Rented accommodation and property basic maintenance skills

DublinWriter

black francis wrote: »

Maybe they're incredible successful in life and don't want to bogged down carrying out trivial household tasks, especially when there's someone (you know bit lacking in social graces, but good with a trip switch) that they can call up to do it for them.

There are trivial household tasks and DIY jobs, but the tasks that the OP has described I would consider to be just a notch up from bum-wiping.

It's bad enough that people can't cook and/or mend anymore, but I didn't think people had devolved this much.

Funny stuff OP, but scary at the same time.

mikemac1

JaneyMacker wrote: »

2 - Shower hose on electric shower.

Landlords problem
If it failed I'd buy a new one and tell the landlord I was taking it off the rent

But if there is a handyman on site with spares and would do all this, yeah I'd call you
The landlord pays fees to the agent who pays you. So all the same in the end realy, landlord pays for it

Azureus

Hate coming online to find out Im thick and stupid
I have called landlords about the washing machine not working due to a blocked filter. I didnt know it was a blocked filter-Id never encountered it before, all I knew was the machine made a funny noise and flooded. Called my landlord and he got the maintenance dude out the next day who showed me how to fix it if it ever happened again. Im not sure how I was to magically know how to do that otherwise??

Ive also called the landlord about changing specific lightbulbs-sounds stupid, but they're recessed bulbs that I just couldnt figure out how to take out despite trying a million times. My landlords office is right beneath me so I gave em a call about it. Even the maintenance guy admitted they were tricky...or maybe he was humouring me :S Either way he didnt call me thick-he just showed me the lil nack of doing it and gave me a load of free bulbs. Result!

Im not stupid, I can put up shelves, clear the dishwasher filter, change plug fuses, trip a switch...but often if you're never shown you dont know. Like anything, its easy when you know how.

deandean

That's a very interesting post OP; you can't have too much hair left by now.

I also find Boards is quite good for letting off the occasional rant!

I was gonna suggest with with some irony - tell the tenant the hairdryer won't blow the tripswitch if they use it while in the bath - but they'd probably do it :eek:

[Edit: No-one try this FFS!]

ongarboy

I have to admit I find this one of the oddest threads on Boards in a while...

Someone who is paid to do a job servicing/attending to his clients (tenants) needs, questions, requirements etc then applies a general label to all of them by asking are they lazy or thick because they seek assistance on things he is paid to assist them with? Anyone of us could come on here moaning about how our clients didn't know how to do something that we take for granted. Should a mechanic mock an old woman because she can't change a timing belt? Would a psychologist mock a client who suffered from agoraphobia? Sounds like this job is completely unsuitable for you.

Instead of ranting about things that you are paid to do anyway, why don't you do something innovative like design notice boards to be hung in the corridors of each floor with a list of FAQs, troubleshooting tips and other helpful advice (even blindingly obvious tips like lightbulb changing protocol) for tenants (or suggest to your manager for this to be done) so that when tenants call you with the same old questions, you can ask them have they referred to the notice board which has the answer to their question. Or is showing initiative not part of your job description?

Btw, I am a home owner and not a tenant in case you may think I would be biased.

noxqs

It's a flawed argument. The person works with this, ergo, he only sees people who calls him. Some of who may be thick.

It's like talking to people who work in customer service type jobs - they think everyone is an idiot because "didn't even know x, y, z".

anndub

Most tradesmen would be pretty happy to be called out to such minor issues. Easy money surely?!

JaneyMacker

ongarboy wrote: »

I have to admit I find this one of the oddest threads on Boards in a while...

Someone who is paid to do a job servicing/attending to his clients (tenants) needs, questions, requirements etc then applies a general label to all of them by asking are they lazy or thick because they seek assistance on things he is paid to assist them with? Anyone of us could come on here moaning about how our clients didn't know how to do something that we take for granted. Should a mechanic mock an old woman because she can't change a timing belt? Would a psychologist mock a client who suffered from agoraphobia? Sounds like this job is completely unsuitable for you.

Instead of ranting about things that you are paid to do anyway, why don't you do something innovative like design notice boards to be hung in the corridors of each floor with a list of FAQs, troubleshooting tips and other helpful advice (even blindingly obvious tips like lightbulb changing protocol) for tenants (or suggest to your manager for this to be done) so that when tenants call you with the same old questions, you can ask them have they referred to the notice board which has the answer to their question. Or is showing initiative not part of your job description?

Btw, I am a home owner and not a tenant in case you may think I would be biased.

