Make it a fair fight…

As a contractor that has commercial clients, many times our professional carpenters and painters will need to work nights in order to accommodate the client’s schedule to have the business open and running during regular business hours. We have several large commercial banks with multiple sites throughout Western Washington that we work for and our team members are all very familiar with the after hour’s security protocol. Once the branch is closed and all employees are off site, then our crews can unlock the facility, contact security to let them know we are working in the building for the night, and then proceed to lock up the front door, so there are no unexpected visitors.

Many years ago we had a week long project for a particular bank to remodel/upgrade both restrooms. Once onsite, the job foreman followed the standard security protocol and then got to work with the crew upgrading the first of the two bathrooms. It was about halfway through the shift, around 1 am when all of the sudden the 3 man crew working in the restroom came face to face with police officers in the hallway outside of the bathroom with their guns drawn. Of course the team was just a little freaked out. Apparently the crew had tripped a silent alarm (in the bathroom?) which called the local police. It was very obvious that the crew was working on the bathroom and authorized to be in the branch that night, so nothing became of that situation, but to this day when our crews are working in a commercial bathroom, they look for the “silent alarm switch” – we still haven’t found it.

We do many commercial bathroom upgrades every year. Our teams of professionals work quickly so there is minimum time that the bathroom is not available for service. All products and materials needed are staged onsite before the work begins so we have the assurance that all items are accounted for. Quality is our standard and daily clean up is essential so when staff arrive the following morning there is no evidence outside the restroom that any work is being performed at the branch. It’s not every day
that our crew is greeted by guns or police officers, but all were professionals in the situation. Now when we know the team will be working a night shift in a restroom, the joke is, “grab your guns – nail guns and spray guns, it needs to be a fair fight”!

Let us know if you have a project; we pride ourselves on quality and working within the needs of your situation. Until the next funny story in the Adventures of Wheeler Painting and Restoration services, be well and do good.