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Public Service Announcement For Your Job (1 Viewer)

ChiefD

ChiefD

Footballguy
I'm in the air conditioner business. Hot as hell here in KC right now. First rush of the year. Here are a few PSA's to help folks out there:

1. Turn on your air conditioner a month before you think you might need it. Let it run for a bit. A large amount of breakdowns happen the first time you turn it on.

2. Change your filter on a regular basis.

3. Wash your air conditioner with a hose and sprayer a month before you need it. You'd be shocked how many restricted air conditioners we see just due to dirt build up over the years.

4. If you have 3 air conditioners, don't get mad when you call in and they can't get to you THAT DAY.  Us on the other end are trying to get as many people cooling who don't have it at all. Older customer usually get priority. 

5. Please treat your techs (and office people, to be honest), with respect. They are all trying hard to get you service as fast as possible. We can't get to every call every day. 

6. If your air conditioner breaks on Tuesday, don't wait until Friday at 4:00 to call in and expect service that day. 

Thank you and have a nice day all.  :thumbup:

 
ChiefD said:
3. Wash your air conditioner with a hose and sprayer a month before you need it. You'd be shocked how many restricted air conditioners we see just due to dirt build up over the years.
Click to expand...
So power washer is ok?  I was always afraid of really putting high pressure water on the outside unit.

 
Sand said:
So power washer is ok?  I was always afraid of really putting high pressure water on the outside unit.
Click to expand...
Not a power washer. You can damage the fins that way. I would just use a regular garden hose with a sprayer on it. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Slapdash said:
What if we didn't hose it down before using it? Should it still be hosed down?
Click to expand...
I still would. I usually turn mine off before I do it.

Just be careful not to spray near where the electrical connections come in just in case some water leaks in there from the spray. 

 
ChiefD said:
Not a power washer. You can damage the fins that way. I would just use a regular garden hose with a sprayer on it. 
Click to expand...
Do the cleaning foams and sprays from Lowe's/Home Depot really help, or is it snake oil?  Is just a normal water washing sufficient? 

 
wlwiles said:
Do the cleaning foams and sprays from Lowe's/Home Depot really help, or is it snake oil?  Is just a normal water washing sufficient? 
Click to expand...
Yeah, they can help. We sometimes use something similar on an indoor coil. They make a no-rinse one for those.

But we really just use a hose and sprayer. But sometimes on the real bad ones we'll brush lightly on the outside fins.

 
IT guy here:

1. Just reboot and then try it again before you do anything else. It’s pretty much the first thing we’re going to do/suggest., and it could save you  a ton of downtime.

I could add a bunch more, but it would probably come off like whining. Just do that one thing. Sometimes I even forget that step and go down a rabbit hole of complicated solutions.

 
Rustoleum said:
IT guy here:

1. Just reboot and then try it again before you do anything else. It’s pretty much the first thing we’re going to do/suggest., and it could save you  a ton of downtime.

I could add a bunch more, but it would probably come off like whining. Just do that one thing. Sometimes I even forget that step and go down a rabbit hole of complicated solutions.
Click to expand...
Actually, add a bunch more. Would love to hear this kind of stuff. 

 
More IT PSAs

  • Back up your important stuff.  Doesn't really matter how (copy to other system, cloud backup, external HD), just do it.  You don't realize how important it is until you need it.
  • Install security updates on your system
  • If the link looks phishy, it probably is.  Don't click on it.
  • Don't duplicate passwords.  Use a password manager with randomly generated passwords like LastPass or similar.  If you use the same password along with your email address for findmeahoe.com that you do for your bank, you're going to have a bad day when findmeahoe gets compromised.
  • Use multifactor authentication (MFA) whenever possible for important logins
 
PlayaHata said:
More IT PSAs

  • Back up your important stuff.  Doesn't really matter how (copy to other system, cloud backup, external HD), just do it.  You don't realize how important it is until you need it.
  • Install security updates on your system
  • If the link looks phishy, it probably is.  Don't click on it.
  • Don't duplicate passwords.  Use a password manager with randomly generated passwords like LastPass or similar.  If you use the same password along with your email address for findmeahoe.com that you do for your bank, you're going to have a bad day when findmeahoe gets compromised.
  • Use multifactor authentication (MFA) whenever possible for important logins
Click to expand...
:blackdot:  for research purposes

 
ChiefD said:
I'm in the air conditioner business. Hot as hell here in KC right now. First rush of the year. Here are a few PSA's to help folks out there:

1. Turn on your air conditioner a month before you think you might need it. Let it run for a bit. A large amount of breakdowns happen the first time you turn it on.

