If you are a service person in people’s homes you must observe The Omertà.
(The code of silence)
I did HVAC and pool heat pump service for 20 years and I am sure that I have been in at least 5000 homes and 100’s of businesses in that time. It is a privilege and honor to earn the trust to enter other people’s worlds. Many times I have been alone repairing air-conditioning or refrigerators because the customer needed to work. That trust I took seriously. I did work for a few big factories. The employees would ask if I could help them at their home. I saw many alternative lifestyles that the employees didn’t feel comfortable anyone knowing about at work. I always kept my mouth shut. I found sexy things in freezers while I was repairing them that mom and dad didn’t want the kids to see. Guess they were too short to reach. Don’t hide your money in the air conditioning closet please. Saw that a couple of times too. I was fixing a heat pump at a night club at 8 am on a weekday and I got off the roof to get something from my truck and when I got back to my ladder 2 big goons were ruffing up an all night customer. The guy was thrown into my ladder and moved it. The two goons looked at me horrified and stopped their fight and both started apologizing and trying to reposition my ladder. I remember the exact words of one of them; “Mr. Miller we are sincerely sorry if we did anything to interrupt your work day. Please accept our apologies.” 2 hours later the customer was drinking in the cool air from the repaired AC like nothing had happened. I didn’t say anything. I saw people drunk in the morning who called in sick to work. Saw married couples fighting about all kinds of private subjects in the same room as me while I worked. I helped contractors who were afraid to work in their own neighborhoods at night. I visited many famous people who didn’t want anyone to know where they lived. I fixed the air conditioning in a home that was going to host one of the most famous singers in the world at the time that night. Didn’t tell anyone. Well, maybe only my Mom. There were answering machines broadcasting private messages next to where I was installing a thermostat. Personal videos playing on big TVs that were not meant for strangers. Mortuaries with stuff going on not for the faint of heart. Famous Hollywood, Football, Tennis and Hockey players who liked their privacy too. swimming pool parties with bathing suits optional and 100′ yacht parties with their own special kind of decadence. Your job is to be a hero and make people comfortable and solve their problems. Never do or say anything to make customers uncomfortable or cause stress in their lives. We all have enough of that.
Be safe out there.
Best,
Marcus
P.S. It goes without saying that if I saw anybody being abused who needed help or any type of animal cruelty, I would talk as fast as an auctioneer who got paid by the word to anyone who would listen.
P.P.S. I know whether young men or young woman keep cleaner homes. 🙂
