Big old gripe, first thing in the morning!!!

[XmisterIS]

Bah! Fiddlesticks!

*whine*

Why is it that builders, in general seem to be so cagy about what it is that they actually do, AND treat you like an idiot when you don't know??!

Luckily, I have found a builder who [a] speaks English to the unenlightened (i.e. me) and is happy to explain what a string of jargon means when I look at him, blink and say, "whut??"

The reason for my whinge is that a few days ago I posted a perfectly simple question about some obscure bit of jargon regarding concrete, "What does so and so mean please, I can't find it anywhere on Google?" on a building forum, and the replies I got are along the lines of, "If you don't know that, you need to get a builder in, you idiot".

Well if you'd flippin' well tell me what it means then I wouldn't need to get the sodding builder in would I?????

Anyway, I emailed my builder, today I picked up his answer, and it was absolutely plain, straightforward and simple, but hidden behind lots of jargon that nobody else would explain to me.

It's ridiculous!

Turning the tables, if one of that lot on the forum (which I will not mention!) had a query about, let's say, solid-state physics, and they asked me, "What's a VCSEL and how does it work?", I wouldn't point at them and laugh and say, "Durrrr! You're an idiot!" Of course not! How the hell would a layman know what a VCSEL was, let alone how it worked? (edit: sure, you can find that one on google, but it's not the point ... I couldn't find the answer to my query on google!)

THEY are the flippin' morons!

My Victor Meldrew style whinge is now over.

I thank you!

 

[Fnaar]

I agree... had plumber in once to fix a leaky "tap" in the attic. He couldn't understand how there could be a tap in my loft, so he went up and had a look. He came down and laughed sarcastically, saying "that's a spigot, not a tap". It wad an old bath tap attached to a pipe. Spigot my arsenal. Who's got a tiny todger, then?

 

[Paulus]

I have a plumber in at the moment to fix the central heating system that has a blockage. He is very good at keeping me informed at what is wrong, and what he is doing to the system. It is an old system 27+ years, but with a new boiler 2 years ago. So far there will be 4 new rads. The old ones are beyond keeping and all the new valves that go with them. I think this is going to get expensive!

 

[Salad Dodger]

..... and breathe.......

 

[Night Train]

When I do small building and repair jobs for clients I always make a point of asking if they want to see what I am doing and learn what is going on, if they don't know.
I've had a few, mainly women, who have joked that I was doing myself out of work showing them how to do small repairs themselves. I've never minded that. I usually get called back to do more work because they know I am not ripping them off or patronising them.

 

[XmisterIS]

When I do small building and repair jobs for clients I always make a point of asking if they want to see what I am doing and learn what is going on, if they don't know.
I've had a few, mainly women, who have joked that I was doing myself out of work showing them how to do small repairs themselves. I've never minded that. I usually get called back to do more work because they know I am not ripping them off or patronising them.

Exactly! I am a great believer in not trying to hoodwink the customer. When I do technical IT or mathematical work for people, I always explain what I'm doing in English ... until they stare at me and blink and it's clear that their brain has melted!

 

[Over The Hill]

Exactly! I am a great believer in not trying to hoodwink the customer. When I do technical IT or mathematical work for people, I always explain what I'm doing in English ... until they stare at me and blink and it's clear that their brain has melted!

I was on your side until you said you do IT!!!

IT is by far the biggest area for making something sound complicated and difficult by giving things different names. It all has to have a different name to anything it is the same as or like in the rest of the world.

Our IT bods send out email to us with a page of explaination of what they are doing but none of it makes sense.