2. Change your filter on a regular basis.

3. Wash your air conditioner with a hose and sprayer a month before you need it. You'd be shocked how many restricted air conditioners we see just due to dirt build up over the years.

4. If you have 3 air conditioners, don't get mad when you call in and they can't get to you THAT DAY.  Us on the other end are trying to get as many people cooling who don't have it at all. Older customer usually get priority. 

5. Please treat your techs (and office people, to be honest), with respect. They are all trying hard to get you service as fast as possible. We can't get to every call every day. 

6. If your air conditioner breaks on Tuesday, don't wait until Friday at 4:00 to call in and expect service that day. 

Thank you and have a nice day all.  :thumbup:
Click to expand...
Is all this true for window air-conditioners as well as whole house ones that sit outside the house on the ground?

 
SteelCurtain said:
Is all this true for window air-conditioners as well as whole house ones that sit outside the house on the ground?
Click to expand...
We don't service those, but it can't hurt to clean them out if you can get to the coils. Just pay attention to where all the electric parts are. You'll want to obviously unplug it. I don't know if I would use a garden hose on those. 

Maybe take the front case off inside the house and vacuum out the inside. 

 
Caesar said:
I will add one that nobody is going to listen to.

When you go to a ballpark or stadium, don't just drop your peanut shells on the ground.  Not only does the salt corrode the gutter system, but the shells themselves back up the drains.  Unless you are at Wrigley, because, well, its the Cubs.

TIA
Click to expand...
Man that’s a tough one. I think I’ve been conditioned to only eat peanuts that way. I thought the dudes with the leafblowers come through and take care of that. Think I always take care of empty cups, but never peanut shells. Where can you even put them? Back in the same bag they came out of doesn’t work.

 
Rustoleum said:
Man that’s a tough one. I think I’ve been conditioned to only eat peanuts that way. I thought the dudes with the leafblowers come through and take care of that. Think I always take care of empty cups, but never peanut shells. Where can you even put them? Back in the same bag they came out of doesn’t work.
Click to expand...
Answered your own question. 

 
ChiefD said:
Actually, add a bunch more. Would love to hear this kind of stuff. 
Click to expand...
1a. If it’s web or cloud-based app giving you trouble, try an incognito tab, then clear cookies/cache/temp internet files, then close/reopen browser and try again. Basically the cloud version of “turn it off/on again”.

2. Don’t be hesitant to contact support for 3rd party software your company uses. They got paid for it and in most cases they want to work directly with the end user order to reproduce the issue. Putting me in the middle (unless I have the capability to impersonate your account or a “login as” button) isn’t as effective and I never want to ask for or know your password.

3.Please try to give me explicit steps to reproduce your issue so I can best find a solution. I understand the frustration that causes you to. just bluntly declare “xxx is down” or “it won’t let me do xxxxx”, but know we have to have a long back and forth to recreate the issue when you are already flustered and likely to become more so when I ask you to turn it off and back again....

4. Echoed from @PlayaHata above: if it isn’t in two places it isn’t backed up. A USB thumb drive is cheap and easy to lose. Don’t put your only copy of anything on one.

5.Don’t schedule a 4 PM Friday Zoom meeting. Ugh. Gotta go.

 
Caesar said:
I will add one that nobody is going to listen to.

When you go to a ballpark or stadium, don't just drop your peanut shells on the ground.  Not only does the salt corrode the gutter system, but the shells themselves back up the drains.  Unless you are at Wrigley, because, well, its the Cubs.

TIA
Click to expand...
This is one I've never heard before.

I can honestly say I have never seen anyone pack out their own peanut shells. I usually carry out my own trash. But man, tossing peanut shells under my seat at the ball game is like apple pie and Chevrolet. 

 
Another one:

Mice like to get into air conditioners and chew up the low voltage wires. I've seen about 20 service tickets this year already just from this. So try and keep mice away from the air conditioner if at all possible. 

 
ChiefD said:
Another one:

Mice like to get into air conditioners and chew up the low voltage wires. I've seen about 20 service tickets this year already just from this. So try and keep mice away from the air conditioner if at all possible. 
Click to expand...
I thought I heard something about wire coatings being partially plant-based now, which could make it worse? Or is that total BS?

 
ChiefD said:
Another one:

Mice like to get into air conditioners and chew up the low voltage wires. I've seen about 20 service tickets this year already just from this. So try and keep mice away from the air conditioner if at all possible. 
Click to expand...
How do they which wires are low voltage?

 
Caesar said:
I will add one that nobody is going to listen to.

When you go to a ballpark or stadium, don't just drop your peanut shells on the ground.  Not only does the salt corrode the gutter system, but the shells themselves back up the drains.  Unless you are at Wrigley, because, well, its the Cubs.

