Old lady pulls a gun on me & then gripes to my employer about me...

Jeppo said:
I received notice in the mail that Duke would be swapping the meter in the near future. So, I wasn't surprised when I viewed my camera and saw a guy drive up, park his truck, fish something outta the back and go around to the side of the house. A few minutes later, he returned to the truck and drove off.

Only strange thing is...the meter looks the same to me as before. :confused:
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Then you may have been one of those houses with a problem, tech saw it and didn’t touch nothing like he planned to.

I cannot begin to guess how many hundreds of problems I discover that people don’t even realize they have, that I have had fixed before it burns the house down.

If you have something wrong with your box, you usually won’t know it until your home is filled with smoke, and some of these meters I go to haven’t been inspected in 20 years...
 
I feel your pain. I read meters when I was younger and back then readers (lowly, underpaid contract employees, btw) were also called upon to pull them on delinquent accounts. One thing I learned really quickly is that people, by and large, are stupid.

During those three years I

-Had a rifle pointed at my back while I was reading a meter down near Stanley (the energy company logo was on my back). Oh, and my truck with flashing lights in the driveway.
-Had a 1911 pointed at me by an old man outside Taylorsville who couldn't even see well enough to know what he was pointing at.
-Was attacked by numerous dogs. Including a pit that went for my neck and luckily only got it's teeth in my chest. Still have scars from that one. Stay classy Gaston county.
-Had the cops called on me numerous times. Especially in Huntersville. They got to where they would drive out, see me going from house to house and just wave.
-Read the meter on a house while it was being ransacked by burglars. Only found that out later, but was able to give police a description of the vehicle.

I wish I still had my pictures of all the creative meter tampering set ups I found.
One dude in Love Valley stuck a hand saw in the box. I don't know how he didn't get lit up like a Christmas tree. I've also seen butter knives used. And of course, the ever popular magnets on the globe, which does jack squat, but still counts as meter tampering.
 
charliesgrave said:
I wish I still had my pictures of all the creative meter tampering set ups I found.
One dude in Love Valley stuck a hand saw in the box. I don't know how he didn't get lit up like a Christmas tree. I've also seen butter knives used. And of course, the ever popular magnets on the globe, which does jack squat, but still counts as meter tampering.
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Run a synchronous machine at a very low power factor and use it as the prime mover for a generator to power everything. These days you could probably use an inverter and run the rectifier at a very low power factor. Not free electricity, but cheap.
 
chiefjason said:
I also hate your meters.
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You will really start to hate them when they go to peak demand rate billing.

Also, you pay sonehere around 11 to 13 cents per kWh, while the wholesale price is more like 4 cents. Watch that go up to a $1 per kWh because you ran the dishwasher, vacuum cleaner, washing machine, and cooked dinner all at once and set your peak.
 
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noway2 said:
You will really start to hate them when they go to peak demand rate billing.

Also, you pay sonehere around 11 to 13 cents per kWh, while the wholesale price is more like 4 cents. Watch that go up to a $1 per kWh because you ran the dishwasher, vacuum cleaner, washing machine, and cooked dinner all at once and set your peak.
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And they don't have to pay anyone to read them anymore. Cheaper to run, more expensive to use. What's not to like? :mad:
 
InvisibleOne said:
Depends on several factors, among them overall size of the entire parcel. Though generally considered to be that fenced area consisting of the house, woodshed, chicken-coop or barn in close proximity, but excluding the "fields beyond".
No specific size has been established. It is left to jurors to interpret.
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True, I think the only case that went into this had a large outer fence, and a smaller inner fence, so not directly applicable. Likely it could be seen as a matter of manipulation, if you are given a picture taken right from a porch, say, 4 feet off the ground, 100 yards out is probably about an acre in each direction, and would look unreasonably far; framing the picture just a few feet higher(say, 10) off the ground would change how the picture looks, and make it less unreasonable looking.

Of course, if its an acre lot, and there's a house in the center of it, that's a lot less space fenced in. Really fun going into the weeds in tangents.
 
SPST said:
I could see big problems if an unannounced worker stuck my dog in my yard with anything!
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Yup. You would have some VERY big problems on your hands if you came on my property and stabbed my dog. I'm home and that happens, whoever stabbed my dog is getting shot. If I came home to find my dog stabbed, I would track that person down, which wouldn't be very difficult, and conduct some of my own........activities......at their house while they weren't home.
 
MadMan4Ever said:
If you are going to own a “hound of the Baskerville” type dog, put up a damn sign.
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Stay the F**k out of my yard and you won't need to worry about it, how about that?? Besides, it ain't the dog you need to worry about, it's the owner.....

