I often don't bother to discuss my work with people I know because they just don't have a clue. When they ask what i do for a living and I tell them I'm a building Engineer the think of shit they see on TV, like a dumb ass they call just to unstop their toilet or sink,or reset a breaker that tripped when their lamp shorted out.The people the live at the condo where I work don't have a clue and think that I'm overpaid.They don't have any idea of the shit I have to make happen just so they can even live in this building.Like the lil ol lady that keeps calling the office for me and my helper to come install a washer for her because she's to cheap to pay somebody 50 bucks to the company she bought it from ,but doesn't realize I'm up on this cooling tower cleaning it so that she and the other 150 family's that live here won't be sweating there ass off.Most people look outside of there window and see a 3 ton unit they can hose out and it's done.It doesn't work that way here folks.
They think if there compressor goes out I'll call the repairman and pay 500 or so and keep watching TV.try that with this compressor
Keeping these 2- 400 ton chillers and cooling towers operating is just one of the major parts of my day,so when you Apartment dwellers or Condo owners call Maintenance to get the mechanic to check the belt on your vacuum cleaner, remember He might not be the dumb ass you see on TV,and have something a little more important to do. Give him a little credit for the years it took him to acquire the knowledge to make your ass comfortable!! And pay him what he's worth you tight bastards.
A building is like an aircraft, there are multiple systems that have to operate efficiently to interact effectively. If one goes Tango Uniform, it can impact others and usually NOT in a good way. People say pilots are just like bus drivers but I don't know any bus driver that can draw out the entire electrical system of his bus on a cocktail napkin and trouble shoot what's going to happen to the pneumatic system when part of the electrical system has a stuck relay. And that you usually hae to do it in the dark or a work platform that's jumping around like a paint shaker in turbulence.
ReplyDeleteBut I have to say if I was dealing with a issue and one of the passengers came up to ask me to put her tray table down there would have been air rage and it would have been mine. You are a very patient man, I'd say.
Pilots and engineers of all types never get enough credit. for all they have to know, and how they have to be able to think on their feet.
Keep up the good fight.