What would you do here

[hey_moe]

Yesterday I had one of our service techs call me about a customer that made her mad. Cindy is one of our kitchen appliance repair techs. She works on Ranges,ovens,microwaves and dishwashers. Anyway she was there to repair the customers dishwasher. As Cindy went in the kitchen the customer informed her that her son was home sick with the Swine Flue.What would you do from that point. Now keep this in mind. Cindy visits about 10 to 12 customers home a day. She also has kids. There has been over 1000 deaths, this virus also has been declared a National Emergency. Part two of this is I feel the customer could have washed dishs by hand ( god forgive that ) until her child was better or back in school.Also would you want a service tech in your home after they just left another customer's house with the Swine flue.

[txnetcop]

Let the lady do her dishes by hand with a promise of labor or parts discount when you return for her inconvenience.
Ted

[OBIO]

People are so careless when it comes to communicable diseases like H1N1, HIV, or just the common cold. When my wife was working as a nurse in the local ER, she saw tons of people coming in with the flu.....when there is no medical treatment for the flu other than being advised to get plenty of rest, drink plenty of fluids and stay away from people so as not to spread the disease.

In the case you mentioned, I would have told the lady that I would be back after her son was no longer sick with H1N1, after the family had thoroughly cleaned and disinfected the house...then I would have gone home, taken a hot hot shower, washed my clothing in the super soapy clothing. H1N1 is nothing to be playing around with....especially when children and the elderly are at risk. The young and the old are the ones most likely to die from this flu strain, which contains DNA not only from pigs, but from birds and humans as well. The trio of DNA sources is what makes H1N1 so potent and so deadly...and is why the CDC and WHO (World Health Organization) are so worried that it will mutate into even more potent and deadly forms. This flu virus has the potential to become a real population reducer if it mutates just a few times.

OBIO

[Dirtman]

What would any sane & conscientious human being do?

.... Thank the woman for being honest then turn around & walk away. Return only when "Typhoid Johnny" is clean once more.

Recommend all your service tech's be supplied with face masks & vaccinated ASAP. - supplying them with antibacterial soap would be a great idea too.

Your Service Dept. should be screening for H1N1 infections on ALL SERVICE CALLS.

An "ounce of prevention" right?

OR

Adopt the Kanadian approach: ... equip all your Tech's with flamethrowers & have them "sterilize" any infected houses that they find!

...... 15626


It's always the simple solutions that work best ....... :icon_lol:

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[hey_moe]

Ted, the way I look at it is the customer should have never put the tech in the situation. Another thing you might want to look at,if a tech was coming to your house and he or she waited till they were working on what ever,and they informed you they had been exposed to the Swine virus, how would you feel if a few days later one of your kids got deathly sick or died from it.Would that discount help then.Cindy had to cancel a birthday party she was having for her daughter because of this, She didn't want to take any chances. BTW Cindy had to order the part the customer needed and the customer blew her top because she didn't have the part. She also told Cindy she wanted it done that day because she had to miss work because her son was home sick.Cindy finally let her have it by saying she can't believe she would set up a call with a sick kid home and take a chance of her getting sick and also endanger her kids too, all for a dishwasher.
Let the lady do her dishes by hand with a promise of labor or parts discount when you return for her inconvenience.
Ted

[Crusader]

Both txnetcorp and OBIO have excellent suggestions and comments . Having retired from from a medical field in a hospital (Respiratory Therapy) I must respectfully say this is plane ignorance on the part of the customer . Believe me I have seen alittle bit of everything the past 27 years . On several occasions over the years I have seen visitors bring infants into Isolation rooms without gowning or masking up even though the hospital had several signs and posts prohibiting children under 12 from entering the hospital , especially during flu season . Then the vistors get pissed off when the nurse advises them they have to leave the room of coarse after contaminating everyone along the way . Didn't mean to steal your thread and start ranting but this kind of thing really ticks me off . There has been tons of good educational awareness and tips on the TV this fall but there is and always will be a small segment of society that really doesn't give a damn .

Rich

[hey_moe]

Well Rick, where I am at kids aren't allowed in the Hospital for visitation or when they are with a parent due to this Virus.
Both txnetcorp and OBIO have excellent suggestions and comments . Having retired from from a medical field in a hospital (Respiratory Therapy) I must respectfully say this is plane ignorance on the part of the customer . Believe me I have seen alittle bit of everything the past 27 years . On several occasions over the years I have seen visitors bring infants into Isolation rooms without gowning or masking up even though the hospital had several signs and posts prohibiting children under 12 from entering the hospital , especially during flu season . Then the vistors get pissed off when the nurse advises them they have to leave the room of coarse after contaminating everyone along the way . Didn't mean to steal your thread and start ranting but this kind of thing really ticks me off . There has been tons of good educational awareness and tips on the TV this fall but there is and always will be a small segment of society that really doesn't give a damn .

