[Bill]

After hearing "Dumb Crook News" I thought it would be nice to have a "Dumb Helper" thread!

What was the dumbest thing you ever heard a helper do??

I asked a young boy of 21 to dig a trench in the gravel about 6 inch deep by 10 foot long so I could lay a pipe. he promptly sits on his tail and starts shoveling gravel with his hands

I told him 3 times to get the hell up and get a shovel. He kept on telling me he could do it by hand. After the third time telling him, he went home early!

 

[Redwood]

I had one that was useless in every aspect.

He had some kind of learning problem where I couldn't show him or tell him how to do something. I had to stand there and watch while he tried to put together a p-trap backwards for 1/2 an hour.:furious:

He couldn't read a map, plug the address into GPS, Write out the paperwork while the truck was moving...

Nevermind I'll do it myself! :furious:

Couldn't read a ruler or/cut PVC straight...

About all he could do was carry in the tools and parts.

Driving down the highway between calls he would sleep and everytime he nodded off, the van would drift toward the shoulder an I'd hit the rumble strip they have there to wake up drivers that fell asleep while driving...:laughing:

I knew then it was time to get him off my truck!

 

[Wethead]

"can you get that empty bucket over here and open it for me"


hahaha - poop in his face

 

[muck]

I love these stories. but hate getting that guy wih me.

 

[ROCKSTARPLUMBER]

We had this crackhead, meth addict, you name it, this guy probably does it. Anyhow, this guy was around 29, 5'-5", maybe weighed 86lbs, soakin wet with change in his pocket. Always talking **** about how good of a plumber he was back in Texas. Well, he had made his rounds with all the other formans, and finally made his way into my truck. Now I had already heard all of the horror stories, so wasn't to pleased about it. Any how, I was running job, a pharmacy. Water was overhead, trapeeze hagers and all that. I made a fitting up for this guy,1/2"X1-1/2"x1-1/2" tee. Put the damn thing in his hands and showed him exactly how is was going to face. I go back over there 30 min later, the tee I made up was on the ground, I look up and he made his own tee up, with the wrong stuff, wrong size, bushings everywhere. That was it.
He was fired that afternoon, i was long gone, this guy took his shirt off, tried to fight everyone in the office, ran out to the warehouse looking for me! When his crackhead wife came to pick him up, she got her ass involved threating to kick everybodys ass! When he left he said he was bringing a gun in the morning and was goign to kill everybody.
That next morning i walk in the warehouse, half the guys are cleaning their guns.:thumbsup:
Little prick never showed up though.

 

[Wethead]

We had this crackhead, meth addict, you name it, this guy probably does it. Anyhow, this guy was around 29, 5'-5", maybe weighed 86lbs, soakin wet with change in his pocket. Always talking **** about how good of a plumber he was back in Texas. Well, he had made his rounds with all the other formans, and finally made his way into my truck. Now I had already heard all of the horror stories, so wasn't to pleased about it. Any how, I was running job, a pharmacy. Water was overhead, trapeeze hagers and all that. I made a fitting up for this guy,1/2"X1-1/2"x1-1/2" tee. Put the damn thing in his hands and showed him exactly how is was going to face. I go back over there 30 min later, the tee I made up was on the ground, I look up and he made his own tee up, with the wrong stuff, wrong size, bushings everywhere. That was it.
He was fired that afternoon, i was long gone, this guy took his shirt off, tried to fight everyone in the office, ran out to the warehouse looking for me! When his crackhead wife came to pick him up, she got her ass involved threating to kick everybodys ass! When he left he said he was bringing a gun in the morning and was goign to kill everybody.
That next morning i walk in the warehouse, half the guys are cleaning their guns.:thumbsup:
Little prick never showed up though.

