That day I pulled a whole bird's nest out and the customer cried with relief

So last spring I had back to back jobs that couldn't have been more different. Tuesday morning I show up at this old lady's house in Pawtucket, she says her stove hasn't been drawing right for weeks. I look up the flue and there's this massive nest - like the size of a basketball - blocking everything. Thirty minutes later I got it all out, she actually teared up and gave me a $50 tip on top of the job. Then Wednesday I go to a house in Cranston, guy's all proud he had his chimney cleaned by his buddy. I run my brush up and there's so much packed creosote I could hardly push through. Took me almost 2 hours to chip it all out. His buddy had just brushed the bottom foot. So here's the debate - do you think most homeowners actually know when a sweep does a bad job, or are they just trusting whoever shows up? Has anyone else had a day where you got both a hero moment and a nightmare fix back to back?

2 comments

2 Comments

casey_barnes1mo ago

Man, you're right. I used to think everyone noticed, but that's changed my mind completely.

charlesowens1mo ago

Honestly @casey_barnes, I'm in the same boat except my brain still convinces me everyone's staring at the one weird thing I did three years ago. Guess that's just the price of having a memory that works overtime for the wrong stuff.