TIA
Click to expand...
:lol:  I don't even follow baseball anymore, but that made me laugh.

 
ChiefD said:
This is one I've never heard before.

I can honestly say I have never seen anyone pack out their own peanut shells. I usually carry out my own trash. But man, tossing peanut shells under my seat at the ball game is like apple pie and Chevrolet. 
Click to expand...
It was hard for me the first time I went again as a fan.  I had to balance a few things on knees and with hands and with two 2 year olds wanting to move around as well.  I never would have thought about it until it became part of my job to make sure those issues get fixed.

 
Rustoleum said:
Man that’s a tough one. I think I’ve been conditioned to only eat peanuts that way. I thought the dudes with the leafblowers come through and take care of that. Think I always take care of empty cups, but never peanut shells. Where can you even put them? Back in the same bag they came out of doesn’t work.
Click to expand...
Our cleaning company uses pressure washers and sends em as far into oblivion as possible.  Then they end up in the drains.  

You don't want to see the pictures of some of the things we have pulled out of there.   :yucky:

 
PlayaHata said:
More IT PSAs

  • Back up your important stuff.  Doesn't really matter how (copy to other system, cloud backup, external HD), just do it.  You don't realize how important it is until you need it.
  • Install security updates on your system
  • If the link looks phishy, it probably is.  Don't click on it.
  • Don't duplicate passwords.  Use a password manager with randomly generated passwords like LastPass or similar.  If you use the same password along with your email address for findmeahoe.com that you do for your bank, you're going to have a bad day when findmeahoe gets compromised.
  • Use multifactor authentication (MFA) whenever possible for important logins
Click to expand...
 Can I get a breakdown on how the password manager system works?  Like everyone else I’ve got 50-100 different sites I have a login to.  I’ve often heard about the password manager but how it works has sort of escaped me.

 
ChiefD said:
Another one:

Mice like to get into air conditioners and chew up the low voltage wires. I've seen about 20 service tickets this year already just from this. So try and keep mice away from the air conditioner if at all possible. 
Click to expand...
Stray cats for the win!

 
Being that I manage a jewelry store--here are some PSA's

1) no jewelry is maintenance free.  If you have a ring that has diamonds or stones in it--have a skilled jeweler clean and inspect it for you at least a few times a year.   It's far better to spot and take care of a problem proactively than it is reactively.   Taking care of a problem proactively generally involves retipping prongs and tightening stones--whereas taking care of one reactively generally involves replacing them (which is more expensive). 

2) no watch is maintenance free.  Even quartz watches will eventually needs to be serviced and have their circuit boards replaced.   The circuitry inside of a watch is no different than the circuitry inside of anything else. Over time coils, contacts, circuits, connections will lose efficiency which can cause your watch to burn through batteries too quickly or have regulation/timing issues. 

3) water resistance in watches needs to be maintained.   Just know that because a watch says "water resistant" on the case back--it doesn't mean that that resistance lasts forever.  There are several components on a timepiece that keep it water resistant--the rubber gasket on the caseback, the crystal (and crystal gasket on some models), and the stem crown (and tube on some models).  Maintaining water resistance requires that all of these components be check and replaced if they fall below the level of acceptable tolerances required for water resistance.  Also---at our shop-it is our protocol to ask customers if they need to maintain water resistance when they bring their watches in for batteries--because if they do--we need to silicon the gaskets and pressure test the watch both before and after the battery replacement and install. Keep in mind that a battery+pressure test is a more expensive and complicated process than just a battery--however--it is a requirement for people who need their watches to maintain water resistance.  I would highly recommend that you proactively mention to whoever replaces your watch batteries if you need water resistance maintained.  

4) just out of courtesy and hygiene--please wipe down the caseback of your watch and the inside of your watch bracelets with sanitizing wipes every now and then to avoid the building up of a crust that is a combination fo your dead skin, soaps, and lotions.  It's gross for you to be wearing something that dirty--and it's more gross when you hand it over to somebody to do work on.   

Those are just a few things. Hopefully they end up being helpful to some.  

 
Electrical PSAs:

1. If you're going to work on anything(switch, receptacle, fixture or whatever), turn off the power first! Even 120V can kill, if the amperage is decent, and nobody wants to find you extra crispy.

2. The ground wire is the most important wire, because if the neutral or hot is improperly wired, that's the only way for the circuit to complete back to the panel. Do not, under any circumstances, cut them off.

3. Take photos before you start taking stuff apart, that way you can see which wires go to which terminal on the switch/receptacle, and you don't fry anything important.

4. Turn off the power before doing anything electrical. I'm repeating it because it's important.

5. Match wires by color(black/black, white/white, etc). If other colors are involved, call us to figure it out. Wiring diagrams online can make things simpler.

