i wanna be a plumber;honest

[sr72]

thats the crucial thing mate,experience.i think though that the majority of plumbing businesses want a school leaver(16-18 year old) who they can skivvey about(no disrespect) instead of an early 30's(old bas).i might be wrong though on that one.just need that breakthrough....!!there must be something elusive in the plumbing trade or any of the trades as a matter of fact because all of the colleges in the local area have got waiting lists(grass is greener an all that ).at the end of the day its supposed to be good pay innit?

 

[oilman]

..........its supposed to be good pay innit?

So might this be your reason for wanting to be a plumber?

The problem is tradesmen present their bills, which is gross payment. The customer sees this as "he was only here 1/2 hour and it cost me £50. What they didnt see was the having to buy parts at say £10-£15 1/2 hr getting them 1/2 hr getting to the job 1/4 hr getting stuff out of the van. By the time the job is finished, the rate is perhps £20/hr. Out of this there's 50p insurance £2.50 van, £1 tools £1 sundry items. You might be able to get another job done in the morning, and you might not. Then there might be a cancelled job. Then there's the nasty bits, customers who won't pay their bill because you "damaged" something, and you have no way of knowing if you did it or not. There's the bits you haven't estimated for because you couldn't see, and you have to sort out, and they wont pay because you gave them a fixed price.

I know there are ways of overcoming most of these, but the perceived good pay may not be as good as it seems. Have another reason.

 

[sr72]

its not just the pay,i dont just see £signs.i'm interested in the trade.i've read that there's 20 odd thousand people short so the plumbing industry needs new recruits.that gives me more incentive to qualify.there must be some job satisfaction in it,going to different jobs an all that.also without sounding boring i've got a family to think about and its there best interests i've got at heart.there will always be a demand for a plumber so it seems apretty safe job to me.at the minute i'm stuck in a dead end end job and i want out.

 

[oilman]

That's better reasons. I started this with the main requirement of staying solvent.

Whether there really is 20,000 plumbers short I don't know. I suspect it's a load of rubbish from government staticians again. What governments want is enough people in whatever type of work to mean that none of them can earn a decent wage, and so they have to keep their head down, and doff their cap.

 

[sr72]

why did you want to become a plumber oilman?there must have been a time in your life when you thought i want a career.have you got plumbing roots or did you leave school and started work with some local plumber?

 

[oilman]

Heavens, I'm not a plumber. They spend most of their time down S-bends. What's a career? It's not work that intrests me, I just need a large cheque now and again........






























and again, and again, and again, ..................

 

[fitter]

Nobody chooses to become a tradesman, it's a calling.

It is one or more of the following;

The desire to make people happy.

The wish to turn out quality work, the money does not matter.

The pleasure of working in peoples homes, where you are made to feel part of the family, gives a warm glow.

The unforseen problems that can be a tad frustrating and the way the customer tries to force extra money on you for all the extra work you have done, this is my favorite, I love the look on their little faces when I tell them not to be so silly and refuse the extra money.





Seeing pigs fly also helps

 

[sr72]

bless your cotton socks fitter.would'nt the world be better place if everybody was like you.; the peoples champion

i dont think oilman knows what hes worth banks der switzerland an all that

 

[fitter]

It's a burden and I'm glad I was chosen, others would not cope as well as I do.

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

Well I dont know about anybody else but I dont think it has been that busy this summer, yes I have had continuation of work but only because I work on my own, I think in a few years time when all these new money blinded people come into the trade it will get very slow, some will get fed up when they find it is hard work and big hassle, especailly with parts and crap materials, then they will leave to do something else or sit on the dole, then in another few years there will be a shortage again and the cycle continues.

 

[oilman]

Well I dont know about anybody else but I dont think it has been that busy this summer,...........

Ah, I'm not the only one having a relaxing time then. I don't mind in a way, but foreign holidays, and new vehicles are definitely off the menu. Some of this is generated by rich b*stard customers who think they don't have to pay low life like me, and I'm lucky, the size of my bills are under £1000. Pity the bathroom installers who don't get paid for some ficticious reason.

 

[sr72]

hey mr neuroticpsycotic man,a plumber i may not be but i aint scared of graft.i've done my share of 12 hour power and more with saturdays and sundays chucked in for good measure.plumbings 9-5 innit?

 

[kevplumb]

tell that to a pensioner at 3am when the cylinder starts flooding the lounge
btw i used to do 14 hour nights then thought id slow down and go on call