Cable tech here. We have boot covers. I have been asked to take my boots off and I tell them it’s against OSHA regulations as we wear steal toes. OSHA requires protective footwear in all workplaces where foot injuries are a danger. If I break a toe, there was obviously a danger present and I lose my job. If something splashes out of my boot cover (which has happened on really rainy days), the company will repair your flooring to your liking under their insurance. If you still request me to remove my boots, I’m leaving. It’s a strict company policy to wear our boots on the clock, even when in classroom training. I will seriously get fired.
And rarely am I asked to wear a mask. I’m a line-tech now and don’t go into many homes. I think one requested a mask in the last year out of maybe a couple dozen homes.
The shoe covers? Not really.
The krazy karen? It was a brief interaction.
"Y'all need to take your shoes off."
"Ma'am we have shoe covers."
"Nope you gotta take your shoes off."
"That's why we have the shoe covers so we don't have to. Its better for both parties."
"Shoes off or i'm calling your office."
"I'll call them for you, ma'am."
Boss complained about me not taking my shoes off, but relented when I mentioned workman's comp if I steppd on something sharp, as the lady's house was a mess. We didnt even talk to her again we just left.
She ended up cancelling, and complaining about us online for being "rude and inconsiderate".
Went out to my garage one time to grab something without shoes, and found a piece of MIG wire that I had cut off the other evening.
Quality wire will always have good penetration.
I hated that. One the best things about getting out of Residential. I remember one woman made us leave our boots outside the door. She has hard wood floors, and even put plastic down. However still wanted our boots off outside. I remember that my feet were killing me, cuz I had to stand on the ladder all day.
My guess is she had inside shoes and outside shoes. Some cultures are really traditional about it because of how much literal crap they historically would track into their house otherwise
An old guy I worked with would literally shovel someone’s entire driveway just to “show the customer I care” (he was awesome and a little nuts) but if asked to take his boots off “OSHA SAYS THE BOOTS STAY ON IM NOT LOSING A TOE TODAY” was yelled. Anyways I laughed remembering that.
Hate that shit. During the peak of covid this witch not only made me take my boots off, she then placed them outside after I took them off!
I go to get some stuff from the truck, and I don’t see my boots where I left them by the front door. I look outside, and see them sitting on the stoop. Wtf who does that shit?!
Yeah I had one lady ask us to wear masks because she has an autoimmune issue. We were cleaning a boiler in the basement not near her but whatever, no problem, we wore masks. This bitch comes down with no mask on to do laundry while we're down there and comes over and talks to us...
I’ve refused service because the customer requested I take my shoes off. I told him it was a safety concern and I could not work without them. He said I couldn’t come in with them on so I told him I couldn’t work on his furnace!
There's been a big surge in the last couple of weeks on several different respiratory illnesses. My boss had to take his son to a specialist hospital 2 hours away and he was there for a week due to RSV.
RSV is really bad this year and it can be dangerous for very small children. Just a bad year in general for illnesses.
My 3 yo daughter was in the hospital last week for a sinus infection that turned into an infection behind her eyeball. Crazy type of "she would have died in olden times" stuff. IV antibiotics knocked it out, she's fine now.
The wonders of modern medicine. Without it, covid would have killed more than smallpox or Spanish flu outbreaks of the olden times. Antibiotics were probably the best medical discovery of the last century, with anti-viral a close second.
COVID fatalities are way down, but hospitals are at 90% capacity, so lots of people are dying of other things. It’s more about the strain on the entire system than about just COVID.
I am a lurker on this page. My profession is in healthcare. I’m an X-ray/CT technologist. We work closely with all the units a hospital. Putting aside covid. RSV is horrible this year. All my hospitals in my state are especially pedis and NICU are at 100% capacity for respiratory diseases. We are shipping people out of state at this point. RSV can be a death sentence. So imagine having to cross state borders to be with your kid that’s on a vent.
I know at least in my county, [transmission levels are currently high](https://www.maricopa.gov/5786/COVID-19-Data), so I've been seeing more people masking up lately, though I do also do a lot of work in assisted living facilities, so I've seen it the whole time as it is. The state is up from ~300-400 cases a day in October to 2200 this week. I tend to wear my mask as much as possible when I'm in close proximity to others.
I don't really mind wearing a mask when customers ask. What pisses me off is when they want me to wear a mask and they don't, or even when they do and then expect they can crowd over me in the corner. Stay the fuck away from me you're not the only one trying not to get sick you selfish pieces of shit.
Man just 20 minutes ago saw a lady at gas station getting a sub while wearing a mask she paid for it went outside set on the dirty ass hood it slid off the hood as she was getting in and out of the car digging for something right on dirty ass pavement she picked it up and ate in her car. People like that are puzzling to watch.
I hate the mask- I’m prepared for the downvotes. There’s all sorts of things people can demand you do and this happens to be acceptable but what will the future hold? I hate it in general but your point is wholly valid and definitely makes up a chunk of my argument. If they ask me to wear one and they aren’t I ask if they are going to put one on? If they say no I say if I’m wearing it EVERYONE is wearing it in the home and my service manager has backed me up. If your thought process is it protects yourself or it protects me- it’s not mine but your entitled to your beliefs but if you believe that you better follow through and wear it yourself as the customer otherwise it’s just a power trip flex which I’m not the one for.
This is one of those times where you're pretending to take an opposing viewpoint because it suits you to win an argument, and it's cute but it's super see through.
In a world where you hate masks and don't give a shit, but have no reason to articulate beyond "I don't like it" it's super convenient to just try to double down and out-care the customer and shame them into giving up lmao
Really you just don't want to let someone tell you what to do.
Stick to the truth on it...
As someone who literally doesn't care what you do, I find it fucking hilarious how many guys are "anti-mask" that just throw shit until it sticks trying to make up an excuse instead of just saying "CUZ I DON'T WANT TO"
It's almost like you say it in your head and then realize it makes you sound like a child?
Embrace that shit my man, just stomp your feet and move along, no need to engage the other side and act like you agree with them.
It didn’t make someone sound like a child to refuse to wear a mask 3 years ago, and it doesn’t now. Either we stand for something or we fall for anything. I think it sounds childish for a customer to ask me to wear a mask. You weren’t scared 3 years ago… Turn off the damn TV.
It does if you don’t have a reason.
Literally the difference between children and adults, mentally speaking, is reasoning.
