No biggie. I called maintenance, and they sent Mr. Repairman over.
He comes into my office, and looks at all 3 light fixtures. After a minute he points to the dark one over my desk and says "Doc, is this the one that isn't working?"
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Mary, give this man an appointment
No biggie. I called maintenance, and they sent Mr. Repairman over.
He comes into my office, and looks at all 3 light fixtures. After a minute he points to the dark one over my desk and says "Doc, is this the one that isn't working?"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
14 comments:
Variation on the Monty Hall paradox?
I have to say that at some of my contract assignments, I don't use the overhead lights, since my computer screens provide enough light for me to work. Sometimes the maintenance people will come in and assume that my lights aren't working. I try to catch them before they start, and turn on the lights so that they can see the actual burned out bulbs.
Generally, the ones that smoke when I turn them on need to be replaced...
I defend this guy's actions. For a few reasons:
1) You're not the only person who has to deal with stupid people. He probably has just as many "dumb client" stories. Verifying the job saves him time and labour.
2) He doesn't know you have three light fixtures. For all he knows, that fixture was just a burnt bulb and the real problem is somewhere else (a closet, or something).
3) Asking a question like that is a good way to open a dialogue, in much the same way you might say "so what seems to the problem today?".
Based solely on this blog post, I'd say the guy's behaviour was perfectly normal and I'd have done the same thing. If I knew how electricity worked, of course (it's magic, right?)
"No, it's the other two."
Here's yer sign.....
Nope....that one is just taking a break. Like Bill Engval says, "Here's your sign."
I worked in a large (multi-square-block) campus with centralized maintenance.
I called maintenance up and told them I had water dripping out of one of the overhead lights. They told me they weren't interested, and would only come over if I had electricity coming out of one of the plumbing fixtures.
Of course, this was a place that equipped their maintenance men with only 3 things - an electrician's screwdriver, a pair of pump pliers, and a spray can of WD40. You should note the omission of any cognitive skills in that list...
You might have deliberately turned off/unplugged the light above your desk. I have been known to tape light switches in the off position to keep everyone from turning them on and washing out my screen with glare.
Must have been a moonlighting neurosurgeon - asking a neurologist the obvious!
I'm on the side of calling the maintenance guy a genius. Flourescent lights give me headaches. I used to keep the overheads off and work with a small desk lamp. Folks passing by would call maintenance "for me" and report my lights as disfunctional. After about three years the guys in the overalls got so they'd call and ask me to check to see if the overheads worked before they came up to waste their and my time.
Even if only the lights right above your desk are out there might be an explanation that does not require climbing up a ladder.
stay safe.
The Computer Dudes in my office have their overhead lights turned off because of glare. They wanted MY lights switched off, too, but I pointed out that I still need to read stuff that's not on a computer screen. Yes, we still have paper here.
Now there is a dim bulb.
Free samples of Aricept for him?
"No, it's the bright, shining one over there. Can't you tell?"
Post a Comment