Conservatives

Walking up a long driveway, I notice the George Bush 04' sticker on the car.     Sure enough, the guy answers the door slightly agitated.  Fox News is playing in the background.   I ask about the problem with the internet.  He tells me it's slow.   I ask to see the modem, and he has his son lead me upstairs to the attic....no modem in the attic.  

I ask the son, where is the router location.   The son, "Oh ya," takes me to the router location, but the dad stops me, upset.  He didn't know I had to access the room, even though that is where the modem/computers are, and it is the sole reason I was there.   Radio shack splitters, on line to modem.  I take them off and it works fine.  

I have dealt with many conservatives, and know the warning signs.   Heightened aggression, crosses all over the house, republican paraphernalia, Fox News, and when I see any of these I go into hyper careful mode.  I tone down my vocabulary and explain how cable works as if I were talking to a 3 year old.   I become super polite, as any swift move or large word will set them off.   I do the minimum to complete the job and get out of there.   Very rarely am I able to have any meaningful conversation with them.  It is mostly, "Let me tell you about everything I think is important, and ignore your presence," or I am just the help.  

The treat them as if they are special technique has proven to work wonders, with minimal stress.