Here we go... lack of good service providers

seadoug

seadoug

Senior Member
Location
Texas
There was another thread about today's workers and I mentioned my greatest fear is that younger people are no longer learning trade skills so there will be a dearth of plumbers, A/C repairmen, etc.

So, here's my story. I have an A/C drain outside that has been overactive and has been dripping rusty water on my house. I had a rusty drain pan replaced last year and all was okay until we started having hot days again. I have an excellent A/C company. The serviceman came out today to check things out. He said I have a clogged drain connected to the guest bathroom. He put 300psi through the line but couldn't clear it. He didn't want to risk more force because it could burst the pipe. He suggested I call a plumbing service that understands A/C.

I also have a great plumbing service that also repairs A/C. They just merged with another company so they are even larger than before. They are known for their excellent service. I contacted them immediately and was told there were no service technicians available until early June. :( Fortunately this isn't urgent but it just reinforced my concerns.
 

seadoug said:
There was another thread about today's workers and I mentioned my greatest fear is that younger people are no longer learning trade skills so there will be a dearth of plumbers, A/C repairmen, etc.

So, here's my story. I have an A/C drain outside that has been overactive and has been dripping rusty water on my house. I had a rusty drain pan replaced last year and all was okay until we started having hot days again. I have an excellent A/C company. The serviceman came out today to check things out. He said I have a clogged drain connected to the guest bathroom. He put 300psi through the line but couldn't clear it. He didn't want to risk more force because it could burst the pipe. He suggested I call a plumbing service that understands A/C.

I also have a great plumbing service that also repairs A/C. They just merged with another company so they are even larger than before. They are known for their excellent service. I contacted them immediately and was told there were no service technicians available until early June. :( Fortunately this isn't urgent but it just reinforced my concerns.
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That's disturbing. If you're having trouble getting someone in the Dallas area to do it, I'd hate to think how hard it would be for me out in the country with only 2 reputable local plumbers close by.
 

Young men and women who don’t want to be tossed onto the unemployment line by AI, would be wise to learn some of these trades. I can’t see any way some AI will be able to drive out to your house and fix your AC. And the pay ain’t bad. Two years at the local Vocational Tech school in my high cost of living area will be about $10,000. Therefore, no $75,000 of college education loans to have to pay off.
 
Yes, there is a shortage of good help across a wide range of services and occupations. At least that is my observation.

As a side note you need to stay cool, but in my neck of the woods we are still trying to stay warm, lol. Only in the last week have I stopped lighting a fire in the woodstove.
 
Too many of these young people all run into the same over crowded tech fields and wonder why they can't find jobs, or high paying jobs. Plus get useless 4 year degrees where the pay is terrible, plus student loan debt. People I know in Skilled trades are doing good. Even working OT and plenty of adult toys (boats, motorcycles, cabins) and no student loan debt.
 
Gosh, I suppose it is just too bad we can't offshore this work to low-wage countries. Because:
these shifts actually create new opportunities for future workers to pursue more interesting and lucrative careers.
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Looking down upon those who work with their hands is exactly what taught recent generations not to pursue the trades.
 
I remember in 2010 when the economy was still suffering from whatever that recession was called, that we had no trouble finding excellent electricians and plumbers, because they normally did commercial jobs and those jobs dried up during the recession. Back then, the plumber told us there were several plumbers at the company he worked for and they were only paid by the job and they would sit around all day waiting/hoping for a call. We hired him for a lot of non-plumbing work too, since he was available and willing to do anything. He eventually became a garbage man, which he said paid better and had better benefits.
So, although there is a shortage now while the economy is good, if the economy goes bad we'll be able to get good ones again (assuming we can afford them during a bad economy).
 
HoneyNut said:
I remember in 2010 when the economy was still suffering from whatever that recession was called, that we had no trouble finding excellent electricians and plumbers, because they normally did commercial jobs and those jobs dried up during the recession. Back then, the plumber told us there were several plumbers at the company he worked for and they were only paid by the job and they would sit around all day waiting/hoping for a call. We hired him for a lot of non-plumbing work too, since he was available and willing to do anything. He eventually became a garbage man, which he said paid better and had better benefits.
So, although there is a shortage now while the economy is good, if the economy goes bad we'll be able to get good ones again (assuming we can afford them during a bad economy).
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I remember reading an article back in the 80s where a well to do suburban community was upset by how well garbage workers were being paid and lobbied to stop it.
 
seadoug said:
He put 300psi through the line but couldn't clear it. He didn't want to risk more force because it could burst the pipe. He suggested I call a plumbing service that understands A/C.
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I'm not familiar with what you describe. But it seems to me that if that line is not completely horizontal you could try flushing that line with CLR. Calcium Lime Rust remover. Or if not to difficult to access replacing it with schedule 40 PVC tubing.
 
My father a mason contractor turned his business over to me & my brother in his early 60's, he kept a little of the equipment & went out on his own doing odd jobs, 'no job to little'. He made a good supplemental retirement in servicing the public. They were still calling him in his 80's & 90's for help. We turned many odd jobs down referring them to him & vise versa. We had only one rule, no ladder work for him.
 
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Well, I stand corrected. Seems yesterday when I called after 4pm and spoke to someone who sounded like he was in an overseas call center he didn't communicate correctly. He told me there were no schedules available after early June and that someone would call me back. No one ever did.

I called back early today and received someone who sounded local who told me he understood exactly what was happening (some houses have A/C drains coupled with bathroom sink drains), that they had repaired them before and that he would send someone out tomorrow.

He apologized and said it wasn't correct that there weren't technicians available before June. They implemented a new system and it went blank yesterday. They simply couldn't access the system. They are a service-oriented company so he apologized profusely.

So much for outsourcing your schedulers!
 

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