I've gone through this meter BS and I'm through with it. In one month they changed the meter 3 times, enough is enough.. I finally put a padlock on the box along with a note that if it got cut I'd know who did it because you're on Candid Camera MoFo!!

If you don't get an answer at the door there may be a reason, I don't want to talk to you!! I work from home, I may be busy or on a call, YOU are not my top priority and just helping yourself to trespass on my property just may reduce your time on this earth after you're introduced to the open end of a Tac 14...... Proceed with caution.....
 
concepthomes1 said:
Fixing wiring should be pretty easy right?

Like, I could drive around and fix it before you get there to help you out. Black>Black, White>White, Green>Green....pretty simple. With thick enough gloves, I wouldn't even have to turn off the power.
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Be careful with that black to black stuff at the service entrance. Both "hot" leads are usually black. You might learn the meaning of the term arc flash depending on the size of the transformer.

I once put on the gloves and pulled the gate lead off the SCRs on a static transfer switch to simulate a failure. The lead was live at 480Vac. Still made me nervous to do it. Didn't know at the time that I should have worn leather cloves over the rubber ones either. Guess that was up there eith standing in a flooded room working on 480v service entrance equipment while it was live.
 
I probably would have gotten pissed too if someone told me to install some device as to better accommodate THEM. It's like saying "well, idiot, if you had a fancy camera doorbell you could have talked to me"

In that moment, response would have been something to the effect of "oh I'm sorry ma'am, I should have waited a little longer. I'd be happy to go over the new tech with you and provide my company details supervisors #"

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
 
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larryh1108 said:
Reading some of these replies makes me wonder if electricity is a right or a privilege.
Some people just don't deserve the service. Let them use wind for their electricity.
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I don't mind paying for a product or service but I'll be damned if I'm kissing your ass to get it.... But that's just me....
 
Damn, I feel for you. Cause I know the general public is worse the than the membership of this forum and you have already been threatened with bodily harm if you "trespass" on their property. Guess some of these folks need to go ahead and get off the grid and damn the man and that power company! Guy who changed mine out (may have been you but I am on energy united), petted the dog, asked if he could hang out a couple minutes and smoke a cigarette since he could not smoke in the vehicle and was an all around nice guy just doing his job. I live in the middle of no where and when a strange vehicle pulled up, yes I was armed, but did not feel the need to draw down on the guy from the power company.
 
Lots of internet testosterone in this thread.

It's just full of Macho men!
village-people.jpg
 
Remshooter said:
Damn, I feel for you. Cause I know the general public is worse the than the membership of this forum and you have already been threatened with bodily harm if you "trespass" on their property. Guess some of these folks need to go ahead and get off the grid and damn the man and that power company! Guy who changed mine out (may have been you but I am on energy united), petted the dog, asked if he could hang out a couple minutes and smoke a cigarette since he could not smoke in the vehicle and was an all around nice guy just doing his job. I live in the middle of no where and when a strange vehicle pulled up, yes I was armed, but did not feel the need to draw down on the guy from the power company.
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The feller that changed ours out pulled up, knocked, and we never heard him.
Well, he heard us.
It was a Friday afternoon about 4 or so and the wife, kids and I were in the back. Kids were in the pool, and I had just put burgers on the grill when he came strolling around the corner of the house wearing his vest, i.d. badge, yada yada.
He did his work, I tried to feed him, he declined but he did end up sitting a spell at the patio table under the ubrella with some iced tea and chat with us.
No guns involved, even though I had one on me.

As for all you guys saying you'll kill or hurt him badly (either outright or insinuating it) over your perceived trespass, I suggest you start lifting weights now so you won't be Bubba's little sweetie pie when you go to prison.
 
Electricity isn't a right or a privilege. It is a product we pay for. I don't see anything unreasonable with the company calling beforehand and telling people they will be there working on meters in the neighborhood on whatever day at whatever time.
That said, if you come on my property, after knocking, all dressed up in your stuff, with a company truck in the driveway and are working where you are supposed to be, no problem. If you're cool, I'm cool. Do your job, I'll offer you a drink, and shake your hand. You come in unannounced and stick a screwdriver in my dog, you, or anyone else that does it, will probably need an ambulance.
 
I don't see a meter man problem so much as a talking down to moms and stabbing the dog with a screwdriver problem. I typically answer the door with a pistol, and if somebody wants to tell me I should buy a security camera so I don't have to, I'll be happy to let them know what I think about that advice, and I would likely tell the power company to send somebody with a bit more sense next time. On the other hand, you ask me about the pistol, compliment my chest hair/underwear combo, or talk sweet to my dog and you'll be invited to enjoy a beer, iced tea, and/or sandwich. Welcome to the South.
 
