Last week I had a job installing doors onto this business that is located in a strip mall. My bosses (yeah, there’s more than one) told me to not talk with the business owner because he’s an as*hole (their words, not mine!).
Strip mall doors always swing outward
So I begin the installation process and the owner comes up to me and says that he wants the doors to swing inward. I very politely told him that the doors must be installed swinging outward because that is the fire code in strip malls. And then I nicely told him that if he had questions about the work order or concerns about the fire code, he should call my bosses.
Man, he started yelling at me and swearing. He said that it’s his money and his work order, and that he’s the owner and boss, and so I “have to do any f*cking thing” he wants. I kept my cool, I really did! I told him to please stop yelling and that fire code requires I install the doors swinging outward.
He started yelling more, saying the most douche, little man syndrome things you can think of. I stood up and I raised my voice and got right in his face (yeah, I lost my cool), and I said, “Look man, you will not yell at me anymore! I’ve got a wife and kids, I work hard all week, and the last thing I need is a pipsqueak like you trying to push me around!”
He was a short little guy, which is why I called him pipsqueak. He didn’t like that of course. He stomped off and called my bosses.
Look close …. they always swing outward!
In the end, he insisted I install those doors swinging inward, and so I did. My bosses told him though that when the inspectors tell him he must reverse them because of the fire code, there can be no negative consequences because we were clear with him.
A day later I was called back to reverse the doors and make them swing outward because the inspectors came by and told him his doors were installed against code.
My bosses said they wouldn’t send me back to do work for that guy again. They’ll have to “spread out his work orders among everyone.” No one can handle working for him more than once.