And I bet you know how to do all of these things.
btw Changing a timing belt is slightly different to changing a light bulb or flicking a switch. What do you do when you see a spider in your house?

My post was one of despair at how useless people can be.
How is it possible.

And the ones i described in my post are only a portion of the total amount.

Perhaps I should change the thread title. I can see how it might sound like I think everyone is thick because they are renting from the title. But thats not what i mean.

Ray Palmer

Tenants and stupidity/laziness go hand in hand.

Had a tenant ring me claiming the house was flooding and didn't know what to do. I arrived tap on plug in the sink. Took out plug switched off tap didn't know what to say to her as I was so stunned by the stupidity. She siad
"Are you going to get somebody down to fix it and tidy up?"
Very hard not to yell at somebody after that.

Calls for light bulbs and fuses burning out. I still don't know if I am actually meant to pay for such things but I wouldn't think so. A tenant stole energy bulbs once when they were more expensive.

Somebody complaining a socket didn't work, they hadn't pressed the switch on it. Claimed that this was something new they never saw before when I pointed it out.

No hot water, boiler never switched on nor emersion.

The irrational demands of things needing to be fixed in an instant because they pay rent is one I find amazing. One ring out on a cooker with 4 rings a phone call every day for a week even though I said i'd be down the following week. It just needed to be pushed back in. Saw it straight away told her to clean the cooker as it was filthy and was new when she moved in two months previously.

Tenant refused to mow the garden becasue they never used it. In the lease and told them it was their reponsibilty provided tools there. Neighbour complained so I came down did it but told them I would be back for waste the next day. Arrived and they were having a BBQ in the garden with their friends!

That is without the down right abusive things people do

thegreengoblin

JaneyMacker wrote: »

And I bet you know how to do all of these things.
btw Changing a timing belt is slightly different to changing a light bulb or flicking a switch. What do you do when you see a spider in your house?

My post was one of despair at how useless people can be.
How is it possible.

And the ones i described in my post are only a portion of the total amount.

Perhaps I should change the thread title. I can see how it might sound like I think everyone is thick because they are renting from the title. But thats not what i mean.

Bit late for that I'd say.

The only thing I get out of your post is that you would rather your call-outs to be difficult tasks that require a lot of effort and time. If everyone who worked in the service industry complained about how thick some of their clients are, we'd all be having a rant.

Mate, you need to relax a bit more and cut out the stress. Life is tough enough without getting freaked out because a person is paying you to change a light bulb.

noxqs

Had a tenant ring me claiming the house was flooding and didn't know what to do. I arrived tap on plug in the sink. Took out plug switched off tap

Tenant or homeowner - I would call that beyond mental retardation and I would be seriously worried if this is not a person who just wanted attention rather than being unable to connect the dots between a plug in the sink and a running tap.

And yes some people are idiots and abusive and this would be down to bad upbringing and manners. And there's a lot of that here sadly.

JaneyMacker

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Tenants and stupidity/laziness go hand in hand.

Had a tenant ring me claiming the house was flooding and didn't know what to do. I arrived tap on plug in the sink. Took out plug switched off tap didn't know what to say to her as I was so stunned by the stupidity. She siad
"Are you going to get somebody down to fix it and tidy up?"
Very hard not to yell at somebody after that.

Calls for light bulbs and fuses burning out. I still don't know if I am actually meant to pay for such things but I wouldn't think so. A tenant stole energy bulbs once when they were more expensive.

Somebody complaining a socket didn't work, they hadn't pressed the switch on it. Claimed that this was something new they never saw before when I pointed it out.

No hot water, boiler never switched on nor emersion.

The irrational demands of things needing to be fixed in an instant because they pay rent is one I find amazing. One ring out on a cooker with 4 rings a phone call every day for a week even though I said i'd be down the following week. It just needed to be pushed back in. Saw it straight away told her to clean the cooker as it was filthy and was new when she moved in two months previously.

Tenant refused to mow the garden becasue they never used it. In the lease and told them it was their reponsibilty provided tools there. Neighbour complained so I came down did it but told them I would be back for waste the next day. Arrived and they were having a BBQ in the garden with their friends!

