We just had the semi-annual experience of an unannounced Con-Ed Worker showing up at our office for “work”. It always amazes me how they just appear and demand stuff (which sounds fairly serious) in a very nonchalant manner, like: “Hey, show me to your meters, I gotta swap ‘em all out.” Why? “Because they’re old.” Or “Yeah, you might lose power or something while we do it.” Do you know for how long or when? “Nope. Maybe only the 2nd floor. Tough to say.”
This is inevitably followed by 5-10 minutes of a few of us in the office trying to discern whether he really is a Con-Ed worker: He shows us his badge (sure, it looks real, but what the hell do we know?), says we can call and check with Con Ed (Yay, let’s sit on hold for 3 hours). Eventually, we break down and let him rummage around in the power room because we’ve got tons of other crap to deal with.
I think it’s all the Consumerist posts on Energy Scams that makes me wary. Hopefully our building doesn’t blow up.
