I'd be lying if I told you I didn't miss the travel involved in field service, but now I do what I want, to a certain extent. My phone is the service counter, which is my world. It sometimes can be more than a little frustrating and anxiety laden. Every once in awhile, however, things begin to disintegrate in the field - someone buys a used drill rig, compressor, or something else, and needs help - and I hear the magic words "Don, can you give me a hand." At this request I don't have to wait long to know this won't be an easy problem - such as a port plate with dirt under it, a piston compressor that was supposed to have good oil pressure but doesn't, a pulldown cylinder with a defective check valve or a rotary screw compressor running hot.
Generally speaking, it's a positive experience: a sanity building exercise in which everything makes sense and my faith in man is restored. The problem needs attention every once in awhile, however it doesn't quite happen that way. And today is one of those days. I've written about this before, and maybe you have experienced it in your shop, but sometimes no one person has to come and get you when there's a problem. Today I just know things are crumbling. We call it 'a feeling', you could have another name for it. However, most of us have experienced it and it doesn't feel good. Most of these jobs, for me at least, have been cause for celebration. Today's events were, if nothing else, a cause for concern.