Last weekend I sent the following text message to a plumber who has done work for me in the past.
“Am having a spot of bother with the oil boiler today. It starts off and continues as if about to ignite but then does not ignite. By any chance could you come around tomorrow to take a look at it?”
Later in the day the plumber phoned me and asked me if I was near the boiler. I was. “Have you a flat screwdriver?” I had. “Get a damp cloth.” And he proceeded to tell me what to do. It took me less than five minutes to solve the problem following his directons.
He could as easily have called out and charged me a callout fee to fix the boiler and I’d have been no wiser. Even if he would have ethical concerns about doing so, he may have been able to justify to himself the need for a callout on the grounds that I might make things worse with the boiler, his business was quiet, he was in the area anyway or whatever.
But he decided not to make an unnecessary journey himself and decided not to put any extra expense on me. Immediately he became more trustworthy to me; I’m more likely to trust his advice on other plumbing matters in the future. Continue reading
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