VTXDave
Well-Known Member
So one of my techs told me about this trouble call he went on the other day. Now, I run a service center for a rural phone company and he responded to a customer that called in stating that he had no dial tone.
Anyway, he went to the house and the customer, in his 40's, was out in the backyard burning leaves and debris. My tech, Andy, went to the SNI (that little gray box on the side of the house where the phone lines come in to from the street) and verified that there was no dial tone. He then went to the ped (the green box out on the street that feeds the lines to homes) and found his dial tone. Therefore, he assumed that there was a problem with the customer's drop between the house and the street. Here's how the conversation went...
Andy: "OK, looks like there's a problem w/ your drop. By any chance have you done any digging?
Customer: <taking a long drag on a joint> "No...No digging man"
Andy: "OK, I'll locate the line and see where I can find the problem"
Andy then uses his TDR (test device to locate a break in a line) and finds the line is broken 85ft from the house. He gets his "wheel" and starts walking off to 85ft. As he approaches 85ft, right in the path, he comes across some freshly planted pot plants...
Andy: Umm...Your break is right under those plants right there.
Customer: <toooooke> "Ya know, I was kinda wondering about that cuz the phone stopped working right after I planted them.
Andy: "Well, in order for me to splice the break I need to dig them up."
Customer: "NO! NO! Don't do that! You can't do that! Please!"
Andy: "I can't fix the break unless I dig down to it though,"
Customer: "OK, OK...What if I dug a trench "around" the garden and you could splice the line on both sides...Can you do that?"
Andy: "Yeah, I guess I could"
Customer: "Cool! I'll get digging"
Customer starts digging while Andy does some paperwork...
Customer: <tooooke> "Aw man...Bummer"
Andy looks over and sees the customer looking into the hole at some cable
Andy: "That's not phone cable, what is it?"
Customer: <tooooke> "No man. I just cut my satellite cable line. Sucks!"
(By this time I'm laughing my ass off with tears in my eyes. This is too funny!)
Andy: "Well, I'll fix the phone, but I can't fix that"
Customer: "Yeah I know...It's cool. I'll fix it later.
Meanwhile Andy finishes the splicing job and turns to the customer who has since retired into a reclining position in his wheelbarrow...
Customer:<tooooke...closes eyes> "Man...I can so see myself kicking back at Clear Lake right now."
Andy then told the customer he fixed the problem and left.
Anyway, he went to the house and the customer, in his 40's, was out in the backyard burning leaves and debris. My tech, Andy, went to the SNI (that little gray box on the side of the house where the phone lines come in to from the street) and verified that there was no dial tone. He then went to the ped (the green box out on the street that feeds the lines to homes) and found his dial tone. Therefore, he assumed that there was a problem with the customer's drop between the house and the street. Here's how the conversation went...
Andy: "OK, looks like there's a problem w/ your drop. By any chance have you done any digging?
Customer: <taking a long drag on a joint> "No...No digging man"
Andy: "OK, I'll locate the line and see where I can find the problem"
Andy then uses his TDR (test device to locate a break in a line) and finds the line is broken 85ft from the house. He gets his "wheel" and starts walking off to 85ft. As he approaches 85ft, right in the path, he comes across some freshly planted pot plants...
Andy: Umm...Your break is right under those plants right there.
Customer: <toooooke> "Ya know, I was kinda wondering about that cuz the phone stopped working right after I planted them.
Andy: "Well, in order for me to splice the break I need to dig them up."
Customer: "NO! NO! Don't do that! You can't do that! Please!"
Andy: "I can't fix the break unless I dig down to it though,"
Customer: "OK, OK...What if I dug a trench "around" the garden and you could splice the line on both sides...Can you do that?"
Andy: "Yeah, I guess I could"
Customer: "Cool! I'll get digging"
Customer starts digging while Andy does some paperwork...
Customer: <tooooke> "Aw man...Bummer"
Andy looks over and sees the customer looking into the hole at some cable
Andy: "That's not phone cable, what is it?"
Customer: <tooooke> "No man. I just cut my satellite cable line. Sucks!"
(By this time I'm laughing my ass off with tears in my eyes. This is too funny!)
Andy: "Well, I'll fix the phone, but I can't fix that"
Customer: "Yeah I know...It's cool. I'll fix it later.
Meanwhile Andy finishes the splicing job and turns to the customer who has since retired into a reclining position in his wheelbarrow...
Customer:<tooooke...closes eyes> "Man...I can so see myself kicking back at Clear Lake right now."
Andy then told the customer he fixed the problem and left.
next time watch where you plant those things