Rich

[stiz]

personaly i wouldnt have done anything different, swine flu has been hyped up, normanl flu still kills more a year than swine flu has since it started. It was really made out to be a population killer over ere when it was first talked about .... which has been quitely forgotten :kilroy:

[Snuffy]

The Householder should have informed service before the tech entered the house.

Otherwise I agree with Dirt ... Thank her for the information, turn and walk out.

People are so irresponsible any more. The "me first" thought process will continue to put others in jeapordy.

[TomSteber]

Wow, some people are just stupid these days.
As I can talk first hand about the Swine Flu (had it two weeks ago),
and my wife is in property management, this woman should never have expected a service visit. My wife would have told her that it's not a maintenance emergency and that she should inform them when her son's fever broke and schedule a maintenance visit. I was told by my doctor that your only contagious for 24-48 hours after the fever breaks. People need to follow directions on this. Otherwise it'll just keep spreading.
Now had the dishwasher been spilling water onto the floor and not stopping, then that would be a reason for maintenance to have to service it immediately.

[Crusader]

Well Rick, where I am at kids aren't allowed in the Hospital for visitation or when they are with a parent due to this Virus.

My opinion is that if you have a loved one in the hospital you should be with them , by all means visit them . If they are in an isolation room for the flu or any other disease , that shouldn't stop you . Just use common sense precautions whether it be just wearing a mask , gown , gloves or whatever the particular type of isolation requires . I am a firm believer that small infants , and younger children should not go around hospitals this time of year . From what I understand this group along with the elderly , pregnant women are very suseptable to the HiN1 . Normal adults have been presenting with just normal flu like symtoms and they don't appear to be in the high risk group . In my area the H1N1 has been on the increase . My point was in my previous post that people don't use good judgement when visting sick people . They(hospitals) are never going to refuse anybody from visiting a loved one they just respectfully ask that you use precautions .

Rich (If liquid alcohol helps(Drinking type) , I should be damn near sterile !LOL):icon_lol::ernae:


BTW: For those that think that the H1N1 is just a hype , you are sadly mistaken . A week or so ago a healthy looking 14 Y/O male died from H1N1(Columbus area ?) and I believe somewhere in Ohio an infant , who was misdiagnosed(Actually had H1N1) died as a result of it .

[OBIO]

To clarily just how serious of a health threat H1N1 is, I just found a site that states that 522 people in the US have died due to H1N1...and that this coming flu season (which really hasn't begun yet) an estimated 30,000 to 90,000 deaths is a plausible number (that is the US alone). H1N1 is a very serious virus, especially for the young, those with underlying medical problems (diabetes, heart disease, respiratory disorders), pregnant women, and the elderly.

Please, take this virus seriously and do you utmost to avoid putting yourself into situations where you are likely to contract it. This virus is a killer and will kill many more...and if it mutates just a percent or two from what it currently is, it will become far more deadly.

OBIO

[Chacha]

Well Rick, where I am at kids aren't allowed in the Hospital for visitation or when they are with a parent due to this Virus.

Over here in Florida, kids under the age of 12, are not allowed to visit the hospital as well... We have to be escorted to the VA (when we visited Ickie) hospital ward to make sure we get to the cardio ward and not to other wards. We were also told to use the hand sanitizer which was placed on the elevators and exit doors, before leaving the hospital.

Cindy made the right decision, if she was told that the customer's son has a swine flue before she got there, I will advise Cindy to cancel the call and do it after a few weeks.... when the boy is healed with the swine flue.

The dishwasher can wait, let her wash her dishes manually, that would not endanger Cindy and her family contacting the Swine flue. Goodness.... :pop4: ... even if it is spilling water, turn main the faucet off and clean it.... do everything, anything... :isadizzy:

What would you do in an emergency like that? ... turn the main valve off, turn the washer off.... clean the mess... think.... you would not wait till the house is flooded before you act and stop the flooding... common sense... then call the repair dude.. :bump:

[stiz]

BTW: For those that think that the H1N1 is just a hype , you are sadly mistaken . A week or so ago a healthy looking 14 Y/O male died from H1N1(Columbus area ?) and I believe somewhere in Ohio an infant , who was misdiagnosed(Actually had H1N1) died as a result of it .

well the statistics so far over here since june/july

Population: 60,943,912 (July 2008 est.)
Number of estimated cases (UK): 14,000
Number of deaths (UK so far): 84 (one in Wales, nine in Scotland and two in Northern Ireland)


Of the 84 deaths - the biggest proportion have been among the 16-44 age group, though there have been deaths among people of all ages. A quarter of the deaths have been among the over 65s - a much lower proportion than with seasonal flu. Around half the deaths have been among people with severe underlying health conditions (such as leukaemia). Around one in five of those who died had been entirely healthy

Flu expert Professor Peter Openshaw, of Imperial College London:

"About 98% of people who get infected will recover fully without any hospital treatment so I think the public needs to be reassured."

in any event it is worth remembering that seasonal flu often poses a serious threat to public health - each year it kills 250,000 - 500,000 around the world

So yea whilst its not nice, i'm not worried about it :engel016:

[David_L6]

I'd leave and not go back.

