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  1. #11
    Senior Tech 1,000+ Posts kuby's Avatar
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    Re: Stories while in the Field

    Sounds like my ex-boss, they would flip each other off, tell each other to Kiss-My-A**, Go TO HE**, and worse. I blushed at things they said to each other. WOW

    Quote Originally Posted by SlipperyCat View Post
    I've been an outside technician for nearly 18 years and I've seen my share of unusual things. I thought it would be fun to read about the experiences of others while they are performing their duties.

    This is just one story. I have many. But, I will start with the one that comes to mind first.

    I think one of the weirdest situation I've been in is when I went out to network one of our products for a small client in our area. The company was some dive outfit, comprised of a husband and wife ownership. They were in the section 8 renting business so their clientele, needless to say, were some shady folks. The interesting thing was their customers weren't as bad as they were!

    While I was trying to setup our machine on their make-shift network they constantly argued with each other, sometimes screaming as loud as they could at one another. Then, for no apparent reason, they would be really calm and joke around with each other (I'm talking about the husband a wife) and everything was calm. But, sometimes one of them would say something to set the other one off and they would start screaming at each other again. I honestly couldn't believe how these two people behaved. They both must have been bipolar because nobody acts like that who is normal.

    When one of their customers would walk in, they would be as nice as pie to them. But, as soon as the customer would leave, within about 30 seconds something would initiate a fight between them again. This went on for the two hours I was there. I just kept my mouth shut and did what I had to do but the whole time I was afraid one of them was going to kill the other, including me! It was definitely an environment I did not want to be in.

    When I finished the job and had my paperwork signed I got out of there as fast as I could, and as I walked down the side walk I could still hear them screaming at each other.

    What is wrong with people??


  2. #12
    Not a service manager 2,500+ Posts Iowatech's Avatar
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    Re: Stories while in the Field

    Quote Originally Posted by DWise View Post
    I think the only thing that would have freaked me out more would have been an approaching storm with lots of lightning while all of this was taking place. Then possibly the electricity going out... and bats... and me screaming like a girl running back to the truck.
    Oh, weather stories, I didn't even think of that!
    Back in the day I lived in Central Illinois, which is flat as a pancake. Honestly! When the old abandoned Farmall plant in Canton was burning down, I could see the column of smoke from just east of Macomb, which is around forty miles away.
    Central Illinois really doesn't get that much snow in the winter (well, OK, there occasionally is a foot or two, but it melts quickly), but there was plenty of ice. One particularly bad night I got lucky and tucked in behind a salt truck (turns out driving 5 to 20 MPH for around twenty miles really isn't that bad in that case). Part of the drive had an electricity delivery trunk line beside it, and thanks to the ice buildup and wind the lines were swinging wildly, and would occasionally hit their utility poles and produce a huge shower of brilliant purple sparks. While I suppose it would stink being beneath them, I lucked out again and the spark showers were never where I was at. So it was kind of a cool light show.

  3. #13
    Field Supervisor 500+ Posts Exok's Avatar
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    Re: Stories while in the Field

    Here's a story from my days servicing Savin liquid toner copiers. Not a story about a strange customer or place, just me.

    I just finished a preventative maintenance service on a Savin 7350. The Cleaning unit, developer unit and tank were all nice and clean. Now it was time to add the toner and see how good the copies looked. Hm, no toner bottles in the cabinet. I ask the customer for a toner. The liquid toner for this machine comes with a plastic cap. Remove that and there is a foil seal. You replace the original cap with a feeder cap that allows a small amount of toner to come out when the toner solenoid fires. The customer hands me a toner bottle with no plastic cap. No problem, the foil seal is still on it. I shake up the toner as its probably been sitting on a shelf for months. Hm... why do I feel like i'm getting wet? OH CRAP THE SEAL IS BROKEN!!! The view at that point in time would probably reminded most of the movie Carrie (replacing toner for blood of course). It was a good thing they didn't have carpeting in this room. I cleaned up as best as I could and headed home to change my clothes.

    A week later I'm in my office for a team meeting. After the meeting, my manager points to a new bulletin board on the wall full of memos and asks me, "does that bulletin board look familiar?" I couldn't think of where he was going with this till he took it down off the wall and turned it around. It was the cubical partisan wall that was behind me when it started raining toner. We had to buy them a new one since this one looked like a piece of modern art now.

  4. #14
    Field Supervisor 500+ Posts Exok's Avatar
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    Re: Stories while in the Field

    One day while servicing a copier in the ADTC (Adult diagnostic and treatment center, AKA-Sex offender's prison, part of the East Jersey State Prison) I was working in an area located in a short connecting hallway between 2 long hallways. At both ends of this short hallway (20 feet long) were gates. One side was closed and locked, the other open. The guard who walked me to the machine went up the long hall to talk to another guard who was posted there. I just finished servicing the machine and was filling out the paperwork when an alarm went off. Next thing I hear is about a dozen boots running down the long hall with the open gate. As a group of prison guards run by, one of them grabs hold of the gate to my little area and slams it shut. I'm thinking to myself, Wow, OK, WTF is going on. 15 minutes passes by and I hear nothing. I try to look down the hall but can't really see far through the bars of the gate. I'm now locked in my own little cell about 20 feet by 8 feet in size with just me and the copier. 30 minutes go by and still nothing. I think they forgot about me. Cell phones are not allowed inside so I have no way of making contact with anyone. I take out my telescopic mirror out of my tool bag and stick it through the bars trying to see down the hallway as I call out, "Hello? Anybody out there?" Nearly an hour after the alarm the guard that was my escort finally returns to let me out. There was a fight between two inmates and I guess my guard was busy placing bets or something.

    Once I had to service a copier located in the prison chapel. (of the main prison) In order to get to the chapel you have to walk through "the yard" where there are 100-200 inmates mulling about just like you see in all those prison movies. As I'm waiting at one of the check points, I'm expecting to see one of these thick necked guards walk up to take me to the machine. Who shows up to take me in? The prison Chaplain. This guy couldn't have been more than 5 feet tall. Suddenly I was feeling like Lois Lane from the original Superman movie thinking "You've got me? Who's got you?" It was a bit unnerving but I came out without any incidents.

    The time I had to service the copier in the prison's medical center was freaky though. They actually had the copier inside a metal cage in a room full of free roaming inmates. As I was servicing the machine they all gathered around the cage, tried poking their fingers through at me, made all kinds of vial comments. I made sure to keep more than a shank's distance from the cage the whole time. This prison houses a large number of "lifers". They are in for the rest of their life with no possibility of parole. They don't have much incentive to act in any type of civilized manner.

  5. #15
    Legendary Frost Spec Tech 2,500+ Posts
    Stories while in the Field

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    Re: Stories while in the Field

    Quote Originally Posted by Exok View Post
    This prison houses a large number of "lifers". They are in for the rest of their life with no possibility of parole. They don't have much incentive to act in any type of civilized manner.
    That would probably be the most unnerving thing of working in a prison, not knowing who cares that they have nothing to lose but an additional life sentence to the 3 that are already being served. Makes me glad I don't have to deal with that here. I'm not sure which company is working out of Stony Mountain, MB, but godspeed to those poor techs.
    Cthulhu for president! Why settle for the lesser evil?

  6. #16
    former propeller tester 250+ Posts
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    Re: Stories while in the Field

    Quote Originally Posted by Exok View Post
    a shank's distance .
    haa.. brilliant

  7. #17
    Super Tech 500+ Posts CompyTech's Avatar
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    Re: Stories while in the Field

    We used to have to service a prison.. What a complete joke it was. Inmates of all offense levels walking among each other. Female guards and employees just walking about, will nilly with no protection.

    Most often they would take you to the cell block room to work on the machine and leave you there by yourself with no phone. Fortunately the doors locked from the inside. It always smelled like cigarette smoke in there and it was hot, because it was an indoor facility.

    I remember once leaving and right when i'm walking out, alarm starts going off and a bunch of guards were running inside with body armor and riot shields, ready to EF up some inmate who got out of line. Glad I made it out in time..

    After about 5 months of servicing we get a call they changed contractors out and took all the copiers with them. We never knew where they went. And we never went back there. Thank goodness! lol

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