That is without the down right abusive things people do

Amazing isnt it.
Ive seen all these things many times too.
What is it that makes people so helpless? Its scary.
I dont have to pay for the expense of it, so i used to laugh. But good god now im actually worried for humanity.

mikemac1

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Tenant refused to mow the garden becasue they never used it. In the lease and told them it was their reponsibilty provided tools there. Neighbour complained so I came down did it

Your neighbour complains about the grass in your garden?? :rolleyes:

Now if a neighbour wanted to complain over loud parties or rubbish or even parking I'd understand

But they're upset over the lawn? Tell those curtain twitchers they have a great life to be stressed over so little and mind their own business

Gandhi

JaneyMacker wrote: »

And I bet you know how to do all of these things.
btw Changing a timing belt is slightly different to changing a light bulb or flicking a switch. What do you do when you see a spider in your house?

My post was one of despair at how useless people can be.
How is it possible.

And the ones i described in my post are only a portion of the total amount.

Perhaps I should change the thread title. I can see how it might sound like I think everyone is thick because they are renting from the title. But thats not what i mean.

Are you paid for each time you are called out or do you just get a flat salary (consisting of the free rent you mentioned)? Also, do you report back to the landlord whether the issue was the tenant's responsibility or not?

It might be different back home (I live in The States), but here the story is that a tenant calls the handyman and he performs any needed repair. He then sends a bill to the landlord, and also tells him the nature of the problem.

For example if a blocked toilet is caused by a genuine plumbing problem, then the landlord pays the plumber. However, if the blocked toilet was caused by a tenant flushing their car keys down it, then the tenant pays.

In your case, tenants would quickly learn how to untrip a switch or change a light-bulb if they were being charged for the privilege of having you come out to do it for them. I do definitely remember light-bulbs being the tenant's responsibility in Ireland.

Ray Palmer

mikemac1 wrote: »

Your neighbour complains about the grass in your garden?? :rolleyes:

Now if a neighbour wanted to complain over loud parties or rubbish or even parking I'd understand

But they're upset over the lawn? Tell those curtain twitchers they have a great life to be stressed over so little and mind their own business

Some LL like to keep their neighbour happy. They let you know if anything is going wrong. Just becasue the place is rented the neighbours shouldn't have to put up with disrepect to the area. If you don't understand that then I think you have a different view of what society should be like than me,

Regardless of whether it is your job to sort problems out I completely understand being annoyed by stupidity.

mikemac1

Ray Palmer wrote: »

you don't understand that then I think you have a different view of what society should be like than me,

Not realy

I suppose I just focused on the word complained.

I don't even know how you'd bring it up on a phone-call
Come on Ray, the state of your lawn, the very worst in the estate. Letting the side down, must do better
And you did post that they were complaining so it was probably an angry phone-call. So some nerve on them

But if you keep them happy and they keep you informed then fair enough

Morlar

Paparazzo wrote: »

In fairness to the OP, if someone insisted on using a faulty hairdryer that kept tripping the switch, they probably deserve it.

I don't think there is any 'probably' about if it was explained to them clearly then they are fcuking idiots. They should be charged for repeat callouts in this case.

JaneyMacker

Gandhi wrote: »

Are you paid for each time you are called out or do you just get a flat salary (consisting of the free rent you mentioned)? Also, do you report back to the landlord whether the issue was the tenant's responsibility or not?

It might be different back home (I live in The States), but here the story is that a tenant calls the handyman and he performs any needed repair. He then sends a bill to the landlord, and also tells him the nature of the problem.

For example if a blocked toilet is caused by a genuine plumbing problem, then the landlord pays the plumber. However, if the blocked toilet was caused by a tenant flushing their car keys down it, then the tenant pays.

In your case, tenants would quickly learn how to untrip a switch or change a light-bulb if they were being charged for the privilege of having you come out to do it for them. I do definitely remember light-bulbs being the tenant's responsibility in Ireland.

I get a salary and a small callout fee.
What happens is the tenant calls the agent. The agent asks if its an emergency and if it is i go out to have a look. If not some other tradesman goes out the next day or whenever available instead.

So in my its always an emergency when i get called which nobody minds.
But in these cases outlined they exaggerate the problem. They might say "ive no electricity" when they have a light bulb gone. Or "the washer is making weird noises even when its off" when its not. Or the shower is leaking non stop, when its only the hose and when its off its fine, but hey lie because they want a shower in the morning.
Let me just say now that its not everyone who does this.

I check it out and fix it if i can. I report back the next day.
Tell the agent how thick the tenant was in these cases.
Agent then deals with the landlords. I know nothing of what happens there apart from that the agent told me that its easier to just send the landlord the bill than report the stupidity to the landlord. They said if the landlord hears that then they get on to the tenant, the tenant gets on to threshold and there is a big **** storm and the landlord always ends up losing with threshold.
Then the landlord is back eating the agent out of it.