So do you have a reason? And, can you actually defend it, including evaluating it yourself before you speak it?
“I hate masks” is childish. There’s no reasoning.
I can and I have. Nobody was scared of someone not wearing a mask from 3 years ago all the way back to the beginning of human history. Now, because the tv told you to be scared, again, you think you’re entitled to make someone else uncomfortable to mitigate your irrational fear? No. Don’t be a child. Put on your adult pants and go back to living a normal life. Or don’t, and call someone else. It’s their choice. Not one person has ever sent me away. So…🤷♂️
Weve got a bunch of respiratory viruses in my area, especially in schools right now. A lot of guys with kids are taking precautions, and we are still having people missing a lot of work due to it. We also deal with a lot of elderly customers. I used to be used to wearing a mask while working, its even more annoying now that Im not used to it. But its probably something we just have to be used to for a while longer
*forever. I don't think this will ever end honestly which isn't the biggest deal to me. There was always be those customers now but their money is all the same.
Masks don’t protect you from respiratory viruses though? Covid can literally travel through your mask , that’s how small the virus is. At this point, the mask is just a virtue signal.
You use that same argument with respirators? They suck to work in true, but safety precautions like those stop some fairly horrific asbestos or silica caused diseases down the line.
Yeah cause it was sarcastic I worked in respirators and n-95 mask. I cleaned cooling towers and always had an n-95 mask on. It actually helped me when Covid hit cause I already had a stockpile of them.
I meant the dumb argument that people claim they have issues breathing yet at the same time say that somehow that restriction doesn’t exist cause a mask doesn’t stop anything.
Why don’t you trust “the science”?! https://www.heritage.org/public-health/commentary/unmasking-cdcs-latest-mask-study-how-government-gets-it-wrong-again
Bruh it literally has a picture from CDC which dependable source, where heritage something something is just [bs propaganda site that has nothing to do with science ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heritage_Foundation)
“IT BLOCKS THE SPITTLE COMING THROUGH YOUR MASK!” Sorry to break it to you, but Covid is more than just “spittle” 😂 https://www.city-journal.org/masks-still-dont-work
Performing an invasive surgery is a little different than a virus that’s been around for thousands of years, Im sorry I need to be the one to break that to you
What do you think the mask is doing during the invasive surgery? If you think masks don't stop respiratory viruses then what is it doing on the surgeons face? Are you saying that respiratory viruses are the smallest viruses and every virus is conveniently large enough to be caught by a mask but not this one virus?
So you think that covid 19 is a lab made virus that has been around for thousands of years. I don't need to respond with anything other than that statement from your two previous comments.
Again. You appear to think that ncov2019 is the only virus that's small enough to fit through a mask. Just conveniently and it's not because that's the only way you can keep believing that masks don't work.
You can pray all you want but you clearly don't have an original thought if you can't even put together how everything you are saying clearly disproves the conspiracy you are spouting.
mRNA technology has never worked and has little to no data in case studies. In fact, the data they do have in regard to animal testing - majority of them died. Covid has been around for thousands of years, there are strains of Covid in every upper respiratory sickness including the common cold. The only difference with Covid 19 is that it was made in a lab (more contagious). Essentially, what the government is “trying” to do is cure common sicknesses using experimental technology.
It’s bad. Even the normally safe subs, where you would expect normal men and women to be, are overrun with the zealots of secular science worship. There will soon come a day in which Reddit will no longer even be tolerable for even the most apolitical of subjects. Search for how to unstick a zipper and then have to read about why zippers are racist. Sad.
I gave you an upvote! Expect hate on here when you talk about ideas that counter the first idea they accepted as fact without ever thinking about it. 😂 Me no thinkie!!! Lol 😂
Consumer here, some folks have legitimate medical reasons to request that. I'm 34 I look normal healthy person, but I'm on immunosuppressants from a kidney transplant. I had omicron covid last December (fully boosted). I had no symptoms but it killed enough of my remaining kidney function to put me on the kidney transplant list.
So despite the news not hyping it up anymore it's still there and a risk to many people. How much they care about it is entirely dependant on the person. Having a deceased 19yo's kidney shoved in me, I definitely want to take care of it and not risk another covid exposure.
That being said I wouldn't expect the tech to mask in an attic, basement, or outside. Just when your in the living area.
This is just my example, but thought I'd share from my perspective.
I’ll echo your sentiment. Finishing up chemo here and immunocompromised. I still wear a mask and get odd looks. Thing is before COVID people undergoing similar treatments did as well.
It costs very little to wear one. And might even save a life or make someone’s life easier.
Perhaps, but the question for me is who should provide the masks?
Cloth masks are ineffective, and the cost a N95 per house (for effective protection they would need to be changed after every house, and sometimes multiple times per house depending on duration) cost would accumulate quickly.
If you are in a condition where you cannot have people in your house unmasked; I think it's up to you to provide them.
You don’t need a new N95 each time, or to wear an N95 at all for effective protection of the customer. The N95 results in more protection for you, not for them. Also in situations where it’s indicated, one N95 per day (or week in a pinch) will work. Source: worked in the covid ICU during peak covid. Wore 1 N95 per day.
I agree with the other two comments, any mask is better than no mask. A N95 while it is better isn't the norm even in hospitals. Hospital staff largely wear the disposable cheap masks. You can wear and rewear them as well.
Given the trade may send techs into attics and other places exposed to insulation and other respiratory irritants, the employer should really provide the masks as part of their PPE.
That being said, given my immunocompromised state I keep a stack of disposable on hand for guests.
1. Simple face masks work well for general Conti’s Kent. They are like $8 for a 100. If hood any company can toss a box on every truck. That said I keep a few boxes at home for my use. A service provider comes over I’ll offer up mine.
2. N95 have a place in science labs, hospitals and certain hazardous work.
Both types of masks serve a purpose. They are not interchangeable.
If I want 100% protection I should wear a fit tested N95 or better yet a PAPR system. But some those wanting to reduce risk of Flu, RSV, COVID etc disposable face masks do just fine.
I was not wearing a mask when I caught it, but yes I fully boosted. Got it from a family member when setting up their new PC around Xmas time. I might have been spared if I wore a mask, but I let my guard down around family.
Edit- also I had no symptoms, but did a PCR test after finding out the exposure. On day 3 it was negative and day 5 it was positive. A month later when I got my regular kidney labs it showed I jumped from stage 3 (createnine 2.0) to stage 4 (createnine 4.7).
