Funny upselling fail with Mike Holt's NEC tip on social

BugBusterBill

·1mo·27 replies·28 participants

BugBusterBill⚒️ JourneymanOP1mo

So I'm scrolling Twitter and Mike Holt drops this daily NEC graphic question about bonding jumpers in subpanels, you know the one testing if you can upcharge for code compliance stuff. I thought, perfect ammo for my next service call on a 200A panel upgrade. Show up to this house, customer's got a main panel that's seen better days, breakers tripping like crazy on their EV charger setup. I pull out the phone, show him the graphic, explain how we're one jumper away from a code violation that could bite him later. Then I upsell the whole subpanel add-on with proper neutrals separated, thinking I'm slick. Guy looks at me dead serious and says, 'Nah, I saw that Electrician U video on TikTok, I can DIY it.' Cracked me up, had to laugh and walk away before I started quoting T&M anyway. Now I'm wondering if social media tips are helping or hurting our upselling game. Anyone else had a customer pull the influencer card on you?

V6050🔧 Apprentice1mo

goddamn homeowners thinkin theyre electricians after one tiktok vid pisses me off so bad, like yeah go ahead and fry your ev charger setup. social medias just makin our jobs a nightmare with all these wannabe diyers.

FlushFreak2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

yeah man, i had one guy show up with a tiktok blueprint for his 'ev palace' and tried to upsell him a proper 50a circuit, but he goes 'mike holt says i can do it myself' ... ended up callin me back when the smoke cleared his garage lol

MoveMaster2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

had a guy once tell me he learned from a youtube vid on wiring his hot tub, ended up calling me back after he zapped himself in the pool. influencers are turning us into cleanup crew half the time lol.

DoorJamDud⚒️ Journeyman1mo

man, been there too many times with DIYers turning my day into a cleanup nightmare after some youtube hack job.

WrenchWally2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

yeah man, those youtube diy disasters always turn into my biggest headache, had one last week where the guy fried his whole panel trying to 'upgrade' with undersized romex.

SparkPlugSue6⚒️ Journeyman1mo

those damn youtube diy hacks are turning every weekend warrior into a fire hazard, and we're the idiots stuck cleaning up their messes while they cry about the bill.

KeyMaster⭐ Expert1mo

man, same crap here... had a guy pull up a dusty old mike holt pdf on his tablet and swear he could handle the 240v subfeed himself, left me standin there with my jaws on the floor.

FaucetFiend2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

social media's turning every armchair sparky into a code expert, and it's screwing us on legit upsells like that jumper install. had a guy last week quote back some half-assed Electrician U clip and try to haggle my 200A upgrade down to nothing, told him flat out he'd fry his house before he finished. influencers are the real villains here, not the jumpers.

TarHeelTiler3⚒️ Journeyman1mo

man, had the exact same crap happen last week when i tried upsellin a ground rod add-on usin that mike holt newsletter. customer pulls out his phone, shows me a clip from electrician u about how its optional in older installs, and im sittin there thinkin all that time preppin went to waste. feels like everyones a code expert now thanks to tiktok, aint it? been there brother, makes you wanna stick to straight repairs and skip the upsell dance. social media's turnin our jobs into diy battlegrounds.

CircuitSmasher5⚒️ Journeyman1mo

yeah man, same crap here last month, customer hit me with some tiktok BS on ground rods and i just shut up and did the repair, feels like were fightin a losing battle against youtube know-it-alls.

DustBunnyHunter3⭐ Expert1mo

had a guy last week tell me he learned from some youtube hack how to wire his own hot tub, and now im staring at a melted 14/2 romex mess that almost torched his deck, these influencers are gonna get someone killed.

HammerTimeGuy2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

Show 'em the liability waiver first, then hit with the code graphic. Works 80% of the time on scared homeowners.

WireWizard10⚒️ Journeyman1mo

Damn influencers giving away the farm for free. Now every DIYer thinks they're a sparky after one TikTok.

GarageGuruGary2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

Exactly, had a guy fry his Romex trying to follow some YouTube hack. PE firms love when we clean up their messes, jacks up our rates even more.

CastIronCrusher2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

whats the funniest youtube hack youve seen go wrong like that?

CircuitSmasher4⚒️ Journeyman1mo

man, i tried that mike holt youtube tip on sizing romex for a 240v circuit and the inspector failed me flat out because it didnt account for the local amendment. had to rip it all out and redo with 10/2 instead of the 12/2 the video swore by, cost me a whole afternoon and pissed off the homeowner. been there with those hacks, they make you look like an idiot every time.

TarPaperTiger⚒️ Journeyman1mo

damn those youtube gurus like mike holt peddle one-size-fits-all BS that ignores every local amendment, screwing us sparky's every time and making inspectors think we're amateurs.

WattTheHeck6⚒️ Journeyman1mo

man, i tried that mike holt trick on a panel upgrade once and the customer looked at me like i was speakin ancient greek, total upsell flop.

ShingleShark17⚒️ Journeyman1mo

man, those youtube hacks have me fixing fried romex every other week, its like theyre handing pe firms free money.

HardwoodHero⚒️ Journeyman1mo

those damn youtubers got me redoing half my jobs this month, its like theyre training idiots to burn houses down just to feed the PE vultures.

FreonFanatic⚒️ Journeyman1mo

tried upselling a mini-split upgrade today using that mike holt grounding tip and the homeowner goes 'nah, my uncle saw it on youtube, free wire will do' ... now im the one burning cash on callbacks 😂

HammerTimeHank2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

those damn pe vultures swoop in buying up every decent shop, then push their crap training that leaves us fixing homeowner disasters for peanuts. now theyre hiking our cleanup rates while pocketing the profits, its a total scam. screw em, we need to band together and stop feeding their machine.

DirtBagLandscaper3⚒️ Journeyman1mo

yeah man, those pe bastards are sucking the life out of every good trade biz i know. been watchin shops fold left and right, its bullshit.

KeyMasterKate⚒️ Journeyman1mo

if you're dealin with those PE sharks try nichin down to custom wiring jobs that big corps can't touch, like smart home setups with lutron caseta systems. upsell by pointin out NEC 210.8 for GFCI protection on kitchen circuits, turns a basic fix into a $800 upgrade easy. keeps the cash flow steady without beggin for their scraps.

ScrewLoose2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

those PE bastards are swallowin up every decent job, leavin us scraps on the table. screw upsellin to their playbook, id rather wire a whole house off book than chase their crumbs.

WeedWhackerPro3⚒️ Journeyman1mo

yeah, same shit here with those PE vultures jacking up every damn repair bill. homeowners dont even know they're paying for youtube stupidity.

GeneralGuru⚒️ Journeyman1mo

stick to mike holt's nec videos for the real deal, but upsell by showing 'em how a $200 surge protector beats their sketchy extension cords every time.