Following a task list and building rapport with a client

Speaker: I’m a plumber. I work for a large construction company. We do repairs, maintenance and installation.

So, in the morning, I’ll get all my jobs coming onto this PDA and it tells me how many jobs I have to do per day.

It gives me information like where’s the address, how long I have to carry out the works, and a little brief description of what the fault is at the tenant’s house.

I put the address into my sat nav and then I get going.

SAT NAV: At the end of the road, turn left.

Speaker 1: (TO AUDIENCE) When I enter the tenant's property, I identify myself, tell them my name, I'm the plumber, I'm here to fix the problem they have.

Speaker 2: (TO OTHER PEOPLE) Oh hello. Hi.

Speaker 1: Morning. I'm Syma the plumber.

Speaker 2: Brilliant, come in, good timing.

Speaker 1: Thank you very much.

Speaker 1: (TO AUDIENCE) Develop a little bit of a rapport.

We have a little bit of banter as well.

And it makes them… it breaks the ice a bit and, you know, makes them feel at ease, which I think is good.

Speaker 2: (TO OTHER PEOPLE) This is our bathroom. Toilet's here.

Speaker 1: OK.

Speaker 2: The leak seems to be on this side.

Speaker 1: OK, I'll have a look at that in a minute.

I've just got to quickly fill out my risk assessment on my phone just to let the office know that I've arrived on site.

Speaker 2: Oh, fine, yeah.

Speaker 1: It just takes two minutes.

Speaker 2: OK.

Speaker 1: I'll just take a picture of before works as well. OK.

Speaker 1: (TO AUDIENCE) It's very important to ask the right question so I know exactly what I'm walking into.

Speaker 1: (TO OTHER PEOPLE) Have you noticed does it leak a bit more often the more you flush the toilet?

Speaker 2: Definitely. And it's got worse in the last couple of weeks.

Speaker 1: Yeah, I can see it's slightly damp from where the ball valve meets the pipework.

Speaker 2: OK. Is that a problem?

Speaker 1: No, it's a very simple job.

I just need to turn the water supply off…

Speaker 2: OK.

Speaker 1: …and renew the washer.

Speaker 2: Oh, right, OK.

Speaker 1: A five-minute job, if that.

Speaker 2: Oh, I'll leave you to it.

Speaker 1: I'll give you a shout once I'm done, OK?

Speaker 2: Thank you. See you later.

Speaker 1: No problem. See you in a bit.

Speaker 1: Hi, how are you doing?

Speaker 2: All done, my love.

Speaker 1: Wow! That's good.

Speaker 2: Right, I've changed the washer.

As you can see, the water's back on and there's no leak coming from the pipe.

Speaker 1: Very good.

Speaker 2: One more thing I want to show you. This is your isolation valve here.

Speaker 1: Right.

Speaker 2: At the moment, the water's on, but if you need to turn the water off, you need to get a flat-headed screwdriver, quarter-turn the line so it becomes horizontal and that shuts the water off.

So, in future, if you get any more leaks, you can just shut the water off there.

Speaker 1: Oh, wow, that's really reassuring.

Speaker 2: OK. So I'll just unscrew it now, but that's how you need to do it.

Speaker 1: OK.

Speaker 2: Alright? So your water supply's back on now.

Speaker 1: Oh, I'm so pleased. Thank you very much.

Speaker 2: No problem. Just have a little clear up and I'll be out your way.

Speaker 1: OK.