I recently noticed a professional plumber’s silicon grease bottle with a large incision in the side. Puzzled, I asked him what the hole was for.
He gestured with his finger extended,”See this?” And then stuck his finger into the side hole to use grease that was stuck to the bottom. He continued, “You can tell when a plumber is over 40 or not based upon whether they are smart enough to use all their resources to the fullest. I get at least a couple weeks’ worth of use this way.”
I took this as a parable for life in general: Use your resources to their fullest potential.
And I then immediately knew how to get to the bottom of my favourite skin lotion brand’s bottles. So I got a twofer: long-term and immediate-term. That is the sign of a great nugget of wisdom. I am thankful for my plumber today. —JM
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1 Comment
I’ve always used the ‘twofer’ technique whenever I have professionals performing any kind of works for me – whether plumbers, boiler maintenance, or whatever.
I once had to get someone in to look at my dishwasher as it wasn’t dispensing the little tablets – it turned out if was just something I’d hung inside (one of those lemon-smelling things that is supposed to make your dishwasher smell less chemically), so an expensive day. However, he didn’t realise himself until he’d had the dishwasher out and exposed the innards, explained how it all works and also gave some excellent long-term advice on getting the most out of it – long term I’m sure I’ve made that money back as a result.