[Crusader]

well the statistics so far over here since june/july

Population: 60,943,912 (July 2008 est.)
Number of estimated cases (UK): 14,000
Number of deaths (UK so far): 84 (one in Wales, nine in Scotland and two in Northern Ireland)


Of the 84 deaths - the biggest proportion have been among the 16-44 age group, though there have been deaths among people of all ages. A quarter of the deaths have been among the over 65s - a much lower proportion than with seasonal flu. Around half the deaths have been among people with severe underlying health conditions (such as leukaemia). Around one in five of those who died had been entirely healthy

Flu expert Professor Peter Openshaw, of Imperial College London:

"About 98% of people who get infected will recover fully without any hospital treatment so I think the public needs to be reassured."

in any event it is worth remembering that seasonal flu often poses a serious threat to public health - each year it kills 250,000 - 500,000 around the world

So yea whilst its not nice, i'm not worried about it :engel016:


I'm not down playing seasonal flu and yes it does kill more every year than currently the swine flu has but if everyone ignores it like you it could easily turn into a monumental epidemic . If I have family members or friends who happen to fall into one of the high risk categories I certainly would'nt want to look as just "statistics" have them ignore the swine flu as some kind of "Hype" . Your young and presumably healthy so you probably don't have anything to worry about but not everyone has that going for them . My advice : have both immunizations , regular and swine .
It's a personnal choice , either get the shots or don't . For me , I'd rather be safe than sorry .



Rich

[Lionheart]

This woman technician has kids at home. She 'must' leave for the sake of her kids. Kids can die from this. Vacinations are VERY hard to get. Long lines, hours of waiting, have to be cleared to get it. She has 4 kids....


Easy, no brainer question... Life is more precious then a diswasher. Send over a guy that can do this with no worries on his concious on the fever. Older people seem to be able to fight it better. But mind you, they have a serious chance of getting it... This has killed many people here. Its now a high alert emergency status illness in America and its growing super scary in numbers. They never thought it would spread this fast.



Bill

[cheezyflier]

i'm going out right now to find someone with a runny nose, so i can stick my fingers in their nostrils.

[Lionheart]

i'm going out right now to find someone with a runny nose, so i can stick my fingers in their nostrils.

lololol...

LOLOL....

'DONT DO IT! SIR! RETRACT YOUR TWO FINGERS AND PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD AND TAKE TWO STEPS BACK!!!!"

[Gdavis101]

We had a customer last week that was supposed to come in and pick up her laptop, she told us over the phone that we had better gotten out Swine Flu Shots because she has it and she was coming in! We told her, NO you are not.. Get a relative to come in and pick it up..

I think if I was in that techs shoes I would have done an about face and walked out. People are so ******* clueless!

[srgalahad]

Alas, with so much of society being concerned only with "me" and the belief that nothing can ruin my current lifestyle, we are going to see a lot more of that customer's attitude. It's made worse by the fact that so few people alive today have any memory or direct connection with past occurrences and have an "if I can't see it I don't believe it..." attitude.

Here's an interesting excerpt from PBS...
By the early 1900's, many Americans had lulled themselves into thinking that the wonders of medical science could vanquish any foe, no matter how microscopic. For over a century, after all, the booming science of medicine had gone from one triumph to the next. Researchers had developed vaccines for diseases ranging from anthrax to smallpox. Great advances in microbiology had eliminated the mystery from once fatal diseases. When it turned out that influenza was confounding even the most brilliant medical minds of the time, fear set in, and along with it, suspicion.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/influenza/peopleevents/pandeAMEX88.html

A little more background is in order...
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/
http://virus.stanford.edu/uda/

Those who fail to learn from history are destined to relive it....

[Dirtman]

I had a dishwasher once .... but it made allot of noise ..... it ran hot & cold for no reason ..... soon I couldn't depend upon it .... so I divorced her.


...... :applause: :applause: :applause: :ernae:

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[cheezyflier]

alot of folks are worried about h1n1 and flu virus'.

go to google and learn about filoviris, marburg virus, and ebola. see what they do to people and what they know about them. (very little)
see the survivability rate then compare it to swine flu.
ebola is what they call a "clean slate" virus. it kills everyone who it enters. read about how it liquefies their internal organs, nervous system and brain while they are still alive. while you are on your educational journey, think about this:

sooner or later some terrorist is going to realize that sending infected jihadists around the world in commercial airplanes would be far more an effective killer than the old "human bomb in the market place" trick.
before you lull yourself into a false sense of security that they don't let just anyone play with those kind of germs, think about this -
they don't yet even know which animal passes the virus to the monkees we get it from, or exactly where the virus lives. all it would take is another outbreak and one quick thinking terrorist willing to expose himself to the virus.