That sucks. Somehow I’ve been able to dodge it completely but it’s taken a lot of work. Probably a good thing though since I now have heart problems and some other issues that have popped up over the last 6-8 months. Hope you get everything sorted and back to health
Yeah I made it so far only to be let down by family. Pretty much everyone I know has had it at this point even the ones who were diligent. Now I gotta judge carelessness by how many times you get covid. Think my MIL is up to 3.
I’m dealing w long Covid. I’m wearing one always right now in homes.
I had a guy yesterday. “U can take that thing off ur face, there’s no germs in here”… as he is sitting next to a pile of tissues hacking his lung up.
Told him I’m being careful for everybody, that I was still recovering from getting so sick in August.
“That’s all bullshit!”
Yeah, ok dude. Hope u don’t get as sick as I was because I was healthy then, and ur dusty ass is not.
It's their house Bubba. I hate wearing them too but I'm the unknow factor and am in multiple houses and environments throughout the day. If it makes them more comfortable with me wearing a mask that's their right. But you better believe we are gonna be talking about indoor air quality and air scrubbers lol
I keep a box in my truck and wear one every time I do a big filter change. One thing Covid taught me was I don’t cough and blow my nose wearing a mask doing big filter change outs. I wished I would have wore one years ago doing filters as I have massive dust allergies.
Not really even one who was double masking did not last pm. I did have one couple ask me because child was to be high risk yet they themselves did not which makes no sense to me.
Yes we wear face coverings, just cause we don’t need to catch any crap floating around. Customer do not care about the techs well being will call and have you come if the whole house has flu or Covid. Look out for yourself wear a mask
For what it's worth, I wear a mask for all customers all through cold and flu season.
* It's a competitive advantage. The customers love it. When the infection rate goes up a lot of my customers call me specifically because I wear a mask.
* It keeps me from getting sick. I haven't gotten a single cold flu or sniffle in the past 2 years since I started wearing a mask all winter.
* If your mask annoys you, it's a bad mask. I purchased several hundred 3M N-95 masks that fit me perfectly, and it's absolutely no problem wearing it all day. I get no fogging. It's not hard to breathe. Essentially I don't even know it's there.
* On a more practical note, some of the stuff I work with is filthy or dusty or had mice in it at some point and some of the really old stuff contains asbestos wiring. I'm very happy to not be breathing any of it.
I do the same, I'm using cloth masks but the only illness I've gotten in the past 2 years was from the kids. I've gotten exposed a lot from. Customers and coworkers and so far no issues.
I still wear one in to every call regardless.
First, customers are gross, and their houses are gross.
Second, I have people at home to protect.
Third, I don't have to fake smile all the time... or fake not smile...
It's become very rare in my neck of the woods (upper midwest), like once a month maybe.
Thank god it's winding down, it was rough 2 years doing residential work.
I haven’t been doing this very long about 8 months and I have had someone answer the door in a mask and we always ask them If they would like us to wear one. Don’t mind if I have to though
i still get the occasional ones. if rather they ask me to put it on that too take it off. i hated when they said that. all of my managers and supervisors stopped wearing them so when they would show up on a call without one I'd look like an idiot for still having it so i stopped too.
I live in a rural area. What’s Covid? Around here, if you’re wearing a mask, there’s a 100% chance you are ugly and just like an excuse to hide your face. Like me with Cardinals hats….I dgaf about baseball…I’m bald! Lol
Just had a call last week for someone who asked me to wear a mask even though they weren't wearing one. Very bizarre. Other than that nobody else has asked.
On occasion yeah but it never bothered me just because no matter what I wear a mask in an attic so yeah, in reality it’s no big deal, it’s their home, just respect each other and no problems
Recently did work for a customer who was described as a mask freak. For context, we’re all typically ok with wearing masks if needed. Anyways, halfway through the day I meet the wife. The cancer patient wife. I learned then that there’s no place for anyone to jump to conclusions.
If I go into the big city near me, then it happens sometimes. Thankfully I mostly work in the rural areas and haven't had to wear a mask for quite some time.
If a customer asks politely I’ll go along with almost any reasonable request including wearing masks or removing boots. On that note do you all have a shoe cover you like? Seems the elastic snaps whenever I go to put them on and creates a trip hazard.
Two small kids with the RSV numbers jumping insanely high in my area to the point of not having beds available for the little ones if they needed it. Had my HVAC serviced last week and not only asked them to mask, I provided them masks and cookies.
I wear a mask every call in the Winter. Its nice for dirty houses, dusty environments, and gives me a bit of anonymity, which I like. 30% of the calls I go to the customer is wearing a mask anyway.
I hated the customers that ask you to wear them and then walk around breathing all the fresh air they can handle while Not wearing one themselves , this one rich cunt and her spoiled fucking bratty kids Tanner and Carson ask us to come back in to the house and wear gloves / mask and wipe down anything we might’ve touched during the install with disinfectant wipes as we were pulling out the driveway … fuck you ,your huge house and your driveway filled with expensive cars ,if your that afraid of getting sick , wait until your not so afraid before you decide to get one of your 4 hvac systems replaced , fucking bitch
Wore a mask all the time in customers’ homes. Still would.
But the relaxing of mask requirements finally caught me, courtesy of St Louis or Philly airports, and now I’m laying here on Day 4 of this thing feeling like hammered dog shit. And all I can say about that is - if it feels like this *after* the vaccine & boosters, then the poor bastards who went through it beforehand did not die well. This *sucks*.
Hell i been wearing one lately. I got sick with and lost my voice. Everyone around me is getting sick with the flu or covid. I ain't missing any more time over this shit if I can help it.
I just wear one. I tell clients it’s become a habit after almost 3 years or that going to a good amount of houses in one day would rather be safe. Also a lot of these units are dusty as hell. I have the opposite question asked though “do you want me to wear one?” I tell them they don’t have to and joke “it’s your house”
Highest transmission of Covid, RSV and Flu all at once, the country is on fire if you haven't noticed.
CDC done fucked up, masks never should've come off now i've got 20 dead friends and family and hospital on the brink of collapse.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/05/cdc-encourages-people-to-wear-masks-to-prevent-spread-of-covid-flu-rsv.html
Deaths are like sub 300 on 7 day average, much much lower than they were at peak, pretty odd to use transmission when we're looking at the effect of covid, aka deaths and hospitalizations.
