Nosey Plumber

SadieL

Should you complain to the company concerned if you find their plumber snooping around your house when he should be in the bathroom? I can't find anything missing at the moment but it's really worrying me that he may have taken something or been casing the joint! He was caught coming out of a room which is nowhere near the bathroom.

TDPIX

What job was he meant to be doing?

Assuming it's not something like looking for a leak somewhere in the property, I'd ring the company and ask what part of the job required him to be in that room.

C_Mababejive

And did you challenge him/did he offer an explanation?

I have been in the business of working in peoples houses and it really is a case of the three wise monkeys.

There is very little i havent seen and you just have to plod on and get the job done. Sometimes this involves having a wander around on your own. Of course your reason for wandering has to be justified i.e your looking for/checking/working on something.

If you are working in someones home, you have to be above reproach ,,which is what i am.

:A

SadieL

He was supposed to be looking at the leaky waste pipe on the bath. Definitely not looking for a leak anywhere else.

keystone

Talk to him not to us - we are not there. If he can't offer a satisfactory explanation as to why he was in that room request him to leave and then complain to the company. Complaining behind his back first without discussing it is silly. He may have a perfectly valid explanation.

Cheers

C_Mababejive

What room was he coming out of and what sort of stuff is in it?

jellie

SadieL wrote: »

Should you complain to the company concerned if you find their plumber snooping around your house when he should be in the bathroom? I can't find anything missing at the moment but it's really worrying me that he may have taken something or been casing the joint! He was caught coming out of a room which is nowhere near the bathroom.

I recently had someone round to quote for a new bathroom. I showed him where it was, we discussed my requirements and I left him to measure up.

After he'd left, I discovered that 2 of the bedroom doors were open (I'd shut all of them before he arrived).

I worked out later that he was looking to see where the loft hatch was, so he did have a reason for going in those rooms. However I was not happy that he just assumed it was ok to do so, when all he had to do was come downstairs and ask me. Whether he gives a good quote or not, he won't be getting the job.

If I were you, I would definitely ask the company concerned why he was in a different room.

Even if he had a ligitimate reason for going in a different room and you are still happy to have him working in your home, I would be inclined to ask him to let you know in the future beforehand that that is what he needs to do.

C_Mababejive

#7... But you had already asked him to visit and quote,you had let him into your home,you had let him upstairs and left him to it...at what point do you draw the line? The guy assumes that you want a quote,and are happy to leave him to it.

My approach is that If i am in the front door, I only have to ask /explain if i need to go upstairs. You either trust someone or you dont.

In my experience, most people who work in peoples homes are trustworthy and should be assumed to be so. Even more so if they work for a recognised brand.
We do sometimes come across unusual situations but we just deal with it. As i say,its a three wise monkeys situation.

Here are a few examples from my past.

a) Working in a house and had to pull carpets back in bedroom to get floorboards up.

Found a selection of polaroid snaps of the female occupier in a series of..err..compromising positions. I spared her embarrassment by just tucking them away somewhere where she could later find them and carried on with the job.


Another bedroom another house,another town.

Had to get carpet back and floorboards up in bedroom. Pushed double bed out of the way to find a huge collection of !!!!!! and some toys. Just stakced them in the corner and carried on. Female came up later and noted them as was a little embarrassed..no issues for me.


Another house,removed radiator in bedroom and discovered a selection of old knickers/period pants stuck to back of radiator ! Just skipped radiator complete with barnacles to spare her blushes.


Another house. Head in low level cupboard and noted that female sat on sofa had forgotten to put her knickers on and was displaying her Merkin.


Another house, head in cupbaord,found a selection of 35mm negatives showing fem occupier in compromising sexual positions ! Again,discretely repositioned.

I could go on. A good homecaller is both trustworthy and discrete

SadieL

I don't have anything dodgy for him to find! Honest! That's not what I'm worried about. It's what he was doing in my office that bothers me. It's nowhere near the bathroom as it's on a completely different floor and not even underneath the bathroom. I thought they were a trustworthy company which is why I left him to get on with his job. I won't make that mistake again!

C_Mababejive

Portly_Pig wrote: »

You found a series of negatives and know what was on them.

Very trustworthy, what business of yours was it to look at them?

You either see things or you dont. If the customer answered the door in a see through gown and i could see her naked body through it,then i have seen it. If i see some negatives lying around in such a position where the content is visible, i have seen it. I cant unsee it. I didnt whip out my portable negative viewer for closer inspection.

I once knocked on a front door and a particularly well hung male occupant opened the door buck naked and had a conversation with me on the doorstep as if it were normal. Ive seen him,i cant unsee him.

As i say,there is nothing much i havent seen or witnessed in joe publics homes but the key is to keep calm,carry on, be discrete and dont cause the punter to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable.

I do agree with the OP. I only go where i need to go and i like to think that i have the necessary instincts to speak to the customer if i need to depart from that and go somewhere else.

Of course some customers are not embarrassed or uncomfortable..like the female who as i left having done my work,whispered to me that i could come back later and give her a good f****** if i liked.

Ken68

Not much chance of that here..we are supposed to tell the Street Co-ordinator of Neighbourhood Watch when expecting a trademan, then she sets the camera rolling. Not sure if its legal but it is useful.
She has a data base of what they look like, their van and tax disc and number plate, and the bill or quote should give other details.
All just in case the job goes tits up.
So.. no hanky panky either lol.