'Don't talk to her like that': Female plumber's boss leaves client's house to rot after client ordered her to get out because ‘women can’t be plumbers'

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Mar 14, 2024 9:00 AM EDT

Women are often underestimated in the workplace. Whether it be IT, construction, or the stock market… 

Women can't be CEOs! They don't have that thing dangling from in between their legs. You know, that necessary thing that allows a person to 'do a job right'. Luckily, some bosses know when to step in and say 'Enough is enough', leaving clients, customers and even coworkers at a loss for words. Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky to have a good boss.

This woman was a plumber, and she went to do some work on a client's house. After discovering she was a woman, he was absolutely adamant that she not touch a thing in his house, and even ordered her to get out. She left and called up her boss, who made a point to come over and teach the dude a lesson.

Scroll down to read all about it, and then, if you happen to have a geeky side, check out these DnD memes when you're done.

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  • 01
    "You do not talk to any of my employees like that. We will not finish this job."
    via Canva
  • 02
    A woman can't be a plumber? Find someone else.
    via u/uniqnorwegian
  • 03
    Many moons ago I worked in construction, repairs after water and fire damage specifically. It was my fathers company and I worked there between studies and other jobs, but I got fairly decent at the job in time, at least good enough to be trusted with managing the on-site duties for smaller jobs. We typically handle everything on the job site, including hiring third party painters, plumbers and electricians, as the jobs we took were insurance jobs.
    via u/uniqnorwegian
  • 04
    The customer was home as I was finishing up putting down new floorboards and molding after a water leak in their kitchen due to cracked plumbing, asking questions about the job and otherwise being pleasant to be around. As I was packing down my gear the plumber we contracted arrives. I was pleasantly surprised to see that "Helen" was the one showing up. Having worked with her before we have a quick chat as she is grabbing what she needs from her truck. "Helen" was in her early twenties at this t
    via u/uniqnorwegian
  • 05
    I walk back into the house with her and show her the kitchen and she gets ready to do her work. I enter the living room with my broom and vacuum to clean up after myself and inform the tenant that the plumber is here and his kitchen will be fully functional once she is done. "She? Women cant be plumbers" he says as lets out a annoying sounding grunt. I assure him it is a she, and that she knows her stuff. He looks quizzically at me and moves to the kitchen to, I assume, confirm that is was in fa
    via u/uniqnorwegian
  • 06
    In the kitchen he lets out a disappointed "hello?" and after she introduces herself he asks where the "real" plumber is. She informs him that she is the plumber and that she will be done shortly. He refuses to believe that she is the actual plumber and asks again where the "real" plumber is. She gets a confused look at her face and before she has time to respond he utters "I want a real plumber, not a little girl who cried her way to this job and will screw it up because a cute little girl like
    via u/uniqnorwegian
  • 07
    believe this and tells her to call a real plumber and orders her out of the house. She gets up and heads over to her car with tears in her eyes. I asked if she was ok, she said yes but I doubt that was true. She told me to finish up what I was doing while she called her boss. I figured she wanted to be alone a few minutes and obliged. Her boss, hearing what had happened instructed her to stay there while he came over to talk to this fine specimen of humanity. I was done with my tasks at the hous
    via u/uniqnorwegian
  • 08
    When her boss came, we gave him the full story and watched him go over to the house. Their interaction took place at the front door, next to where we were parked. The owner of the house spat out "Finally, someone who knows their stuff, right this way" and turned around to show the location of the kitchen. Her boss just said "No", making the owner turn back. "Just because she is a young woman does not mean she is not a great plumber, she is one of my best. You do not talk to any of my employees l
    via u/uniqnorwegian
  • 09
    As our company was project lead, we would have been the ones finding a different plumber to take the job, however my dad does not care for these kinds of disrespectful people. Once I told him about that days events, he contacted the insurance company and informed them that the customer was disrespectful to his employees and subcontractors and would no longer offer services to this customer. We still had some carpentry work left at this mans house waiting for the electrician to finish his work wh
    via u/uniqnorwegian
  • 10
    This meant that the insurance company had to contract a new company for project lead, which then had to contact their own subcontractors. The magnificent timing of these events meant that no one had open slots in their calendars for this job. We have a good relationship with the insurance agents we work with, and was informed that it took a full week before this job was completed, instead of being finished the next day.
