That's funny stuff, blueman, and I understand what drove you to write
it. Careful who you trash, though. It's not like that for an entire
trade. In fact, I'd venture to say that most aren't like that, but
that's not based on much more than a hunch. People on newsgroups like
to know a lot of things and also like to be right when the other guy is
wrong. You can read though some of the flame wars to see that. In
fact, it's why I post when I do - it's just fun being the expert
sometimes.

People in newsgroups, however, aren't a good sampling of the population
at large. My wife wanted a digital programmable thermostat to replace
the original one on her heat pump at her business. Replacing a
thermostat is something I've done a million times -- couple low voltage
wires and a few screws. No fuss no muss.

The next day when the HVAC guy came out to replace the inverter(?) I
blew by crossing two hot wires; he couldn't have been nicer about it.
"Happens all the time," he explained. "They should print warnings -
you had no way to know. Next time, just call us first before altering
the system. I can tell you what to watch out for over the phone." He
worked quickly, only charged a modest fee above the cost of the part
($80 for the visit or something like that), and was on his way. The
encounter left me feeling a bit better as I walked around putting the
space heaters away.



blueman3333 wrote:
First, my apologies though to the decent people on this newsgroup (and
you know who you are)...

Answer #1:
None you blankety-blank-stupid homeowner - they don't screw lightbulbs
-- they just screw customers...

Answer #2:
TEN
1 to berate the customer about how dangerous it is to change a
lightbulb since there is electricity inside the socket and he could
burn down the house or maybe even the whole neighborhood
1 to tell the homeowner how unqualified he is to even attempt to do so
1 to brag about all the certification, training, and years of
experience they have in light-bulb changing
1 to just berate the customer and curse at him for even asking a
question
1 to assume that since the customer is asking a question, he must be
"cheap"
1 to talk about how already by Wednesday night they have put in
more than 40 hours of light-bulb changing so they don't have time
to help anybody.
1 to tell the customer that he shouldn't even be asking any questions
but should immediately call a repair tech anytime a light bulb
burns out
1 to say that not only is a tech needed for changing
a lightbulb but that legally homeowners should be calling a tech
each time they decide to turn on and off the light bulb
1 to warn how no light-bulb changing technician would ever want
to work for the diy'er since he is such a fill in the blank insult
1 to spout useless, irrelevant (and wrong) pseudo-technical
misinformation about how to fix a doorbell

So you say but these 10 alt.hvac "pros" still haven't actually changed
the lightbulb -- no problem. The homeowner just changes it himself
since you really don't need an arrogant, trailer-trash alt.hvac tech
to change a light bulb!