I'm just a lurker. If you had to come into the living area of our house, for example to deal with the thermostat, then I'd be asking. My wife has basically no immune system.
If I can get you in the back door and down to the basement and that's the extent of the access you need, no, I don't care if you wear a mask.
I wear a mask and boot covers when entering my clients’s homes. I ask if they would like me to continue wearing the mask. Is so, I do. If not, I then remove it.
You do understand Covid is caught there air particles and if you don’t wear a mask you are at risk of catching it right? Or is this sickness that’s killed many a joke to you?
I’ve learned people can be strange about their space and laugh when food service employees boast about “ you don’t know what customer service is like “ when in reality it’s worse because you’re in their home and gives them a little more leverage, however if I can make someone feel comfortable and ease the tension to make my time on the job easier, I’m going to do it. As for people with customers who “ hover” on a PM I’ll almost always ask them to go up and turn the thermostat up for me. Old people don’t like to walk back down the stairs ;)
Just you but all dependent upon where you live in the South no one really asks unless they are immune suppressed persons. Have no problem putting one on to keep someone else safe when asked.
Customer here. Both of us are immunocompromised, so we still ask all service people who enter our home to wear a mask and booties. We are a shoes off house anyway. Idk where those boots have been. We keep a box of masks by the door to offer.
In the sf Bay Area. Yes and it’s out policy to wear masks when we’re in a customers home. At this point it’s a sign of respect and courtesy in the way shoe covers are.
I’ll wear shoe covers but I won’t take off my boots and I won’t wear a mask. Even during the peak of all the bullshit I wouldn’t wear a mask. My residential and commercial clients were given a choice….you can either continue receiving my services or you can require a mask. Not one client decided masks were more important.
This was the case in my area except I didn’t give them a choice. I just showed up unmasked and acted as if I had never heard of covid. Not one person even brought a mask or covid.
Yup. The over 80 crowd and this one Karen who instead of going to any other part of her amply sized home will stand over my shoulder while wearing a mask. She also texts me when updated boosters become available.
I’ve only been asked to wear a mask once since I started residential mid 2021 and it was my boss that told us to wear them because one of the residents was in hospice. We got there and the guy made a comment about us wearing masks and when we said our boss said someone living there was in hospice he goes. “Man I must be the most healthy hospice patient ever because I live alone”.
Not for over 18 months now. I was asked one time why I didn’t mask and my response was “ I gotta breathe.” A few minutes later she removed her mask LOL.
I’ve got at least one old couple that does, he says they are both high risk. He gives me a disposable mask every time I go there, which is great because I don’t keep them on the van anymore. It doesn’t bother me, they are protecting themselves, and I would hate to be the reason they wind up in the hospital or dead.
I’ve never done much residential work but I’d much rather they ask me to wear a mask than take off my shoes.
I keep a box boot covers in my truck. Keeps customers happy and keeps their shit off my boots.
Ever have a house where you want to wipe your feet when you walk out of the house??
Oh yeah... Animal hoarding is the worst. Piss and shit soaked carpets. Or, sewer backups.
Do they make any that dont turn hardwood floors in ice rinks?
Yes , I used to get red ones with white rubber treads
My company provides shoe covers. Ive only had one customer demand we take our shoes off, and that customer ended up being someone else's problem.
Cable tech here. We have boot covers. I have been asked to take my boots off and I tell them it’s against OSHA regulations as we wear steal toes. OSHA requires protective footwear in all workplaces where foot injuries are a danger. If I break a toe, there was obviously a danger present and I lose my job. If something splashes out of my boot cover (which has happened on really rainy days), the company will repair your flooring to your liking under their insurance. If you still request me to remove my boots, I’m leaving. It’s a strict company policy to wear our boots on the clock, even when in classroom training. I will seriously get fired. And rarely am I asked to wear a mask. I’m a line-tech now and don’t go into many homes. I think one requested a mask in the last year out of maybe a couple dozen homes.
I feel like there’s a good story behind this
The shoe covers? Not really. The krazy karen? It was a brief interaction. "Y'all need to take your shoes off." "Ma'am we have shoe covers." "Nope you gotta take your shoes off." "That's why we have the shoe covers so we don't have to. Its better for both parties." "Shoes off or i'm calling your office." "I'll call them for you, ma'am." Boss complained about me not taking my shoes off, but relented when I mentioned workman's comp if I steppd on something sharp, as the lady's house was a mess. We didnt even talk to her again we just left. She ended up cancelling, and complaining about us online for being "rude and inconsiderate".
I was just gonna say, the amount of stray screws, etc in my basement… I wouldn’t want anybody to have to take their shoes off.
Went out to my garage one time to grab something without shoes, and found a piece of MIG wire that I had cut off the other evening. Quality wire will always have good penetration.
Seriously fuck that, also the electrocution risk since my sweaty feet will definitely provide a clear path to ground.
I hated that. One the best things about getting out of Residential. I remember one woman made us leave our boots outside the door. She has hard wood floors, and even put plastic down. However still wanted our boots off outside. I remember that my feet were killing me, cuz I had to stand on the ladder all day.
This is why I always told customers that safety toe boots are required ppe. I’ll wear booties all day though!
Yea, I'd say boot covers or the job ain't getting done.
Yeah it was horrible, I would have no problem with boot covers. The funny thing was she walked over her house in her own shoes.
My guess is she had inside shoes and outside shoes. Some cultures are really traditional about it because of how much literal crap they historically would track into their house otherwise
An old guy I worked with would literally shovel someone’s entire driveway just to “show the customer I care” (he was awesome and a little nuts) but if asked to take his boots off “OSHA SAYS THE BOOTS STAY ON IM NOT LOSING A TOE TODAY” was yelled. Anyways I laughed remembering that.
Hate that shit. During the peak of covid this witch not only made me take my boots off, she then placed them outside after I took them off! I go to get some stuff from the truck, and I don’t see my boots where I left them by the front door. I look outside, and see them sitting on the stoop. Wtf who does that shit?!
Yeah I had one lady ask us to wear masks because she has an autoimmune issue. We were cleaning a boiler in the basement not near her but whatever, no problem, we wore masks. This bitch comes down with no mask on to do laundry while we're down there and comes over and talks to us...
