I am 99% sure a repairman lifted my multimeter while leaving the house. What would be the best way to notify the company he works for? I don't want to falsely accuse anyone. The meter does not cost much but it just bugs me.
Call the company. Ask for the owner, not the secretary.
Say, Joe came over and worked on xxx last Wednesday. We had some of his tools and some of my tools strung all over the thing. Would you ask him if there is any chance he got my multimeter by mistake when he was loading tools?
Call and ask if he picked it up by mistake
Before calling, be sure to check everywhere it might possibly be. No one else was in the house before it was missing? Dog take it? Kids? Wife? Were you working on any projects? Etc. Be darn sure.
And give the repairman the benefit of the doubt. The idea to ask if he took it by mistake is good. Also when talking to the supervisor, say you are not totally sure, but it was missing after he visited.
If he is a thief, then other people will have called about him in the past or will call in the future. But sometimes people will make an honest mistake and grab all tools in sight not realizing they are also taking tools which are not theirs.
One time I had a CD missing after someone visited. I never said anything. Later I found it behind the stereo. It had fallen back behind. Glad I never said anything!
What was he repairing?
My sister filed a police report claiming her cleaning lady stole jewelry. No apologies when it showed up a year later. (nor any refund to the insurance company (Yeah, I know what she is; I haven't spoken to her in years)) I would just let it go. Pointless to ask him, and your are accusing him of being a thief if you ask his boss.
Might I ask what difference that makes?
If he was working on plumbing, it makes it even more suspicious that he'd pick up a voltmeter.
"Toller" wrote in news:%73si.13156$ snipped-for-privacy@news02.roc.ny:
OTOH,at my workplace,several expensive items disappeared,like a VCR,a Variac,a TI calculator(all from my bench!). I asked around,and none of the salesmen or coworkers borrowed them. It turned out other people were also missing items,and the officer manager was missing some money from the petty cash drawer.I suspected the cleaning people,and so set up a hidden video camera in my work area.After a week or so,I replayed the previous night's tape one morning,and there they were,opening up one of my bench drawers,rummaging thru it,and taking something out and putting it in their garbage can. My office manager was SURE that it was not the cleaning people....until I showed her the tape. The property manager came,viewed it,and immediately fired the entire cleaning crew.One of the thieves contested his firing,so a copy of the tape was made and given to the lawyers,never heard any more on it. My dumbass company never bothered to seek reimbursement for the VCR and Variac,even though the cleaners were bonded.
I'd go with asking if he picked it up by mistake. It does happen.
Our roofers happened to use the same brand and size of fiberglass extension ladder that I own. When they were done they packed up mine along with theirs. Called them up and described it, asked them to look for some spilled paint on the pulley (good thing they're roofers instead of painters!), and they brought it back.
I happened to notice that one of the people installing new gutters on my home at the time the roof was being put on, had a ladder exactly like mine. I took my marker and wrote my name on mine. Hey, it doesn't hurt to be careful these days. :-)
Cheri
"I would just let it go. Pointless to ask him, and your are accusing him of being a thief if you ask his boss. "
This is what I will finally do. But it is so hard to do. Incidentally, the meter was on a work bench in the basement next to a battery charger charging a rechargeable battery which I was using the multitester to check. We told the workman to just go through the basement when he was leaving from repairing our refrigerator. Lesson learned, cheaply, is to never let a repairman roam around the house unescorted.
Humor me: What was he working on?
This is why you should buy all your tools at Harbor Freight. So they won't be the same brand the contractor is using.
I still have clothes my mother labeled for me when I went off to college.
You obviously have a very smart mother. :-)
Cheri
on 8/1/2007 1:58 PM snipped-for-privacy@phred.org said the following:
All my tools have distinctive markings. I spray painted all hand tools with a bright color (red) and made deep marks with the edge of a grinding wheel, much like notches in a gunslinger's hand grips.. Like all contractors, my larger tools and equipment have my initials on them in broad permanent ink.
Chuckle. One summer, I was the designated gofer and toolcrib-key-keeper on an apartment construction site. Since most of the subs commuted quite a ways, the manangement kept some loaner tools on hand, to keep the job moving. Shovels, rakes, chains, etc, all kept growing legs, till I picked up a couple cans of dayglo pink spray paint on a supply run. If they needed a tool for their shift, they'd still borrow it, but they got real good about bringing them back. Macho construction guys hate getting seen with pink-splashed tools, and if the guy was still working on the site the next day, finding the tools that hadn't come back at the end of the previous shift was real easy.
aem sends....
I'm with Dan. Make the call.
I've lifted someone else's stuff twice, that I can remember. One time I was helping carry tools down the stairs, the house was having AC installed, and also some electrical. I carried a roll of wire down, and find out it belonged to the other guys. Oops.
The other time, I was at a house with my boss, and recovered the very nice VOM he'd left behind. Find out I picked up the customer's VOM. I finally noticed it didn't have the boss's name on it, so I asked him. And I put it back where I found it.
Glad there is at least one other honest contractor out there.
mm wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
LOL. Can't argue with that no way!
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