Steel toe caps?
My son-in-law, Paul, husband to my eldest daughter, is a plumber. He is also an electrician, a decorator, and an imaginative designer.
He is a fair-minded man and doesn’t charge over the odds for a job, reasoning that his reputation will speak for itself and ensure that he always has work. Too often, he is called in to rectify someone else’s botched and usually overpriced work.
We often tell him that he doesn’t charge enough but he continues in the way he always has, and it suits him and his conscience. He’ll never be rich, but he will always be able to live with his decisions.
He meets some very interesting people and treats them all with the same courtesy and respect, whether they are lords or commoners, wealthy or poor, living in mansions or small cottages. He has a marked sense of humour and is a naturally amusing raconteur.
Until his father retired, Paul worked with him. One day, they were invited to give an estimate for fitting a new bathroom. Paul arrived at the house first, removed his boots as requested, and went inside to start the assessment. When Dave, his father, arrived a little later, the lady of the house asked him to take off his boots before he went in, but he politely refused.
‘What size shoes do you take?’ she said.
Not unnaturally, Dave asked, ‘Why?’
She replied, ‘I shall have to ask you to wear slippers if you come to work here.’
Dave responded, ‘These work boots are an essential part of our safety clothing.’
Somewhat tartly, she retorted, ‘Nonetheless, you must wear slippers if you come to work for me.’
He replied, ‘That’s fine; if you can find slippers with steel toe caps, then we’ll wear them.’
With that, Paul and Dave left, having decided that they wouldn’t take the job.
It was quite apparent that such a fussy woman would find all sorts of things to complain about and finally probably avoid paying the bill until forced to. She could have offered overshoes, after all. I wonder whether she found any workmen who agreed to abide by her rules.
Most workmen here wear steel-capped boots too and I agree they are essential. That woman could have laid down mats for them to walk on, or even newspapers. My dad was a plumber too and a gas fitter, but worked in the days before steel-capped boots. I don't remember when Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) got involved and changed many of the workwear rules in Australia, but I'm glad they did.
ReplyDeleteLast time a plumber came here, he put paper booties over his work shoes to protect my floors. I certainly would want protective shoes in that trade. No fun if a water heater lands on your toe.
ReplyDeleteHere the tradesmen wear booties over their boots. I wish we had a tradesman here that was as honorable as your son.
ReplyDeleteDoing right by people matters more than the money for some, and I like that. Also .... she had slippers??/ No, just no.
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