It pays to have product knowledge

Just fielded a call where the customer tells me the center part of the toilet came undone. It raises up and down and will flush and the parts inside of it are not connected.


First thought was a mansfield 210/211 but then the word "moving" was
a dead giveaway to American Standard Champion 3.

I told him that those small parts went down into the bowl rim and either may or may not flush out, no chance of having those parts on the truck because IF I fix it, we all know it's going to break again.


I told him if he wants that toilet fixed today, go to lowes and buy an AS champion 4 tank,

have it there waiting for me so I can take the flush valve out of it and switch the assembly in his 3.

I told him this is the answer for champion's 3 ongong failure with the assembly and the 4 flush tower is less moving parts, better design for the sinking titanic.

I believe he was impressed for having a heads up on this scenario immediately in the context of a 6 minute conversation.

Told him to contact american standard, they're expecting your call LOL!!! and they'll send you out that retrofit flush tower at no cost to you.

When the part comes in, put it in the tank you bought from lowes and return it, otherwise you'll be waiting 10 days minimum for parts to come in.

Here's what could of happened:


Went out there with the "I can fix that!" attitude, on the clock not fixing the problem, then telling them above making it look like a scheme/ploy to make more money while he gets the tank. Now he's paying me to sit while he gets the part that he needs, IF he believes my logic on the flush valve changeout.

Doing this from my phone without burning fuel and overcharging the customer should get me a cookie for doing this.......but it don't.


There's a chance he'll run with my valuable info and do it himself to save him a buck......but that's here nor there and I'm the better for not exploiting the situation for what it could of been.


I absolutely will not carry AS champion rebuild parts on my truck, not even the flush tower for AS 4. That can be a hard sell to people when you are rightfully retrofitting the tank to solve a chronic problem.

I gotta go,

I'm a olympic skater and I'm on tv right now, priorities.

Went like a breeze. Had it switched out in 15 minutes, adjusted the water level on another toilet, then rebuilt a delta single handle faucet in an hour's time.

Wrote the bill, came in and tested the water pressure >>>> 107 pounds.


Went through my spiel about the pressure/expansion tank. The customer had those copper flexies to fix the leaks at the tank and told him not to bother; just address the pressure/install the expansion tank and I'll take care of those unions when I install the tank. PRV was blown, thus the reason for the high water pressure.

Pretty sure I convinced the guy that it was imperative to resolve the water pressure issue, referred him to the website for more info.


All in all I ended up getting $93 of diesel fuel, $22 bucket of fried chicken! and sides, $10 worth of donuts and a couple 12 packs of sodie pops and bottled water for $10! Gotta live healthy ya know with the water!~