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on-call means you better have good parts inventory and a wholesaler willing to open up if you don't....never could get much done on service calls afterhours....although one wholesale house is offering 24 hour access to a warehouse,never have been there yet....it stilll is 50 miles away,no matter what time it is......of course the dreaded call backs too....that's why i don't do start-ups on the last part of week....then getting people to pay the rate is another pain.....i work 5 and a half days a week and think about it 24-7 that is enough....i tend to overload if i don't back off it a little every now and then...of course i'm just residential......and people wonder why i'm not interested in commercial and refrigeration work

Originally posted by Dowadudda
I must be a freak. I like going out at night or after hours. Try being on call 24 7. I think better and do a better job when it's a buck fitty an hour.

I like it too. My wife don't like it though. I have been on call for the last year or more straight since our other tech is laid up with a bum neck, the other tech just isn't ready yet, and the other racked up a $300 cell bill on the on-call cell phone so he isn't allowed to have it anymore . I don't mind, I just laugh when I hear the others bitch 'cause thier check that week sucked. The other tech should be ready soon so then I'll be able to change off with him then.

We're on call every 5th day, for one day. I like not being on for a week at a time, but 3/5 of my weekends get screwed up being on call one day. I'd rather screw up the whole weekend and make some money, so I try to trade days and load up.

This weekend turned out sucky. I was on call Sunday, right in the middle of the three day weekend. I left my family at the lake early this morning. Then I got zero calls. A wasted day, and no money. However, if I was busy, I would have complained about that too.

Originally posted by sotexkoolbreeze

Originally posted by NedFlanders
How bad is AC on call?

summer time in south texas and your on call might as well plan on working all weekend and way late every week night.

Is that res.AC , commercial or both?

I've known long hours too , but I'm just curious how many HO's call for overtime (weekend or nights).

I'm a tightass...I can wait a day or two for AC .

Originally posted by sotexkoolbreeze

Originally posted by NedFlanders
How bad is AC on call?

summer time in south texas and your on call might as well plan on working all weekend and way late every week night.

Yep!!

I got 3 calls this weekend and the other guys are on call.

Originally posted by NedFlanders
How bad is AC on call?

summer time in south texas and your on call might as well plan on working all weekend and way late every week night.

Being on call especially sucks when your the only tech, and your Boss doesnt seem to appreciate it. I spent the entire winter in this situation. Now, slow time, I get 20 hour checks every week. Nice...

I must be a freak. I like going out at night or after hours. Try being on call 24 7. I think better and do a better job when it's a buck fitty an hour.

Re: Re: The next job

Originally posted by absrbrtek
Good luck finding a job with those conditions!!!

Originally posted by rob10
I will negotiate for no ON CALL. I promise ya that!!

You would be surprised what you can negotiate for!!

Sadist or masochist?

If you like being on call your one of them. But it is part of the job and except it or become a janitor.
I too hate the, "it's been acting up for days and finally quit" calls. I avoid franchises, (ESPECIALLY SUBWAYS), because of the idiots that own and manage them. They have no qualms about calling you out for the stupidist crap.
I know have my own co. and do as much as I can to make on call duty less of a hassle. I run call most of the time, am always available for back-up, screen out accounts that abuse us (or use us because the "regular guy whose great, charges little and just can't be found"), pay far more for the duty than I got or know of being paid locally and bust heavily on our folks who miss something on new work or service work. We also severely limit our service area.

You gotta love it. I cant count how many calls come in at 5 oclock as the office is closing or after hours. The customer tells us its been broken all day and they forgot to call. Or they had thier maintanence men screw with it all day, hes gone now and its still not fixed. Or they figured it would fix itself. Then theyll get all salty about the overtime charge that they created.

Originally posted by cynic
Love the callbacks or the ones that have been acting up for days and they wait untill it dies before calling. ohh and the people who call on nights and weekends because the regular A/C company is nowhere to be found and claim a freezer is down...........

Originally posted by cynic
Love the callbacks or the ones that have been acting up for days and they wait until it dies before calling. OH and the people who call on nights and weekends because the regular A/C company is nowhere to be found and claim a freezer is down...........

As a one man shop, I'm technically on call all the time. I have a couple of local guys I use for backup as needed, but for the most part, if any of my customers calls after normal business hours the answering machine takes the call. I will (most of the time ) return the call in a reasonable time and determine the level of urgency. I will ask specific questions about what the system is doing and how long this has been ongoing. If they tell me on Saturday night that the walk-in freezer has been at 50 Deg for three days, then I tell them another day won't really matter all that much.

If non-regular-customer calls me at night or on a weekend I simply will not return the call, period. If their regular guy is not available, I'm not either.

[Edited by icemeister on 05-30-2004 at 05:05 PM]

Re: The next job

Good luck finding a job with those conditions!!!

Originally posted by rob10
I will negotiate for no ON CALL. I promise ya that!!

Love the callbacks or the ones that have been acting up for days and they wait untill it dies before calling. ohh and the people who call on nights and weekends because the regular A/C company is nowhere to be found and claim a freezer is down...........

The next job

I will negotiate for no ON CALL. I promise ya that!!

On-Call ~~~~~~~~~~~Blues~~~~~~~

I HATE IT-too but, what can we do but just answer the call of the professional hvacman to come to the rescue of the homeowner with$$$$$$.

I'm on call this weekend and luckly none have come in only plumbing calls,and I don't do plumbing.

Put another "shrimp on the barby" sit back and enjoy the weekend.

On Call Sucks

2:OO calls in the morning really bites the big. Lazy or not, its a pain in the a$$!!

It's the very idea of being on call that's bad! You can't leave the general area, can't drink, can't make any serious plans with the family! But it's part of the job...so we suck it up and deal with it! It's like living under the gun! The call pager may, or may not, go off...but it reeks just not knowing whether or not you get to have a life that week or not!

How bad is AC on call?