I was sitting next to a 99-year-old woman in an auditorium. I knew she was 99 because she introduced herself as Irene and told me her exact age. Then she sat back and waited for me to say something.   

We have so many names for common things and tools that we use in this business; and because I have way too much time on my hands, I started wondering how those names came to be.

A heating contractor friend sent me this text exchange between himself and a potential employee:

I got an email from the customer service manager at a well-known boiler manufacturer whose name I will keep to myself. 

The tiny tale I’m about to share with you got me thinking about noisy radiators. 

Our daughter, Erin, bought our business in 2016 when Marianne and I retired. 

Once upon a time, when a manufacturers rep was foolish enough to hire me and teach me enough to be dangerous, I suggested to my boss that he would be very smart if he allowed me to do a seminar for contractors about steam heating. 

We had a warehouse break-in over the weekend when I was young and working inside sales (read, order-taking) for a manufacturers rep on the Isle of Long. 

It took Jimmy about a half-hour to realize that the homeowner hadn’t understood a word he had said.

“Just curious. What gets under your skin these days when it comes to your local wholesalers?”