Observations

My job as a cable guy fascinates me. I don't look forward to getting up every morning to go install cable. But Lincoln has so much social diversity for being a town of under 300,000 people. In the course of any given day I can go from being in the wealthiest part of town to the poorest. I have met almost every personality type, from neat freaks to slobs, gregarious to reclusive, stingy to generous.

And, it's not just customers that catch my eye. Downtown, an old man with a long scraggled beard hobbled his way through an alley. In his hands were clutched two worn plastic bags full of aluminum cans he had been collecting. He limped along, a prosthetic leg slowing him, and he had to rely on a cane to make what seemed like a slow, painful shuffle. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as I gathered the equipment for my next install. He had to pause and lean on a dumpster for a few minutes; he looked exhausted. Perhaps it was the cans he was carrying, and the money he would make from them that drove him forward on his painful walk. Inwardly, I wished him luck in wherever he was headed.

I went into the apartment adjacent to the alley where the customer waited to have their cable installed. We had a great conversation as I worked. They were a wonderful couple, so happy to have cable again after having gone without for a few years. In fact, they were so grateful that they offered to tip me, and they asked if they could contact my supervisor to compliment me for the kind of job I did. To me, it was just another day at the office, but to these people it was the highlight of their day.

Immigrants are indeed a unique group of people. I've met people from so many different cultures. Some speak severely limited English, while others are amazingly fluent despite that they had just moved here recently. Sometimes I feel bad when the language barrier makes it difficult for them to understand what I'm trying to say. What if I was in their shoes, trusting a total stranger who has come into their house and not being able to fully communicate?

Some people live in palaces, while other homes should be condemned. I've walked in homes with marble floors and grand staircases, the house overflowing with luxury. Other homes are dark, with stains in the carpet, the air reeking of cigarette smoke and battered furniture peeks out of the clutter. Some houses are a dream to work on while others are a nightmare. I worked in one house that took me six hours to complete the job. Not a fun day.

But, it all comes down to the people I interact with. It really doesn't matter to me whether or not they can pay their bill once I leave their home. What matters is that they're happy with whatever kind of cable service they got. Installers are essentially the only "face" representing the company, and if we get it wrong, the whole company could look bad. I just want them to feel I did my personal best for them, that the "cable guy" actually cared. It's easy to tell when customers are genuinely grateful for getting cable by how much attention is given to their needs. I guess it's because I simply care.

Maybe being a cable guy isn't so bad after all.