Trunk line blew at a McMansion in the hills. Fixed it with a bucket and zip ties.

Got called to a house in the Hollywood Hills last Tuesday. Customer said no signal. Found the trunk line hanging off the side of the house. Squirrel chewed clean through it. Rained that morning so everything was wet. Had to splice it on a ladder with one hand holding a bucket over my head. Signal came back clean. Customer tipped me $40.

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jordan11d ago

Read this and it actually changed how I look at tipping for stuff like this. I used to be one of those people who thought a tip was optional for repair guys, figured they already get paid for the job. But man, working in the rain with a bucket over your head on a ladder, that's way beyond the normal call of duty. $40 feels cheap honestly for that kind of hassle. My buddy does cable work and he's told me stories about crawling under houses in attics, and I never really got it until now. Makes me want to tip harder next time someone shows up and deals with weather like this.

abbyg6011d ago

Damn, $40 tip is pretty sweet for working in the rain with a bucket over your head. How long did it take you to get the splice done while juggling the bucket and a ladder? Was it one of those super steep hillside driveways too or just a regular setup?

harper69311d ago

Oh man, actually I think it was a $50 tip unless i'm misremembering lol. The whole thing took maybe 20 minutes tops, tricky part was keeping the ladder steady on the wet grass more than the actual splices. It was just a regular driveway, not a crazy steep one, so that made it way easier honestly.