Service Technician Sans Flashlight

This morning … A service technician showed up at my work in response to an intermittent click and leak associated with one HVAC vent. The technician arrived with no tools or even a flashlight. He opened a ceiling tile, shoved aside some loose items without removing them, had the nerve to say that he really couldn't see anything, explained that he needed to "get some stuff", and left.

Four hours later … No sign of the technician. I have been constantly listening to the intermittent click turned into the sound of someone in the vent, wearing sewing thimbles, and constantly and rhythmically tapping his fingertips on the vent.

I'd like to think that the guy wouldn't have made thing worse if he at least brought a flashlight to see what he was doing in the first place.

I don't see how a service technician (see my username) can begin to do their job without a flashlight. I work on copiers for a living (in my 26th year) and use my EDC flashlight, currently a Zebralight SC32w, numerous times on each service call.

There are no dumber than those who are not smart.

I am amazed every single day myself at the seeming complete lack of common sense of most techs I am in contact with.

Work at a chemical/plastic compounding plant in logistics. During nights I'm constantly in the vast rail yards or messing with the many, many bulk silos. I nearly burn through a battery on my EB1 a week out there when I've rotated to nights. Most guys carry their issued AA Mini-Mag. I don't have a clue how they do their job.

EDIT** Maybe that's why I'm always so busy catching up.. I'm the only one that can see :candle:

Couple years ago, basement furnace quit, dead of winter of course.
Called in HVAC guy, sold me a new motor installed.
He did it via laundry room light, no flashlight.

Starts furnace up, and was cleaning up when I came back. He's so happy with himself and I ask him if it all went well, he replies yup, had some issues seeing in dark but he managed.
I said on, could have asked for a light, was told it wasn't needed really. I then asked if heat was supposed to be coming out of fresh air intake.. He doesn't respond, I shut off furnace.
He said why, I mention maybe put hand on fresh air vents.

Alarmed he says that's not right, no really I say.
I could have lost my shoe in his well never mind.
Not prepared, guessed and ignored potential.
No light, no worthy.

That's pretty crazy. No excuse really. Anyone should at least pick up a 2-pack of those junk LEDs at Walgreens or Home Depot if and keep them in the truck.

When maintenance guys or exterminators come to work they usually have some crappy cool blue light, maybe a 2AA maglite, but at least they realize the necessity of having something.

Mechanics are the same way. I used to work for a parts store and when I would deliver parts to garages I'd see mechanics have their iPhone out trying to see where a leak was coming from that was way back up behind who knows how many brackets in the center of the engine. What killed me the most was when those same guys would give me a hard time for always carrying a flashlight, I would always just tell em you never know when you might need one. I have done mechanic work all my life and always understood the need for lights and I'm only 20. I'm going to school for aviation maintenance and on our list of required tools is a flashlight, of course I have one but the rest of the students rely on their phones and then complain because it isn't bright enough or is to floody to see back up in compartments and inspection ports.

On the other hand a family friend was over Saturday who is an hvac tech and he noticed I was checking the voltage on one of my lights and made the comment he needed a new light. We talked about what and how he used it and said he wanted it rechargeable. After looking at couple of different lights he settled on a Fenix UC35. I'm still not sure he quite understands how big of a leap he made from his mini mag led pro or not even though I showed him how bright it would be lol. At least we know there is one tech who will be well equipped in the lighting area, oh and I may have convinced him to try a headlamp too.

Nice, it applies to any trade indeed.
I'm a mechanic but took tools home, diesel bug bit me for last couple years.
One of my best tool dealers used to carry anything you could want in a flashlight back in the day of incandescent, was an Allied Tool guy. Miss that diverse selection they had.
Lights then, didn't last long.

Best quote I've read on furnaces, never let a auto mechanic adjust it.
We like tight too much it seems.
That was a serious quote, and does make sense generally.

So a jumbled together lesson for me, is I may look goofy with my gear, but I'm the reasonably best prepared I can be at any one time and look for that handiness in others irl.
I need a CPF badge.

The last service/installation tech to visit my house was from Google. He may be highly tech savvy, but his light of choice was his phone.

It's one of my peeves too. I'm a property manager and If I got a dollar for every time I met a contractor and he asked to borrow my flashlight or he pulls out some bs $3 flashlight! Drives me nuts. It says a lot about the contractor if you ask me...

The only thing more idiotic than a technician without a quality light, is a security officer without one. And some of you guys know what I do for a living. Looking back, I've worked with one officer who had a proper light. That's in 6 years and having worked with around 40 others.

If such a technician showed up at my job, and pulled the same nonsense; I'd pick up the phone and file a complaint with his boss.