As others have mentioned the general public can be challenging at times when you basically have to be nice to them nearly regardless of their behavior towards you.

Always avoid giving advice they don't ask for. No good deed goes unpunished.
 
Remshooter said:
Damn, I feel for you. Cause I know the general public is worse the than the membership of this forum and you have already been threatened with bodily harm if you "trespass" on their property. Guess some of these folks need to go ahead and get off the grid and damn the man and that power company! Guy who changed mine out (may have been you but I am on energy united), petted the dog, asked if he could hang out a couple minutes and smoke a cigarette since he could not smoke in the vehicle and was an all around nice guy just doing his job. I live in the middle of no where and when a strange vehicle pulled up, yes I was armed, but did not feel the need to draw down on the guy from the power company.
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What he said...jeez
 
I can’t speak for others, but as for my comments I am not at all talking about simply coming on my property to check that meter. That’s your job, I get it, no worries...BUT, you come into my yard and stab my dog with a screwdriver, things are going to get really bad for you. That’s not “internet testosterone”, or “keyboard commando”, or whatever. That is a promise.
 
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Knock Knock. Door opens... "Hey Mack! Can you tell me where your electric meter is?" "How'd ya know my name was Mack?" "Uh... I don't know, lucky guess I reckon." "Well I reckon you can guess your way to my electric meter.":D:D
 
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Had a situation with a gas meter reader at my other house some years ago. I had this sweet little dog who lived in a fenced in back yard. She was pregnant and he came into the fenced yard and pepper sprayed her so she came inside whining and crying and rolling around trying to get the pepper spray off her face. By this time the guy had already left and up the street so I called the gas company and told them what happened and that that guy had better NEVER come back in my yard. The meter was on the back of the house for some reason so the gas company was out the NEXT morning moving the meter around to the side of the house outside the fence so it could be read from the driveway. I think they also got a new person to cover that route.
 
Qball said:
Knock Knock. Door opens... "Hey Mack! Can you tell me where your electric meter is?" "How'd ya know my name was Mack?" "Uh... I don't know, lucky guess I reckon." "Well I reckon you can guess your way to my electric meter.":D:D
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So, we're modifying movie quotes, are we? :D
 
MadMan4Ever said:
Then you may have been one of those houses with a problem, tech saw it and didn’t touch nothing like he planned to.

I cannot begin to guess how many hundreds of problems I discover that people don’t even realize they have, that I have had fixed before it burns the house down.

If you have something wrong with your box, you usually won’t know it until your home is filled with smoke, and some of these meters I go to haven’t been inspected in 20 years...
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Do I call Duke and ask what's up?
 
noway2 said:
Be careful with that black to black stuff at the service entrance. Both "hot" leads are usually black. You might learn the meaning of the term arc flash depending on the size of the transformer.

I once put on the gloves and pulled the gate lead off the SCRs on a static transfer switch to simulate a failure. The lead was live at 480Vac. Still made me nervous to do it. Didn't know at the time that I should have worn leather cloves over the rubber ones either. Guess that was up there eith standing in a flooded room working on 480v service entrance equipment while it was live.
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I have seen an Arc Flash on a few occasions and I didn’t care for it. I cannot stress enough times that NOBODY should touch those meter boxes without a good insurance plan & DEEP knowledge of what they are doing.

I mean it... this that “I don’t think so Tim” type bad idea. :eek:
I even buy FR clothing that’s higher rated than what company provides.
I like my blue flames on the grill, not in my face.;)
 
Jeppo said:
Do I call Duke and ask what's up?
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Nah, they log it in their handheld, or are supposed to, then send out Pike guys to fix it when they get done with other stuff.

I had 2 houses today with problems that required Pikes attention, we keep them pretty busy. I’m still trying to get my phone to login here so I can post some pictures of my finds..

You can call Duke if you want, maybe they can hasten it, but without having seen it, I can’t say if there is even a problem. If you want to post pictures of the outside of the meter & surroundings, I will see if it’s a visible problem. :)

Do not open the can itself though.
 
In response to all the threats here, I want to say how disappointed I am that so many of you seem to think I am some murderous monster, thirsting for a chance to harm a dog. :rolleyes:

I use my personal money to buy dog treats, good ones because I love animals. I have left notes at some houses telling folks how their dog was the highlight of my day.

I am a caring, considerate person who uses 10 weekends a year to volunteer without pay to help defend our 2A rights. I have given countless overtime shifts because nobody else wants to take on the burden of even 2 weekends a year...

