In the age of 24-hour television, one viewer was left staring at a blank screen after a TV satellite company refused to commission an installation after 5pm. The reason? Because it was unsafe to do so and contravened health and safety regulations.
The customer was taken aback – hardly a surprise given the issue resembles some sort of absurdist plot from an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Rather than pursuing the issue Larry David-style, the individual took the high road and contacted the Health and Safety Executive.
The HSE’s myth panel was quickly on the case.
It found that, contrary to the statement, there is in fact no workplace health and safety legislation that prohibits the installation of TV equipment after 5pm. The customer service advisor was therefore inaccurate to describe the service a contravention of health and safety regulations.
Since the panel’s ruling, the satellite provider has confirmed this is not company policy. It will broadcast the message to staff to ensure they understand what engineers can and can’t do.
At RTS, we think that’s pretty, pretty, pretty good.