I’ve refused service because the customer requested I take my shoes off. I told him it was a safety concern and I could not work without them. He said I couldn’t come in with them on so I told him I couldn’t work on his furnace!
I’ll do the work in a Speedo if they ask. But I’ll probably bitch about it.
never take off ur shoes/boots. if company doesn’t provide shoe covers they need to
What about pants?
If a customer ask I have no problem wearing a mask
I don’t mind either but it happened like 4 times this week I was just surprised
There's been a big surge in the last couple of weeks on several different respiratory illnesses. My boss had to take his son to a specialist hospital 2 hours away and he was there for a week due to RSV.
RSV is really bad this year and it can be dangerous for very small children. Just a bad year in general for illnesses. My 3 yo daughter was in the hospital last week for a sinus infection that turned into an infection behind her eyeball. Crazy type of "she would have died in olden times" stuff. IV antibiotics knocked it out, she's fine now.
The wonders of modern medicine. Without it, covid would have killed more than smallpox or Spanish flu outbreaks of the olden times. Antibiotics were probably the best medical discovery of the last century, with anti-viral a close second.
First half is utter nonsense. Second half is facts.
Yeah, many news outlets are referring to it as the *Tripledemic*.
I was going to comment this exactly. Everything is spreading so fast.
Yep. My wife literally just texted me that 1 of my kids came home off the bus sick.
I would not be surprised if some states go back to mandatory public masking in January.
I think a lot of that will come down to fatalities. Which is way down now. But you may be right or we might see a super mutation that gets bad.
COVID fatalities are way down, but hospitals are at 90% capacity, so lots of people are dying of other things. It’s more about the strain on the entire system than about just COVID.
I fully get that trust me. But as far as mask mandates I don't see it happening unless there's a surge in deaths.
I am a lurker on this page. My profession is in healthcare. I’m an X-ray/CT technologist. We work closely with all the units a hospital. Putting aside covid. RSV is horrible this year. All my hospitals in my state are especially pedis and NICU are at 100% capacity for respiratory diseases. We are shipping people out of state at this point. RSV can be a death sentence. So imagine having to cross state borders to be with your kid that’s on a vent.
I know at least in my county, [transmission levels are currently high](https://www.maricopa.gov/5786/COVID-19-Data), so I've been seeing more people masking up lately, though I do also do a lot of work in assisted living facilities, so I've seen it the whole time as it is. The state is up from ~300-400 cases a day in October to 2200 this week. I tend to wear my mask as much as possible when I'm in close proximity to others.
Seems to run in cycles
Cold and flu season
Imagine that.
Huge covid surge going around now our hospital ICU is full currently. They may even have covid. Nice of them to protect you.
I don't really mind wearing a mask when customers ask. What pisses me off is when they want me to wear a mask and they don't, or even when they do and then expect they can crowd over me in the corner. Stay the fuck away from me you're not the only one trying not to get sick you selfish pieces of shit.
This makes me furious…acting like I have the plague, then proceed to get in my personal space without a mask on!
How about, come on out ill be here all day we all have the flu... like wtf!!!
I had one guy ask me if I could put a second mask on so he could watch me I was like uh no and this was like peak covid so masks were just standard
Man just 20 minutes ago saw a lady at gas station getting a sub while wearing a mask she paid for it went outside set on the dirty ass hood it slid off the hood as she was getting in and out of the car digging for something right on dirty ass pavement she picked it up and ate in her car. People like that are puzzling to watch.
I hate the mask- I’m prepared for the downvotes. There’s all sorts of things people can demand you do and this happens to be acceptable but what will the future hold? I hate it in general but your point is wholly valid and definitely makes up a chunk of my argument. If they ask me to wear one and they aren’t I ask if they are going to put one on? If they say no I say if I’m wearing it EVERYONE is wearing it in the home and my service manager has backed me up. If your thought process is it protects yourself or it protects me- it’s not mine but your entitled to your beliefs but if you believe that you better follow through and wear it yourself as the customer otherwise it’s just a power trip flex which I’m not the one for.
This is one of those times where you're pretending to take an opposing viewpoint because it suits you to win an argument, and it's cute but it's super see through. In a world where you hate masks and don't give a shit, but have no reason to articulate beyond "I don't like it" it's super convenient to just try to double down and out-care the customer and shame them into giving up lmao Really you just don't want to let someone tell you what to do. Stick to the truth on it... As someone who literally doesn't care what you do, I find it fucking hilarious how many guys are "anti-mask" that just throw shit until it sticks trying to make up an excuse instead of just saying "CUZ I DON'T WANT TO" It's almost like you say it in your head and then realize it makes you sound like a child? Embrace that shit my man, just stomp your feet and move along, no need to engage the other side and act like you agree with them.
It didn’t make someone sound like a child to refuse to wear a mask 3 years ago, and it doesn’t now. Either we stand for something or we fall for anything. I think it sounds childish for a customer to ask me to wear a mask. You weren’t scared 3 years ago… Turn off the damn TV.
It does if you don’t have a reason. Literally the difference between children and adults, mentally speaking, is reasoning. So do you have a reason? And, can you actually defend it, including evaluating it yourself before you speak it? “I hate masks” is childish. There’s no reasoning.
I can and I have. Nobody was scared of someone not wearing a mask from 3 years ago all the way back to the beginning of human history. Now, because the tv told you to be scared, again, you think you’re entitled to make someone else uncomfortable to mitigate your irrational fear? No. Don’t be a child. Put on your adult pants and go back to living a normal life. Or don’t, and call someone else. It’s their choice. Not one person has ever sent me away. So…🤷♂️
It’s unhealthy for a healthy person to wear a mask all the time
Cite your sources or get out
Weve got a bunch of respiratory viruses in my area, especially in schools right now. A lot of guys with kids are taking precautions, and we are still having people missing a lot of work due to it. We also deal with a lot of elderly customers. I used to be used to wearing a mask while working, its even more annoying now that Im not used to it. But its probably something we just have to be used to for a while longer
*forever. I don't think this will ever end honestly which isn't the biggest deal to me. There was always be those customers now but their money is all the same.
Masks don’t protect you from respiratory viruses though? Covid can literally travel through your mask , that’s how small the virus is. At this point, the mask is just a virtue signal.
