Customer asked why I don't use a toner and probe on every job

Old guy who used to install for the phone company watched me fish a line through a drop ceiling for 20 minutes. He said why don't you just clip the toner on the far end and walk it out. I told him I only break that out for terminations or dead pairs. He just shook his head and said you're wasting half your day guessing. So I tried using it on a routine run last Tuesday and finished in 11 minutes flat. Now I clip the toner on every pull before I even start. Has anyone else had a senior installer point out a simple habit that cut their time way down?

3 comments

3 Comments

emma_lee2217d ago

That old timer probably saved you weeks over a career with that one trick.

the_ben17d ago

3 years at my first shop and nobody showed me that trick until a crusty mechanic named Dave walked by and grabbed my wrench. @emma_lee22 you know how many times I wasted an hour fighting a bolt that just needed some heat and a different angle? That kind of knowledge walks out the door when those guys retire, and nobody writes it down. Why do we act like experience is a secret instead of something you pass along?

sam_cooper16d ago

Old timers have a sixth sense for exactly which bolt needs the persuasion dance. Dave probably saved you more than just time, he saved you from throwing a wrench across the shop and having to apologize to the foreman again. Years of busted knuckles and cussing get distilled into a ten second tip that makes everyone feel like an idiot.