So its easier for the agent to avoid that. Just send him a bill.
So landlords who employ agents - watch your bills closely

Now, none of all that stuff do i care about. I am just pointing out what some people are like. Its like they got hit with a stupid stick when they moved out of home.

odds_on

Azureus wrote: »

Hate coming online to find out Im thick and stupid
I have called landlords about the washing machine not working due to a blocked filter. I didnt know it was a blocked filter-Id never encountered it before, all I knew was the machine made a funny noise and flooded. Called my landlord and he got the maintenance dude out the next day who showed me how to fix it if it ever happened again. Im not sure how I was to magically know how to do that otherwise??

Ive also called the landlord about changing specific lightbulbs-sounds stupid, but they're recessed bulbs that I just couldnt figure out how to take out despite trying a million times. My landlords office is right beneath me so I gave em a call about it. Even the maintenance guy admitted they were tricky...or maybe he was humouring me :S Either way he didnt call me thick-he just showed me the lil nack of doing it and gave me a load of free bulbs. Result!

Im not stupid, I can put up shelves, clear the dishwasher filter, change plug fuses, trip a switch...but often if you're never shown you dont know. Like anything, its easy when you know how.

And now you can clean a washing machine filter!!!

What would you have done if it had been your own house/apartment???

There's many things that I've never been shown how to repair but at least I'd have a good look and try myself first, before calling anyone.

Oddly enough, many people who excel in exams are often clueless when it comes to do this kind of thing - and many of those who seem stupid at school and at exams, are the very people who have lots of savvy in this respect.

matrim

odds_on wrote: »

Under the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008 and as amended in 2009, states under section8, Food Preparation and Storage and Laundry

In this text where it states house, apartment is also included.

Of course, if the tenant wishes to save money by not using the required dryer facilities then there will probably be mould in the apartment, for which the tenant will be liable as damages above general wear and tear.

The dryer provided in an apartment is generally a combined washer / dryer type that doesn't really dry your clothes properly. I've only ever been in one apartment that provided a proper separate dryer and that was because they didn't provide a washer per apartment, they provided one communal washer and dryer for about 12 apartments.

Gandhi

JaneyMacker wrote: »

I know nothing of what happens there apart from that the agent told me that its easier to just send the landlord the bill than report the stupidity to the landlord. They said if the landlord hears that then they get on to the tenant, the tenant gets on to threshold and there is a big **** storm and the landlord always ends up losing with threshold.
Then the landlord is back eating the agent out of it.

So its easier for the agent to avoid that. Just send him a bill.
So landlords who employ agents - watch your bills closely

Now, none of all that stuff do i care about. I am just pointing out what some people are like. Its like they got hit with a stupid stick when they moved out of home.

To be honest, if that is the case then I have a lot less blame for the tenants. If you have unlimited free handyman services at your disposal 24/7, then why would you be bothered your ass picking up a screwdriver?

I would make an exception for something like tripping a breaker where it is literally less work to fix it yourself than picking up the phone.

Shangoes

I just have to ask why do the job if that's your opinion! Realise that some people just aren't technically minded, and I'm not talking just females either, guys can be worse!
50% of my job at the minute is similar to this, though in an office rather than a residential setting. It's the stuff not plugged in, buttons than need to be pushed, windows that won't close sorta shouts that I love getting. I am far from a tradesman, so yes this stuff can be definitely be learned but other people have their work to do and that is the part I play in the organisation. I feel good at the end of the day having sorted a number of peoples problems, no matter how trivial the may be in reality, they are major to them. I'd be happy to take any "thick" calls you want to send my way OP!!
I'm sure there are things we all have no interested in, cooking/sewing whatever and happy to leave it to the takeaway/tailor (all very stereotypical i know). I'm sure they go to themselves "this would be so easy to do yourself ya thick," but pays their bills tho so they wouldn't say it to your face!

mikemac1

Changing a keg is easy.........when you know how
But put a rookie in front of it for the first time and they won't have a clue. Fob? Gas?

So taking a screwdriver to a washing machine may seem easy but nobody is born with this info, everyone learned it for the first time once

We all want to relax and chill in the evenings and weekends, the "thick" tenants are disturbing you it seems
But at the end of it OP, if nobody called you then they would get rid of you. The callout fee isn't even your main benefit, it's the free apartment

Was suggested back in the thread, why not make up some signs or leaflets with common issues and leave them in the lobby?