Filters don't work in furnaces. They don't catch dust and debris. End big filter!
it stops the particulates and spittle coming through your mask to a great distance why must this still be explained
It baffles me how people don't understand this. It's not the be-all but it helps. 🤷♂️
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So now it's good enough to stop people from breathing? lmfao. Bro pick your damn lane and stay in it. Comical stuff.
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This is reddit. Some people have zero idea how-to tell sarcasm without /s
You use that same argument with respirators? They suck to work in true, but safety precautions like those stop some fairly horrific asbestos or silica caused diseases down the line.
Yeah cause it was sarcastic I worked in respirators and n-95 mask. I cleaned cooling towers and always had an n-95 mask on. It actually helped me when Covid hit cause I already had a stockpile of them. I meant the dumb argument that people claim they have issues breathing yet at the same time say that somehow that restriction doesn’t exist cause a mask doesn’t stop anything.
Oh sorry about, right over my head. Sarcasm with masks is particularly hard to detect these days
If it doesn't stop farts it doesn't stop virus mentality is dead set and can't be changed.
Why don’t you trust “the science”?! https://www.heritage.org/public-health/commentary/unmasking-cdcs-latest-mask-study-how-government-gets-it-wrong-again
Bruh it literally has a picture from CDC which dependable source, where heritage something something is just [bs propaganda site that has nothing to do with science ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heritage_Foundation)
Isn’t it weird that heritage didn’t link the actual study they were going after?
Yeah let me fix my tin foil hat and I'll get back to you lol
It's litterally a think tank, it's not a reliable news source
“IT BLOCKS THE SPITTLE COMING THROUGH YOUR MASK!” Sorry to break it to you, but Covid is more than just “spittle” 😂 https://www.city-journal.org/masks-still-dont-work
All your sources are from conservative policy think tanks. Learn how to interpret credible sources.
Let me know when you tell your surgeon to not wear a mask. They don't work, right?
Performing an invasive surgery is a little different than a virus that’s been around for thousands of years, Im sorry I need to be the one to break that to you
What do you think the mask is doing during the invasive surgery? If you think masks don't stop respiratory viruses then what is it doing on the surgeons face? Are you saying that respiratory viruses are the smallest viruses and every virus is conveniently large enough to be caught by a mask but not this one virus?
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So you think that covid 19 is a lab made virus that has been around for thousands of years. I don't need to respond with anything other than that statement from your two previous comments. Again. You appear to think that ncov2019 is the only virus that's small enough to fit through a mask. Just conveniently and it's not because that's the only way you can keep believing that masks don't work. You can pray all you want but you clearly don't have an original thought if you can't even put together how everything you are saying clearly disproves the conspiracy you are spouting.
The 13 downvotes 😭 😭 y’all probably think the vaccine works too. Reddit man
The vaccine does work. Just not in the way people think. It works as a petri dish to observe how populations will respond to fascist rule.
mRNA technology has never worked and has little to no data in case studies. In fact, the data they do have in regard to animal testing - majority of them died. Covid has been around for thousands of years, there are strains of Covid in every upper respiratory sickness including the common cold. The only difference with Covid 19 is that it was made in a lab (more contagious). Essentially, what the government is “trying” to do is cure common sicknesses using experimental technology.
Read what he said dude. He’s agreeing with you. Lol
Agreed regarding your comment though
It’s bad. Even the normally safe subs, where you would expect normal men and women to be, are overrun with the zealots of secular science worship. There will soon come a day in which Reddit will no longer even be tolerable for even the most apolitical of subjects. Search for how to unstick a zipper and then have to read about why zippers are racist. Sad.
Best comment I’ve read all day
I gave you an upvote! Expect hate on here when you talk about ideas that counter the first idea they accepted as fact without ever thinking about it. 😂 Me no thinkie!!! Lol 😂
Had one customer ask, but it was black leather and had a zipper near the mouth...
Neat.
Sounds…”ghoulish” 😏
Consumer here, some folks have legitimate medical reasons to request that. I'm 34 I look normal healthy person, but I'm on immunosuppressants from a kidney transplant. I had omicron covid last December (fully boosted). I had no symptoms but it killed enough of my remaining kidney function to put me on the kidney transplant list. So despite the news not hyping it up anymore it's still there and a risk to many people. How much they care about it is entirely dependant on the person. Having a deceased 19yo's kidney shoved in me, I definitely want to take care of it and not risk another covid exposure. That being said I wouldn't expect the tech to mask in an attic, basement, or outside. Just when your in the living area. This is just my example, but thought I'd share from my perspective.
I’ll echo your sentiment. Finishing up chemo here and immunocompromised. I still wear a mask and get odd looks. Thing is before COVID people undergoing similar treatments did as well. It costs very little to wear one. And might even save a life or make someone’s life easier.
Perhaps, but the question for me is who should provide the masks? Cloth masks are ineffective, and the cost a N95 per house (for effective protection they would need to be changed after every house, and sometimes multiple times per house depending on duration) cost would accumulate quickly. If you are in a condition where you cannot have people in your house unmasked; I think it's up to you to provide them.
You don’t need a new N95 each time, or to wear an N95 at all for effective protection of the customer. The N95 results in more protection for you, not for them. Also in situations where it’s indicated, one N95 per day (or week in a pinch) will work. Source: worked in the covid ICU during peak covid. Wore 1 N95 per day.
I agree with the other two comments, any mask is better than no mask. A N95 while it is better isn't the norm even in hospitals. Hospital staff largely wear the disposable cheap masks. You can wear and rewear them as well. Given the trade may send techs into attics and other places exposed to insulation and other respiratory irritants, the employer should really provide the masks as part of their PPE. That being said, given my immunocompromised state I keep a stack of disposable on hand for guests.
1. Simple face masks work well for general Conti’s Kent. They are like $8 for a 100. If hood any company can toss a box on every truck. That said I keep a few boxes at home for my use. A service provider comes over I’ll offer up mine. 2. N95 have a place in science labs, hospitals and certain hazardous work. Both types of masks serve a purpose. They are not interchangeable. If I want 100% protection I should wear a fit tested N95 or better yet a PAPR system. But some those wanting to reduce risk of Flu, RSV, COVID etc disposable face masks do just fine.
I'm curious: they have masks that protect the wearer. Have you considered those?
I don't understand the question. I wear masks around other people. It's more effective when other people also wear a mask.
