Some people think they can talk however they want — until the wrong person hears it.

When a construction company owner doing cleanup told an electrician not to use a dumpster that belonged to another tenant, the worker responded with a snarky comment and doubled down.

Unfortunately for the electrician, he had just picked the worst possible person to challenge.

Keep reading for the full story!

Mouthy tradesman on my job

I owned a small construction company. We did interior improvements in buildings.

About 20 years ago, we were doing a fairly large job, and I had employed all of my usual subcontractors such as drywall, electric, and HVAC.

He described what seemed like a routine day on the job.

One day I was on the job in shabby work clothes. I decided to do some cleanup as the job was getting cluttered.

An electrician, an employee of my subcontractor, was doing the same. He didn’t know me from Adam.

At some point, I was standing out back near a dumpster that belonged to another tenant.

We were not to use that one for obvious reasons.

But not all of the subcontractors got the memo.

The electrician walked up and dumped some of his trash in that bin.

I politely informed him that this was not ours to use.

His response was, “Ain’t life a dump?” and then he walked away.

A minute or two later he returned, dumping more trash in the bin.

So this time, he got a little more forceful.

At that point I told him, “This isn’t ours to use, take it out.”

He looked at me with a moronic stare and said, “Who the heck are YOU?”

So he told him exactly who he was, and his answer put the subcontractor right in his place.

I smiled and politely informed him that “I’m the general contractor, that’s who I am,” as he quickly retreated and started to apologize while he cleaned the trash out of the bin.

For the rest of the job, it was like magnetic repulsion. He would be anywhere that I wasn’t.

A couple of weeks later he sheepishly apologized to me.

He gives this guy an important reminder.

I replied that you never know who you are talking to, so don’t take an attitude.

The guy was a worthless jerk, sort of a project by his boss.

I changed electricians shortly after that.

Sounds like this electrician should have kept his flapper shut! Let’s see what Reddit has to say.

Not all contractors have the work ethic to get a job done well.

This user points out regional differences in building supplies.

This commenter shares another petty revenge story.

There’s only room for one man in charge on a job site.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.