 
If I go with your estimate how about giving me an idea when I'm on the schedule. Not we are working it out. If you don't want my 2k say so.

It should not be 2 weeks and you haven't got back to me

 
Kal El said:
.

3. Take photos before you start taking stuff apart, that way you can see which wires go to which terminal on the switch/receptacle, and you don't fry anything important.
Click to expand...
Smartphones have become one of the most valuable tools in recent years.  I will sometimes use it to take pictures of things I can't see, use the flashlight, look things up on youtube, and it's nice knowing I can call 911 if I ever screw up!

 
belljr said:
If I go with your estimate how about giving me an idea when I'm on the schedule. Not we are working it out. If you don't want my 2k say so.

It should not be 2 weeks and you haven't got back to me
Click to expand...
Okay, 1800 in a MoneyGram  no questions asked.

 
Lacey said:
 Can I get a breakdown on how the password manager system works?  Like everyone else I’ve got 50-100 different sites I have a login to.  I’ve often heard about the password manager but how it works has sort of escaped me.
Click to expand...
I can only speak to LastPass, but there's basically two different ways I use it.

  1. On computer - On any computers I'm using, I install the LastPass Chrome extension.  I login to my LastPass account using the extension and then when I visit FBG for instance and get to the login page, most sites it will just auto-populate the username and password and log me in automatically.  If I visit a new site and register for an account, I can use the extension to generate a random password and sign up with that and then LastPass will automatically add it to my password vault.  Next time I visit the site, it will automatically log me in.
  2. On mobile - They've got a LastPass app for iOS and I assume for Android too.  On my phone it's a little trickier because it can't automatically log you in to different phone apps, but I just open the LastPass app, search for the password I'm looking for, copy it, then switch back to my app and paste it in to sign in.
Here's a thread on Password Management tools from late last year.

 
PlayaHata said:
I can only speak to LastPass, but there's basically two different ways I use it.

  1. On computer - On any computers I'm using, I install the LastPass Chrome extension.  I login to my LastPass account using the extension and then when I visit FBG for instance and get to the login page, most sites it will just auto-populate the username and password and log me in automatically.  If I visit a new site and register for an account, I can use the extension to generate a random password and sign up with that and then LastPass will automatically add it to my password vault.  Next time I visit the site, it will automatically log me in.
  2. On mobile - They've got a LastPass app for iOS and I assume for Android too.  On my phone it's a little trickier because it can't automatically log you in to different phone apps, but I just open the LastPass app, search for the password I'm looking for, copy it, then switch back to my app and paste it in to sign in.
Here's a thread on Password Management tools from late last year.
Click to expand...
Should I disable Chrome password manager once lastpass is installed? 

 
Kal El said:
Electrical PSAs:

1. If you're going to work on anything(switch, receptacle, fixture or whatever), turn off the power first! Even 120V can kill, if the amperage is decent, and nobody wants to find you extra crispy.

2. The ground wire is the most important wire, because if the neutral or hot is improperly wired, that's the only way for the circuit to complete back to the panel. Do not, under any circumstances, cut them off.

3. Take photos before you start taking stuff apart, that way you can see which wires go to which terminal on the switch/receptacle, and you don't fry anything important.

4. Turn off the power before doing anything electrical. I'm repeating it because it's important.

5. Match wires by color(black/black, white/white, etc). If other colors are involved, call us to figure it out. Wiring diagrams online can make things simpler.
Click to expand...
Check for a tripped breaker before you call for a service call 

 
Marketing guy / copywriter here:

Consider your message carefully these days, and maybe even more, consider if people really need to hear from you right now. Must I know where Jiffy Lube stands on equality? 

 
So for real. Sent in my signed estimate 5/26.

Text 5/29 working on scheduling

Call 6/4 they said they would get back to me 

How long until I just move on?

 
belljr said:
So for real. Sent in my signed estimate 5/26.

Text 5/29 working on scheduling

Call 6/4 they said they would get back to me 

How long until I just move on?
Click to expand...
Ho got a higher paying job.  He'll get to yours whenever that one is done - unless he gets another higher paying job in the meantime.  You can keep waiting and hope he gets to yours soon, or find someone else, but that's pretty much how it goes in my experience.  :shrug:  

 
Ignoratio Elenchi said:
Ho got a higher paying job.  He'll get to yours whenever that one is done - unless he gets another higher paying job in the meantime.  You can keep waiting and hope he gets to yours soon, or find someone else, but that's pretty much how it goes in my experience.  :shrug:  
Click to expand...
I find it hard to believe he got a higher paying job than my trees.

 
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