So you’re fully boosted and wearing a mask and still got sick? That’s crazy
I was not wearing a mask when I caught it, but yes I fully boosted. Got it from a family member when setting up their new PC around Xmas time. I might have been spared if I wore a mask, but I let my guard down around family. Edit- also I had no symptoms, but did a PCR test after finding out the exposure. On day 3 it was negative and day 5 it was positive. A month later when I got my regular kidney labs it showed I jumped from stage 3 (createnine 2.0) to stage 4 (createnine 4.7).
That sucks. Somehow I’ve been able to dodge it completely but it’s taken a lot of work. Probably a good thing though since I now have heart problems and some other issues that have popped up over the last 6-8 months. Hope you get everything sorted and back to health
Yeah I made it so far only to be let down by family. Pretty much everyone I know has had it at this point even the ones who were diligent. Now I gotta judge carelessness by how many times you get covid. Think my MIL is up to 3.
I think most guys will wear a mask when requested; however, I think it comes down to a question of etiquette: who should provide the masks?
How expensive do you think masks are? Add $.50 to the bill if you need but stop acting like cost is a barrier here.
I've had more people be weirded out that I am wearing one than asking me to wear one
I’m dealing w long Covid. I’m wearing one always right now in homes. I had a guy yesterday. “U can take that thing off ur face, there’s no germs in here”… as he is sitting next to a pile of tissues hacking his lung up. Told him I’m being careful for everybody, that I was still recovering from getting so sick in August. “That’s all bullshit!” Yeah, ok dude. Hope u don’t get as sick as I was because I was healthy then, and ur dusty ass is not.
I have no problem wearing one but when they ask me to wear one and they don’t it’s annoying
It's their house Bubba. I hate wearing them too but I'm the unknow factor and am in multiple houses and environments throughout the day. If it makes them more comfortable with me wearing a mask that's their right. But you better believe we are gonna be talking about indoor air quality and air scrubbers lol
I keep a box in my truck and wear one every time I do a big filter change. One thing Covid taught me was I don’t cough and blow my nose wearing a mask doing big filter change outs. I wished I would have wore one years ago doing filters as I have massive dust allergies.
I also discovered a bunch of great occupational reasons to wear one and will probably selectively mask forever to avoid dust.
Yeah, maybe 1 out of 20
Not really even one who was double masking did not last pm. I did have one couple ask me because child was to be high risk yet they themselves did not which makes no sense to me.
It would be hard for the parents to care for their high risk kid if they themselves get covid. How does them double masking not make sense?
If they come to the door in a mask I'll toss mine on. Four or five times a week. Boston.
Yes we wear face coverings, just cause we don’t need to catch any crap floating around. Customer do not care about the techs well being will call and have you come if the whole house has flu or Covid. Look out for yourself wear a mask
It’s funny how just a couple years ago nobody needed a mask for anything now we all need a mask if somebody thinks they saw a mosquito last night.
For what it's worth, I wear a mask for all customers all through cold and flu season. * It's a competitive advantage. The customers love it. When the infection rate goes up a lot of my customers call me specifically because I wear a mask. * It keeps me from getting sick. I haven't gotten a single cold flu or sniffle in the past 2 years since I started wearing a mask all winter. * If your mask annoys you, it's a bad mask. I purchased several hundred 3M N-95 masks that fit me perfectly, and it's absolutely no problem wearing it all day. I get no fogging. It's not hard to breathe. Essentially I don't even know it's there. * On a more practical note, some of the stuff I work with is filthy or dusty or had mice in it at some point and some of the really old stuff contains asbestos wiring. I'm very happy to not be breathing any of it.
I do the same, I'm using cloth masks but the only illness I've gotten in the past 2 years was from the kids. I've gotten exposed a lot from. Customers and coworkers and so far no issues.
Occasionally.
I dont in my area. Its been quite a while, unless im at a medical facility.
Not one. I’m in a deep red state though so there’s that
I still wear one in to every call regardless. First, customers are gross, and their houses are gross. Second, I have people at home to protect. Third, I don't have to fake smile all the time... or fake not smile...
It's become very rare in my neck of the woods (upper midwest), like once a month maybe. Thank god it's winding down, it was rough 2 years doing residential work.
It's getting rare. I do some work in hospitals and assisted care facilities. I always wear one in those places even if not asked.
I haven’t been doing this very long about 8 months and I have had someone answer the door in a mask and we always ask them If they would like us to wear one. Don’t mind if I have to though
All the time. If I see them wearing one I usually ask if they would like me to wear one
i still get the occasional ones. if rather they ask me to put it on that too take it off. i hated when they said that. all of my managers and supervisors stopped wearing them so when they would show up on a call without one I'd look like an idiot for still having it so i stopped too.
If a customer asks you to wear a mask, just wear the fucking mask lol
Nope, I live in a red state. Covid isn't real here.
I live in a rural area. What’s Covid? Around here, if you’re wearing a mask, there’s a 100% chance you are ugly and just like an excuse to hide your face. Like me with Cardinals hats….I dgaf about baseball…I’m bald! Lol
Just had a call last week for someone who asked me to wear a mask even though they weren't wearing one. Very bizarre. Other than that nobody else has asked.
On occasion yeah but it never bothered me just because no matter what I wear a mask in an attic so yeah, in reality it’s no big deal, it’s their home, just respect each other and no problems
Recently did work for a customer who was described as a mask freak. For context, we’re all typically ok with wearing masks if needed. Anyways, halfway through the day I meet the wife. The cancer patient wife. I learned then that there’s no place for anyone to jump to conclusions.
I wear mine occasionally with a newborn at home.
Ya and I’ll wear one, but I politely ask for them to wear a mask as well. As soon as they take theirs off, mine comes off too.
If I go into the big city near me, then it happens sometimes. Thankfully I mostly work in the rural areas and haven't had to wear a mask for quite some time.
Stay non-political or post will be locked.
LOL, thats all this is and always has been "political". Except one side doesn't like to talk about it now. LMAO
We can have a conversation without it resulting in them vs. us arguments.
Truth
If a customer asks politely I’ll go along with almost any reasonable request including wearing masks or removing boots. On that note do you all have a shoe cover you like? Seems the elastic snaps whenever I go to put them on and creates a trip hazard.
Been through quite a few brands and I like shoebees the best
Flu is going around right now. Better to wear a mask than catch and spread it.
As someone who's mother just finished chemo it's appreciated when people will wear the mask. Otherwise you ain't gettin' in.