All that aside, I will not allow myself to be mauled to death because someone’s dog freaked out. If I see the dog is there and looks dangerous, I skip house & schedule appointment.:)

If I go to the yard and there is no sign, no fence, no dog dish or dog toys, etc, and I’m doing my work when all of a sudden some Cujo wants to eat me, I will defend myself. I don’t want to hurt anyone or anything. But I’m not going to die because some dog owners are irresponsible

I had a Rottweiler try to charge me & I had to hold him at bay with my helmet as a shield & screwdriver in the other hand, when I wasn’t even in his yard, it was the neighbors yard. :mad:

I’m a kind, righteous person who goes out of his way to help others. I really think an apology is in order for all these threats I get, but I’m not optimistic I’ll get one.:(
 
IMG_20171113_122111090_HDR-644727.jpg

This is one where the guy had to cut away part of his porch so we could access the meter box. Little did he know how close he was to his home burning down, possibly with him and his wife in it...

You see how the black coating on the right is melted thru, exposed wiring a hairs breath away from touching that metal lug?

That should make you cringe in terror like something out of “jaws”... because from the outside, the box will look fine and dandy, but the inside is where the magic happens & if it isn’t “just so”, you can at best lose your house, at worst your families lives.
 
8391-645974.jpg

This was a home in Moravian Falls, NC.... a beautiful area to which I told several homeowners I’d make them an offer on their homes, but nothing I have including my soul was worth that much.

That said, it’s also a dangerous area where you go 30mph maximum and the road can go from 2 lanes, to 1, then back to 2, then back to 1 with no signs, you just had better be paying attention.:eek:

If it’s difficult to navigate in a small pickup truck, how much longer do you think it would take a firetruck 3-4 times it’s size to reach your house if needed?

The wire pictured above was so close to popping loose I didn’t even want to put the cover back on to wait for Pike, I jumped back like there was a live rattlesnake inside there..
 
MadMan4Ever said:
In response to all the threats here, I want to say how disappointed I am that so many of you seem to think I am some murderous monster, thirsting for a chance to harm a dog. :rolleyes:

I use my personal money to buy dog treats, good ones because I love animals. I have left notes at some houses telling folks how their dog was the highlight of my day.

I am a caring, considerate person who uses 10 weekends a year to volunteer without pay to help defend our 2A rights. I have given countless overtime shifts because nobody else wants to take on the burden of even 2 weekends a year...

All that aside, I will not allow myself to be mauled to death because someone’s dog freaked out. If I see the dog is there and looks dangerous, I skip house & schedule appointment.:)

If I go to the yard and there is no sign, no fence, no dog dish or dog toys, etc, and I’m doing my work when all of a sudden some Cujo wants to eat me, I will defend myself. I don’t want to hurt anyone or anything. But I’m not going to die because some dog owners are irresponsible

I had a Rottweiler try to charge me & I had to hold him at bay with my helmet as a shield & screwdriver in the other hand, when I wasn’t even in his yard, it was the neighbors yard. :mad:

I’m a kind, righteous person who goes out of his way to help others. I really think an apology is in order for all these threats I get, but I’m not optimistic I’ll get one.:(
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I bought so many boxes of milk bones reading meters I wrote them off on my taxes. Not the Chinese junk you get at Wal-Mart either, name brand stuff because I wouldn't give anyone's dog something I wouldn't give my own.

You learn pretty quickly that people act about their dogs just like some parents do about their kids. That "my child could never do any wrong, he's a good kid" kind of attitude. It's the same for a lot of dog owners.
I remember standing on someone's porch bleeding after they purposely turned their Boxer out on me in their unfenced backyard. When I maced him to get him off me they were enraged.
"My dog would never bite anyone!".
When you hear someone say this, rest assured, they know nothing about dogs.

I really can't believe all the people in this thread who seem giddy about shooting an unarmed utility worker who
A) You have given legal permission to be on your property, and
B) Probably gets paid diddly to put up with you, your attitude, and your animals.

Something I didn't say previously, I gave the old guy in Taylorsville a pass because he was senile. The young guy with the rifle had to explain to the police why he felt the need to threaten an unarmed kid with a gun.

If you don't like the power company servicing IT'S equipment that you are RENTING, go live with the Amish or install a bunch of solar panels.
 
MadMan4Ever said:
I had a Rottweiler try to charge me & I had to hold him at bay with my helmet as a shield
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Ever tried an umbrella? Deploying them freaks most dogs out, and the other half don't understand how to get around it. I got called Mary Poppins for carrying all the time, but it saved me from more scars.
 
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