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Saw a plumber in Boise use a $9 wiggle tool instead of a $60 camera, and I'm rethinking my whole truck
I was at a rental rehab on the east side of Boise two weeks ago and the plumber pulled out this cheap little wiggle tool to find a clog instead of his camera rig. I asked why and he said he only breaks out the camera maybe 2 times out of 10 jobs now, since the wiggle tool plus a hand auger handles most of what he sees. I used to carry every gadget in my truck because I figured the fancy stuff wins bids, but he finished that drain in 40 minutes and charged $185 while I stood there doing nothing. He let me try it on the next stop and I found the blockage in about 90 seconds, no screen, no batteries, no fuss. So now I'm looking at my truck and wondering how much of my gear is just there to make me feel professional. Any of you cut back on tools lately, or am I about to regret selling my camera on Craigslist?
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annajenkins27d ago
My buddy ran into the same thing last summer. He was doing a kitchen remodel and the guy he hired pulled out this beat up little hand snake and had the drain cleared before my buddy even finished his coffee. He'd been quoted $400 by another company that showed up with a van full of cameras and jetters. The cheap guy charged him $150 and was gone in half an hour. My buddy still talks about it because he couldn't believe how fast it went. Sometimes the simple stuff just gets the job done while all that gear sits in the truck collecting dust.
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