WOW - THATS one for the books huh

 

[para1]

We had this crackhead, meth addict, you name it, this guy probably does it. Anyhow, this guy was around 29, 5'-5", maybe weighed 86lbs, soakin wet with change in his pocket. Always talking **** about how good of a plumber he was back in Texas. Well, he had made his rounds with all the other formans, and finally made his way into my truck. Now I had already heard all of the horror stories, so wasn't to pleased about it. Any how, I was running job, a pharmacy. Water was overhead, trapeeze hagers and all that. I made a fitting up for this guy,1/2"X1-1/2"x1-1/2" tee. Put the damn thing in his hands and showed him exactly how is was going to face. I go back over there 30 min later, the tee I made up was on the ground, I look up and he made his own tee up, with the wrong stuff, wrong size, bushings everywhere. That was it.
He was fired that afternoon, i was long gone, this guy took his shirt off, tried to fight everyone in the office, ran out to the warehouse looking for me! When his crackhead wife came to pick him up, she got her ass involved threating to kick everybodys ass! When he left he said he was bringing a gun in the morning and was goign to kill everybody.
That next morning i walk in the warehouse, half the guys are cleaning their guns.:thumbsup:
Little prick never showed up though.

Wow, I think this guy worked at our shop. He rode with me awhile and once fell asleep while eating a hamburger.

 

[Wethead]

Wow, I think this guy worked at our shop. He rode with me awhile and once fell asleep while eating a hamburger.

Oh come on?

WOW !!!!!

 

[PlumcrzyRedneck]

Oh I got all that beat! I had a helper who was a lazy sack of crap and would fall asleep in the truck (until i hit the brakes and scream) or until his girlfriend called him (whice was all the time) and at the end of the call he would say in the gayest voice "I love you" and she would say "I love you too" and that is when it got Gay because he would say " I love you more" Right in front of me!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! and that aint all oh no, he would talk like a baby

 

[Herk]

One plumbing inspector asked me to give his son a try. So I took him into a house I was plumbing and started him in digging trenches in the basement. I very carefully laid it out for him, marking them on the ground and explaining how we'd put pipe in them when they were dug.

I left him alone for a while and came back and he had a hole large enough to bury a Buick!

That was typical of the work I got from him for a while, and finally had to let him go. At least I stayed on good terms with the inspector.

 

[ROCKSTARPLUMBER]

Thats a tough one herk. had the bosses son work with me for a few weeks, wasnt worth a ***** tits on a boar, last day he worked with me, had to stay about an hour late, little puss called his mother, bosses x-wife, to pick him up. Man Im glad im self employed now.

 

[DUNBAR PLUMBING]

Here's a bad one that happened this past week, I'm pretty sure I haven't posted it on any of the forums I belong to...



Got a veterinary sp? office I work for that has two rental properties next to it.


The one I worked on this past summer has a crawlspace that I'm just too fat to get into, so I use the helper that the owner uses at his office, his properties and farm.


Well, every solder joint, every glue joint back in the crawlspace doesn't have my two hands doing the task, the grunt does.


Long story short,

Months earlier when this guy cut the drain line on the washing machine drain, he nicked both the hot and cold copper water lines, they didn't blow until they froze last week and broke loose right at the nicks.


So, back I go with this grunt to get this fixed, can't understand why these lines were leaking until I see what looked like gnaw marks and I knew it wasn't mice.

He owns up to it, I let him know it was a mistake on his part, he gets "testy" with me the whole time I'm in there watching him, handing my materials and expensive sharkbites to him.


I'm thinking, :furious: why is this guy getting short with me when it's his F-up why we're here?


First time he hooks it up, crossed lines and one water leak

Second time, 3 leaks

Third time, 2 leaks but one was not pushing the sharkbite in like I F'ING told him to.

4th time, after insisting to him to heat the joint and wipe flux on the outside of the fitting to get it suck in and put solder to it, he questioned that tactic and it worked like a charm, we got the F out of there with me having to donate my 3 hours and about $50 worth of materials for his stoopid mistake.


I still like the guy, never let him have it for getting short with me as I'm going to put it in a holding pattern and let him screw up again and get short with me, again. Then I'm going to tell him that I had to eat that day's labor, material all because you got banchee with the sawzall, dumbass! Then I'm going to ask, "Did you charge the owner for your time that day?!" to which he'll probably say of course. I already told the owner that I'd be following up to see if he charges for his time or not, I certainly didn't.


Just another episode where people say they can do plumbing and then you watch the work, and realize that plumbers will ALWAYS have a job in this world. Always. :thumbsup: