The black, gooey, smelly water is bubbling up out of the bathtub drain every time you flush the toilet! The toilet water is running over the edge of the toilet bowl! Your daughter, who is doing the dishes in the kitchen is yelling something about the dishwater flooding the kitchen floor. Quick, grab that free magazine and call a plumber!
Here’s one! The ad says, “Any drain, any time $49.95.” Call him fast!
“Hello”
“We have an emergency, can you come right now?”
“Yes, what is your address?”
The unmarked, old van rolls into the driveway. Thank goodness, help! Out jumps a man in dirty clothes with no name or company on his shirt. He tromps through your home with his dirty boots. But he is a nice guy. You show him the problem. You even have a clean out at the back of your home. You paid a big price for that two years ago for just such emergencies as this.
You feel reassured that your plumbing system will be whipped into shape now. In fact, you’re thinking, it may have already cleared itself out for fear of competent hands and his giant mechanical snake. You go back in the house confident that the earth is about to be put back on its axis.
Mr. No Name Plumber drags out his snake and heads to the back of your home. A small question pops into your unconscious mind about the size of his snake. You suppress whatever niggling little negative thoughts you have and go into the house and announce to your family that you have resolved the issue. Everybody just relax, your home will be functioning normally in just a minute. You settle into your favorite spot on the sofa and go back to your movie.
Your wife walks into the room and starts talking and it is not even during the advertising time.
“Aren’t plumbers supposed to be licensed honey?”
“Yeah, I guess babe. Hold on a second, I love this part.”
“But I don’t see any company name or license number on his truck. And when I asked him for a card, he said he forgot to put some more in his truck. What do you think?”
“Did you see that? Oh man, I love this movie. What’s that about a license?”
“I was just saying that I am a little uncomfortable with this guy. I mean, how do we know he knows what he is doing?”
“Give the guy a break honey. This is his business. I’m sure he knows what he is doing. I think this is the same guy our neighbors used last year.”
“Oh, hold on. I think he is knocking on the back door.”
A few minutes later.
“So, was that him? What did he want?”
“He said he has to go get something from his shop and he will be back shortly.”
“Alright honey, relax. I can hear the stress in your voice. Everything is going to be fine.”
“Okay, if you say so. You know more about these things than I do.”
Two hours later and here comes your wife.
“I wasn’t able to reach him on the telephone. What do you think is going on? I have to use the toilet and the kids have to get their baths and get ready for bed.”
“I don’t know. This is a little strange.”
“I saw a plumbing truck today with an easy to remember name. What was it? Umm…oh yeah, Mr. Fix It Plumbing. Why don’t you call them?”
“Well, they are a regular company. I see their trucks around all the time.”
“Yes honey and we have to get back to normal here so we can get on with our lives.”
Soon, up rolls a Mr. Fix It Plumbing truck with the giant logo of the man with the pipe wrench. Out jumps a clean, friendly man with an intelligent face who is wearing a uniform with company and name patches. You explain everything to him but don’t bother to explain another plumber was just here and hasn’t come back.
After assessing the situation, the Mr. Fix It Plumbing expert says he believes he needs to put a special type of camera into your drain pipe. Oh, here we go, you think. But you remember the pressure from your wife and kids and you agree.
In a few minutes, the Mr. Fix It Plumbing man is knocking on your door. He tells you he would like for you to see something in his camera monitor.
You can’t quite make out what you are looking at through the water and goo in the picture but as he patiently explains what you are looking at, you see the broken end of a sewer snake.
“Has someone else been here working on your pipe?” asks the plumber.
“Well, yeah. He left a couple of hours ago and we can’t reach him again to come back and finish the job,” you reply.
“What company is he from?”
“I don’t know,” you reply.
“The reason he won’t come back is because he broke his snake off in your pipe. It is nearly impossible to retrieve a broken snake. I’ll try; but if I can’t pull it back, we will have to saw cut and jack hammer your concrete kitchen floor to reach your main building drain. We have to cut into the pipe, pull the snake out, replace a section of drain pipe, and pour concrete back to patch the floor. Do you have some more of this kitchen floor tile? It looks like it will be hard to match.”
“Wow! How much will all of that cost?”
“More than $49.95,” answers your wife.
“Boy…I wish we would have called Mr. Fix It Plumbing first.”
