Understanding The Mechanics Of The Situation

(I am having tea with my mother at her house, and while I am there a mechanic for the electricity meter comes by. The meter cupboard is in the hallway; my mom and I are in the living room. These two rooms are separated by a door. Occasionally the mechanic has to ask a my mom question, and every time he announces his entrance into the room with a knock on the door, while we are just chatting and drinking tea. In short, he is very polite and no bother at all. This happens after he has been at work for about half an hour. There is a knock on the door.)

Mechanic: “Excuse me. Do you mind if I use your bathroom for a second?”

Mom: “Oh, of course. That is no problem!”

Mechanic: “Oh, thanks; that’s not always so self-evident.”

(He leaves the living room to go the bathroom.)

Mom: “What did he mean by that? Do you really think some people refuse to let him use their bathroom?”

Me: “I’m not sure; it sounds like it.”

Mom: “Wow. I’ll ask him when he comes back.”

(A while later, the mechanic enters the living room again with a question.)

Mom: “Hey, when you said that it is not always so self-evident, did you mean that some people don’t let you use their bathroom?”

Mechanic: “Oh, yeah, sure. That happens quite regularly. It’s not even the worst thing to happen.”

Mom: “What do you mean?”

Mechanic: “Well, sometimes I walk into a house and there is a line of tape on the floor, and the customer tells me that I am not allowed to go beyond that line, into their house.”

Mom: *shocked* “No way. People really do that?”

Mechanic: “Oh, yeah. You just learn to deal with it.”

(My mom and I were left stunned with the lack of respect some people have for service workers.)