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Hit my 50th straight false alarm callout yesterday and it made me rethink everything
I do residential installs in Phoenix and last Tuesday I got called back for a smoke detector false alarm that was the 50th one this quarter alone. Every single one was from homeowners not changing their old fire alarms or keeping them too close to kitchens. The numbers don't lie - out of those 50 calls, only 3 were actual panel or wiring issues on my end. Rest was just people too lazy to maintain their gear. I spent more time driving and resetting than making real money. Who else gets stuck with these endless false alarm runs and how do you handle the customer pushback?
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nancybailey24d ago
Man people don't get that FIRE ALARMS aren't just decoration. I had one guy call me out SIX times because his smoke detector was right above his toaster oven. I finally told him straight up "move the toaster or unplug the alarm while you cook but STOP wasting my time." He got MAD like I was the problem. Fifty false alarms in one quarter is INSANE that's like a whole salary lost to reset buttons and dirty sensors.
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patriciareed24d ago
My neighbor used to reset his fire alarm every time he burned toast, finally had to tell him it was cheaper to buy a new one than keep me coming over... Guess he didn't like hearing that though. Sometimes people just won't listen to common sense, makes you wonder why they bother calling in the first place.
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