I needed to hire a plumber for a job that I needed for my house. Pipe broke, I can’t fix it myself, I’m not a plumber.

I look up online and found a couple of people posting their information.

I’m a plumber, I can fix that, call me 123-123-123

I don’t know, but I still give it a go. Someone picks up the phone on the other side.

Plumber: “Hello?”

“Hello, I saw your information online, I have a broken pipe and figured you can help me out.”

Plumber: “Of course, I can, what’s the matter?”

“Before that, I would like to know what kind of pipes you usually work with?”

Plumber: “I know a full range. I have experience with PVC, PEX, and ABS. To name a few.”

“I see, do you work with Copper or Iron too?”

Plumber: “Just a few times. Is your pipe made from Copper?”

“No, it’s PVC, but I might switch to Copper in the future.”

Plumber: “I see…”

“Before hiring you to fix my broken pipe, I would like to give you a test, just to see if you can fix broken pipes.”

Plumber: “What kind of test?”

“I’m glad you asked! It’s just a small challenge to fix an Iron pipe (or you can choose Cooper if you want). Shouldn’t take you more than an hour, and given your experience, this ain’t a challenge for you.”

Plumber: “I have proof that I know how to fix pipes. I’ve done a lot of work before, I have a long client list, and you can see these pictures of finished work that I’ve done before. Why would you give me a test?”

“That’s great, and those pictures look pretty nice. But you see, it’s an industry standard to give these tests. And I just want to make sure you’re the plumber I’m looking for. I can’t skip this test either, it wouldn’t be fair for the rest of the plumbers.”

Plumber: “Well, ok. Am I going to get compensated for the hour I spend doing the test?”

“We can’t compensate during an interview process. The hour that you spend doing this test, before the real job, should come from your free time.”

Plumber: “Alright, well, doesn’t look like this job is for me then.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I will give you a call in the future in case you’re looking for new opportunities, and please if you know somebody that you can refer for this job: a friend, a family member, feel free to give them my contact information.”

Plumber: “I will not. Good-bye.”