    via u/uniqnorwegian
  • 11
    About a year later we are talking to the insurance agent on a different job, and he asks if we remember this customer. He informs us that he had a new water leak in a different section of the house. It was discovered that the plumbing work was done by one of the customers friends. In Norway plumbing (and electrical) needs to be done and documented by a licensed professional, otherwise your insurance will not be paid. As you might have guessed, his friend is not a plumber.
    via u/uniqnorwegian
  • 12
    He had to pay the repairs of the latest damages out of pocket, and the insurance company took a new look at the first leak. It was decided that the initial water leak also did not qualify for insurance, and he had to pay back the full amount of repairs for this as well. I gave "Helen" a call with the fantastic news, and she was ecstatic.
    via u/uniqnorwegian
  • 13
    Coder Joe1 10 mo. ago I bet the as hat still thinks he was right. 649 Reply Share farting_contest . 10 mo. ago I bet he blames all the damage on Helen, and thinks the only reason it wasn't worse was because he had the presence of mind to stop her before she could sw anything else up. 299 Reply Share ...
    via u/CoderJoe1, u/farting_contest
  • 14
    LogicBalm 10 mo. ago I'm not a professional plumber, so excuse my ignorance but which part of the phis is used when fixing a leak? 452 Reply Share uniqnorwegian OP. 10 mo. ago I'm not a plumber myself, but I have worked with quite a few of them, and none of them have ever used their p is to fix a leak. Jokes aside, I am definitely stealing this and adjusting it to my needs for future use. 233 Reply Share
    via u/LogicBalm, u/uniqnorwegian
  • 15
    xthatwasmex · 10 mo. ago Used to work in a bank, and the sewer-lines backed up quite regularly. We had the personal number to the preferred plumber at hand, and he'd usually be there within 30 minutes. Since one of the reasons that firm got the job was that they had apprentices, he'd bring them with. The only one that could fit fully (and still work) in the hole was this skinny 16 yo girl, and she fixed more than any of the buff menfolk did just because she could get at it. Tho it was amusing to
    via u/xthatwasmex
  • 16
    JPShadows 10 mo. ago edited 10 mo. ago Good on the boss for standing up for his employee. The client is lucky he didn't get his a s kicked. If a woman wants to work in the trades let her. Women are tough people. I'm glad that karma came back to bite that guy in the a 5. 92 Reply Share sweetiepotpie · 10 mo. ago Yeah I feel like the whole fact that most difficult trades are male-dominated should make most people even more impressed by the ladies who do them. Doesn't make much sense otherwise 46 R
    via u/JPShadows, u/sweetiepotpie
  • 17
    Jaded Phoenix80 10 mo. ago My fiancée is a journeyman plumber and he says that one of the best in his apprenticeship classes was this bad-as girl named M. I love that the PM and Insurance backed her up!!! ↑ 67 67 Reply Share fvanandel 10 mo. ago As someone whose daughter is a licensed plumber this is an awesome story. 61 Reply Share
    via u/JadedPhoenix80, u/fvanandel
  • 18
    Elementiia 10 mo. ago Oh I fully understand the frustration! My mother is a licensed electrician. She tried to have her license accepted in Norway when we moved here from Spain. In the office they not only told her that "women can't be electricians" they also called all their colleagues out front because they had never seen a woman who studied to become an electrician and gotten a license, like she was a monkey in a circus. 61 Reply Share
    via u/Elemntiia
  • 19
    Sea-Idea-4677 10 mo. ago I love this! I'm a woman and look young for my age... I work in IT. The amount of as oles I've came across has been astonishing. So proud of the employer for standing up to this nonsense 39 Reply Share uniqnorwegian OP 10 mo. ago I'm sure you have heard "I want to talk to someone who knows what they are talking about" a few times.
    via u/Sea-Idea-4677, u/uniqnorwegian
  • 20
    After finishing my education within IT, all of the women I have worked with have heard that phrase (even the accountants for some reason). As someone else mentioned in a different comment here "I'm not a professional plumber, so excuse my ignorance but which part of the p is is used when fixing a leak?" and that is now my go to for any a le that thinks having a pris makes you better at a job. 49 Reply Share
    via u/uniqnorwegian
  • 21
    KristineBjo 10 mo. ago Norwegian female carpenter here. Love to educate the manly men about power tools an how not to use them 31 Reply Share Not_A_Bimbo · 10 mo. ago I love this story--especially about the project manager sticking up for Helen. It's even better that the homeowner's own rotten attitude cost him time and money twice. Hopefully he's learned his lesson. 24 Reply Share
    via u/KristineBjo, u/Not_A_Bimbo

Tags

boss repairs plumber women in the workplace woman Female Empowerment workplace stories reddit client construction leaking house female contractor plumbing services electrician
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