Heading back to State is a whirlwind of reunions, move-in-boxes and multiple trips to the dreaded bookstore. However, there is a demon far creepier and way more invasive than an inevitable textbook return line, and that demon has a name: repairman.
We’ve all needed them for little things from fixing the bathroom sink, to setting up your WiFi and television cable, but somehow, the encounters always end up weirder than we anticipate. We here at Valley have a few of these great stories. So sit back, relax, and enjoy our hilarious, awkward and downright uncomfortable encounters, and feel thrilled you weren’t on the receiving end..for now.
Leah Polakoff, Editor-in-Chief
“Last year when I lived in University Gateway, one of our outlets wasn’t working. So we called maintenance and a man came out the next day. The man was there for an hour and eventually left without saying a word. All he did was leave a sticky note on the outlet that said, ‘This is bad’. He never came back, and the outlet never got fixed.”
Natasha Tereschak, Campus Culture Editor
“About two years ago, the toilet in the apartment above ours overflowed and it rained toilet water in my roommates’ room. We called maintenance and when the guy arrived, he saw that one of the ceiling tiles was close to collapsing. It was about 4 p.m. on a Friday, and he told us he would “deal with it when it fell.” It fell at about 2 a.m. When he came at around 9 a.m., he told my roommates that the toilet water that had overflowed ‘wasn’t as dirty as we thought’.”
Rachelle Gaynor, Copy Editor
“At my apartment, the maintenance guys can let themselves in (something I learned the hard way), but they are supposed to knock. I was home by myself one day and all of a sudden I walk out of my room and there are these two big guys inside my apartment and the door is already closed. I went into panic mode and instantly tried to remember every super cool women self-defense move I have seen in movies. Apparently I had a look of horror on my face because finally one of the two guys said, “Don’t worry, we are the maintenance guys…we probably should have knocked…” Yeah. Probably.”
Pooja Kondeti, Web Writer
“The blinds in my room do not work and there is blue construction fence right outside my window, so naturally I assumed that no one could walk in between. I came back from showering and was starting to change and all of a sudden I see one of the construction workers staring through the window. And after I saw him and was absolutely mortified he kept staring! Literally, 30 seconds after we broke eye contact he rang my doorbell and asked to fix my WiFi.”
Kacie Iwasyk, Events Staff
“My friend was caught making out with a guy in the laundry room by the maintenance man in our apartment and he told her that he watched them on the video for 10 minutes! She was mortified after he told them to leave.”