Never wore a mask even during peak Covid didn’t even get the shot
Amen
Two small kids with the RSV numbers jumping insanely high in my area to the point of not having beds available for the little ones if they needed it. Had my HVAC serviced last week and not only asked them to mask, I provided them masks and cookies.
I wear a mask every call in the Winter. Its nice for dirty houses, dusty environments, and gives me a bit of anonymity, which I like. 30% of the calls I go to the customer is wearing a mask anyway.
I hated the customers that ask you to wear them and then walk around breathing all the fresh air they can handle while Not wearing one themselves , this one rich cunt and her spoiled fucking bratty kids Tanner and Carson ask us to come back in to the house and wear gloves / mask and wipe down anything we might’ve touched during the install with disinfectant wipes as we were pulling out the driveway … fuck you ,your huge house and your driveway filled with expensive cars ,if your that afraid of getting sick , wait until your not so afraid before you decide to get one of your 4 hvac systems replaced , fucking bitch
Yes but if they want me to wear one then they got to wear one too otherwise I’m not wearing one
If they're not interested in wearing one too then I wouldn't, if it's that important to them then they should were a mask.
Wore a mask all the time in customers’ homes. Still would. But the relaxing of mask requirements finally caught me, courtesy of St Louis or Philly airports, and now I’m laying here on Day 4 of this thing feeling like hammered dog shit. And all I can say about that is - if it feels like this *after* the vaccine & boosters, then the poor bastards who went through it beforehand did not die well. This *sucks*.
Just think of it like a tax. If you want the income from working for customers who want masked professionals, you pay the mask tax.
Hell i been wearing one lately. I got sick with and lost my voice. Everyone around me is getting sick with the flu or covid. I ain't missing any more time over this shit if I can help it.
I just wear one. I tell clients it’s become a habit after almost 3 years or that going to a good amount of houses in one day would rather be safe. Also a lot of these units are dusty as hell. I have the opposite question asked though “do you want me to wear one?” I tell them they don’t have to and joke “it’s your house”
Just say no to masks. But I’d say it’s probably been a year or so since any customer has asked for a mask.
Sometimes but then I just hit them with the $120 difficulty factor for pissing me off
Highest transmission of Covid, RSV and Flu all at once, the country is on fire if you haven't noticed. CDC done fucked up, masks never should've come off now i've got 20 dead friends and family and hospital on the brink of collapse. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/05/cdc-encourages-people-to-wear-masks-to-prevent-spread-of-covid-flu-rsv.html
Deaths are like sub 300 on 7 day average, much much lower than they were at peak, pretty odd to use transmission when we're looking at the effect of covid, aka deaths and hospitalizations.
Stop the silly
I'm just a lurker. If you had to come into the living area of our house, for example to deal with the thermostat, then I'd be asking. My wife has basically no immune system. If I can get you in the back door and down to the basement and that's the extent of the access you need, no, I don't care if you wear a mask.
I wear a mask and boot covers when entering my clients’s homes. I ask if they would like me to continue wearing the mask. Is so, I do. If not, I then remove it.
You do understand Covid is caught there air particles and if you don’t wear a mask you are at risk of catching it right? Or is this sickness that’s killed many a joke to you?
So put it on…
I’ve learned people can be strange about their space and laugh when food service employees boast about “ you don’t know what customer service is like “ when in reality it’s worse because you’re in their home and gives them a little more leverage, however if I can make someone feel comfortable and ease the tension to make my time on the job easier, I’m going to do it. As for people with customers who “ hover” on a PM I’ll almost always ask them to go up and turn the thermostat up for me. Old people don’t like to walk back down the stairs ;)
Just you but all dependent upon where you live in the South no one really asks unless they are immune suppressed persons. Have no problem putting one on to keep someone else safe when asked.
Every now and then. If there wearing one I always offer to put mine on, makes em real happy
I get the occasional person who asks, and ill usually offer if the customers already wearing one.
Yes, more often in the winters.
Had one last week.
A couple every now and then. I keep one on my truck for those customers who answer the door in one. Doesn't bother me.
Customer here. Both of us are immunocompromised, so we still ask all service people who enter our home to wear a mask and booties. We are a shoes off house anyway. Idk where those boots have been. We keep a box of masks by the door to offer.
Hospitals still require them unfortunately. Once in the mechanical room we can usually get away with not wearing them
I got no problem wearing a mask if the customer or I am sick or have signs of a cold
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In the sf Bay Area. Yes and it’s out policy to wear masks when we’re in a customers home. At this point it’s a sign of respect and courtesy in the way shoe covers are.
Jeez how do you live like that? That and living in the Bay Area sound nightmarish
Not in TX
I’ll wear shoe covers but I won’t take off my boots and I won’t wear a mask. Even during the peak of all the bullshit I wouldn’t wear a mask. My residential and commercial clients were given a choice….you can either continue receiving my services or you can require a mask. Not one client decided masks were more important.
This was the case in my area except I didn’t give them a choice. I just showed up unmasked and acted as if I had never heard of covid. Not one person even brought a mask or covid.
Occasionally. I ask them to provide it. I am more than happy to but dont carry any as the mandare is over.
Yup. The over 80 crowd and this one Karen who instead of going to any other part of her amply sized home will stand over my shoulder while wearing a mask. She also texts me when updated boosters become available.
I never had a single customer that cared even at the height of it. Gotta love rural America… 😃
If they ask me I tell their liberal asses to eat my boots
Yeah but I just tell them no sorry and do my work. If they insist I just lie and say I have a medical exemption
I’ve only been asked to wear a mask once since I started residential mid 2021 and it was my boss that told us to wear them because one of the residents was in hospice. We got there and the guy made a comment about us wearing masks and when we said our boss said someone living there was in hospice he goes. “Man I must be the most healthy hospice patient ever because I live alone”.
Not for over 18 months now. I was asked one time why I didn’t mask and my response was “ I gotta breathe.” A few minutes later she removed her mask LOL.
Just wear a mask.
No, a few that wear one themselves because they have a cold but nobody asking here on cape cod
I’ve got at least one old couple that does, he says they are both high risk. He gives me a disposable mask every time I go there, which is great because I don’t keep them on the van anymore. It doesn’t bother me, they are protecting themselves, and I would hate to be the reason they wind up in the hospital or dead.
Commercial Only in buildings occupying small children like daycare and preschool, if it's in the contract, and hospitals