Y’all Have Some Crappy Safety Protocols
The shop where I work sells and repairs smartphones, tablets, and computers. A somewhat common type of repair is water-damaged devices. Given that the small town I live and work in is fairly close to a few beaches, phones often get dropped in the water. The usual procedure for dealing with a water-damaged phone involves completely disassembling it, cleaning all of the electronic components, and touching up the soldering under a microscope as needed.
Usually, whenever my boss (or one of the other reception staff) accepts a phone from a customer, we ask them what happened and how long the phone was wet. Then, we technicians have an idea of what to expect, and we can give the customer an idea of what the cost is likely to be and what the likelihood is of a successful repair. (Very severely water-damaged phones can’t always be repaired, or it can be cost-prohibitive, which is much more common with salt water damage.)
One day, my boss hands me a phone.
Boss: “I need you to work on this fairly urgently. It has been water damaged and the customer needs it for her work.”
Me: “Okay, no problem.”
I open up the phone, and although there is some evidence of water inside on the frame, there is very little evidence of it on any of the main components. All I can spot is a very small amount of corrosion on one corner of the main system board, which is easy to clean up and fix.
Me: “This one really doesn’t look all that bad. I’m guessing this wasn’t salt water like the last few.”
Boss: “No, this was just town water.”
Me: “So, in the sink or something?”
Boss: “Um, no, not the sink. It was actually in the toilet.”
Me: “Oh, my goodness! Seriously?! You didn’t think to tell me that before?!”
Needless to say, I went to the bathroom straight away, washed my hands, and put gloves on for the rest of the repair. I made sure to give it a good clean and sanitise it after the repair.
And now, I always make sure to clarify where the water came from before I work on water-damaged phones. Lesson learned.
Question of the Week
Have you ever served a bad customer who got what they deserved?