Monocrom said:

If such a technician showed up at my job, and pulled the same nonsense; I'd pick up the phone and file a complaint with his boss.

Click to expand...

Yesterday, the technician in the OP never returned. Today, the new and now greatly annoying noise is still present, but the work order has been closed. So, I may have to take your approach.

35 years ago when I was a technician, we used these:



It was the original battery crusher. Talk about battery rattle! But at least you could easily change from bezel (bulb) up to bezel down, just unscrew both ends and turn the tube around!



Boy, were we glad when MiniMags came out!

Great thread here !

lovecpf



The classic old flashlight shown above
has reminded me of my very first EDC flashlight.


Eveready model # 9215 ( 2 x AA , with a # 222 bulb )

Year is 1976 -- Finally found something sufficiently worthy
to carry around every day, which would serve my needs.

Not a technician, but I'm quite a technical nerd,
and very often had use for a flashlight.
Can't beat the convenience of having one
right in your pocket. All the time !

These models would last me about a year or two.
Weakness was their pocket clip, eventually pulling out.
So I'd simply go the the Drug Store,
and purchase a new one !

This was my EDC for 8 Years !
Served me quite well.

http://www.flashlightmuseum.com/Eve...with-Black-Cap-and-Red-Button-Switch-2AA-1976


Eventually replaced in 1984,
when the brand-new Mini-Maglite was introduced !

See my entire story here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...ni-Mag-light&p=1691022&viewfull=1#post1691022

I am the staff maintenance electrician for a regional shopping center ( mall ). I am the electrical portion of a team of six consisting of myself, a plumber, an HVAC guy, a couple of general laborers and an landscape dude and I am the only one with a flashlight....heck I'm the only one with a light or a leatherman! I don't know how these guys do their job....anyway the sad part is none of the security guys carry a light. The dept head told me once when I asked why his guys didn't carry lights? he said " they aren't smart enough to change the batteries so I keep a rechargeable mag light in the security office so if they need one they know where it is. ". I work over nights on occasion when I need to shut down power to a large portion of the property and always see the security guy walking by phone light.....

Kudos to you Gear!

Some folks will use a match to check a gas tank,
some folks will have grandkids.

Careful around your co workers, usually greatest threat to my well being☺

Oh this thread.... so, shameful. :shakehead

As a part of my county's search and rescue team, headlamp is one of the first things on our required items, including a back-up.
There was a call out for a search, when we got to the trail head to look for two lost and over exhausted hikers. It is almost 2130, it's dark out, one person on our team says he doesn't have a light. WTF! Few of us loaned him our backups, so he could go. This is someone I am suppose to be able to trust with my life, how irresponsible this is unfathomable.

I understand we are volunteers and money can be an issue, but this needs to be remedied before you even respond the the call out!

GearHunter said:

I am the staff maintenance electrician for a regional shopping center ( mall ). I am the electrical portion of a team of six consisting of myself, a plumber, an HVAC guy, a couple of general laborers and an landscape dude and I am the only one with a flashlight....heck I'm the only one with a light or a leatherman! I don't know how these guys do their job....anyway the sad part is none of the security guys carry a light. The dept head told me once when I asked why his guys didn't carry lights? he said " they aren't smart enough to change the batteries so I keep a rechargeable mag light in the security office so if they need one they know where it is. ". I work over nights on occasion when I need to shut down power to a large portion of the property and always see the security guy walking by phone light.....

Click to expand...

MagCharger takes 16 hours of recharge time for 1 hour of output. You know there are times someone used it, or more likely played with it, then left it off the charger. So it didn't work. But yeah, some guys just refuse to spend a dime of their own money just to buy an even half decent flashlight.

Had a guy come to fit new internal doors in our rental this week.His drill/screwdriver had a light on it that came on whenever he pressed the switch,but it actually didn't light up the chuck or even the screw he was trying to put in,and he actually used it to try and mark where to drill pilot holes.Got the M11R Dream and he said "That's better" and then I showed him my modest selection.He loved the SRT7..."How much and where do I get one?"

The only service/repair technician that I ever saw with a dedicated light was the photocopier service/repair tech. It was a showerhead multi LED flashlight, but at least he had his own light.

I've seen a PLUMBER using their smartphone lights trying to illuminate a ceiling leak more than 10 feet away. He said there was no leak, so I took out my EDC (Olight s20 at the time) and lit up the huge water stain, moulds and water droplets seeping through. He didn't say anything else and went ahead with the repairs.

HVAC techs servicing our AC are the same, they recently had to cut the ceiling to identify a leak, no lights, out with the phone lights again.