement from the crew. We set up for the day, including 25' high scaffolding right inside of the 8' wide huge heavy double oak doors. About 11am, as we are all involved in our work we hear this booming voice, out of nowhere:
WHAT ARE YOU DOING
Ah! Was that God? We are all looking around frantically, then notice the man standing in the middle of the aisle staring at us, looking like he's about to stroke out. Okay so not God....
I get off the scaffolding and approach him
Me: Is there a problem sir?
Him: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
(OT: Churches have great acoustics, they should get metal bands to play them)
Me: I don't understand sir. We are from company (the name is written on all our shirts, the scaffolds and ladders set up and the trucks parked conspicuously out front) and were contracted to do trade work (our trade is in the name of our company) in this church. That's what we are doing” Gesturing to the work we are clearly doing.
(At this point I'm really not trying to be a smart-ass, I just have no idea what the problem is our how to answer his questions without making him seem like an idiot)
Him: (Purple faced and spittle emitting) THE FRONT DOOR IS LOCKED
(Does this guy not have a volume control)
Me: Yes sir, as you can see there is scaffolding in front of the door. If we don’t have the doors locked and someone opens them they could knock the guys off the scaffold or could damage the doors by banging them into the metal scaffolding.
Him: THE FRONT DOOR IS LOCKED!
At this point I’m seriously confused. I don’t know what his problem is or how to fix it. Lets try a different approach
Me: Hi, I’m name from company and you are? (reaching out to shake hands)
Him: (Ignoring my hand) I`M PRIEST (I can’t remember what he said but it was the Anglican equivalent of priest) AND YOU HAVE TO UNLOCK THE DOOR!
Me: I CAN`T unlock the door while we are working in front of it for safety reasons. The back door is unlocked AND both side doors are propped open. I’m not sure what the problem is.
(Great, now I’m getting snippy with a man of the cloth. As if I needed yet another reason to fail the pearly white gate test)
Him: THE ONLY REASON PEOPLE FEEL THE NEED TO LOCK THE DOORS IS IF THEY ARE ASHAMED OF WHAT THEY ARE DOING! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE THAT YOU ARE SO ASHAMED!!!
(Seriously. This guy thinks we are ashamed of doing our job. Does he think that I’m ashamed of peeing too, because that’s the only other time I lock a door)
Me: We CANT unlock the doors until we are finished working in front of them. There is nothing shameful about not wanting to fall 25` to the ground
He proceeded to STARE at us as we went about our work (as silently as possible, he was freaking us out a little) for the next three hours, including standing in front of the church and staring at us as we had lunch on the tailgates of our trucks. At around 2:30 he finally stomps his feet, sighs and turns to leave. Just as he reaches the door he turns and BOOMS OUT: WHEN YOU ARE DOING SHAMEFUL THINGS IT DOESN`T MATTER IF YOU LOCK THE DOOR, BECAUSE GOD IS WATCHING!!
One of the guys ran to the window and watched him get in his car and drive off, turns and says: he’s gone. Cue everyone cracking up laughing, I couldn’t get the guys to behave the rest of the day. I don’t know what his actual intent was, but I’m pretty sure it had the exact opposite effect
This guy wasn't sucky like a lot of customers I've had and stories I've read here but he weirded us out. Background/I am a sub-contractor, like a plumber or electrician, but in a different trade, working mostly residential construction but on this day am working in a church. /end background
We arrive in the morning and I warn the guys that we are to be on our best behaviour including no swearing in this church, being respectful, no raunchy rap on the radio etc, and even though I take some ribbing for it get a grudging agreement from the crew. We set up for the day, including 25' high scaffolding right inside of the 8' wide huge heavy double oak doors. About 11am, as we are all involved in our work we hear this booming voice, out of nowhere:
WHAT ARE YOU DOING
Ah! Was that God? We are all looking around frantically, then notice the man standing in the middle of the aisle staring at us, looking like he's about to stroke out. Okay so not God....
I get off the scaffolding and approach him
Me: Is there a problem sir?
Him: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
(OT: Churches have great acoustics, they should get metal bands to play them)
Me: I don't understand sir. We are from company (the name is written on all our shirts, the scaffolds and ladders set up and the trucks parked conspicuously out front) and were contracted to do trade work (our trade is in the name of our company) in this church. That's what we are doing” Gesturing to the work we are clearly doing.
(At this point I'm really not trying to be a smart-ass, I just have no idea what the problem is our how to answer his questions without making him seem like an idiot)
Him: (Purple faced and spittle emitting) THE FRONT DOOR IS LOCKED
(Does this guy not have a volume control)
Me: Yes sir, as you can see there is scaffolding in front of the door. If we don’t have the doors locked and someone opens them they could knock the guys off the scaffold or could damage the doors by banging them into the metal scaffolding.
Him: THE FRONT DOOR IS LOCKED!
At this point I’m seriously confused. I don’t know what his problem is or how to fix it. Lets try a different approach
Me: Hi, I’m name from company and you are? (reaching out to shake hands)
Him: (Ignoring my hand) I`M PRIEST (I can’t remember what he said but it was the Anglican equivalent of priest) AND YOU HAVE TO UNLOCK THE DOOR!
Me: I CAN`T unlock the door while we are working in front of it for safety reasons. The back door is unlocked AND both side doors are propped open. I’m not sure what the problem is.
(Great, now I’m getting snippy with a man of the cloth. As if I needed yet another reason to fail the pearly white gate test)
Him: THE ONLY REASON PEOPLE FEEL THE NEED TO LOCK THE DOORS IS IF THEY ARE ASHAMED OF WHAT THEY ARE DOING! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE THAT YOU ARE SO ASHAMED!!!
(Seriously. This guy thinks we are ashamed of doing our job. Does he think that I’m ashamed of peeing too, because that’s the only other time I lock a door)
Me: We CANT unlock the doors until we are finished working in front of them. There is nothing shameful about not wanting to fall 25` to the ground
He proceeded to STARE at us as we went about our work (as silently as possible, he was freaking us out a little) for the next three hours, including standing in front of the church and staring at us as we had lunch on the tailgates of our trucks. At around 2:30 he finally stomps his feet, sighs and turns to leave. Just as he reaches the door he turns and BOOMS OUT: WHEN YOU ARE DOING SHAMEFUL THINGS IT DOESN`T MATTER IF YOU LOCK THE DOOR, BECAUSE GOD IS WATCHING!!
One of the guys ran to the window and watched him get in his car and drive off, turns and says: he’s gone. Cue everyone cracking up laughing, I couldn’t get the guys to behave the rest of the day. I don’t know what his actual intent was, but I’m pretty sure it had the exact opposite effect
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