Here's a story of an odd-job person from Kindness and Smashing Handiwork (acronym lovers, you can call it K.a.S.H.). On the last day of 2023, K.a.S.H. rep was tasked to remove and charge the battery of a video doorbell for Mr I. Here is how it went:

Mr I described himself as a rather reclusive person, so I was glad he trusted me enough to let me into his house today. He shown me the doorbell and I understood he wanted to remove the cover to charge it.

I asked about the instructions, and we went upstairs to retrieve them. Mr I warned me about the sticky rat traps which I successfully avoided on the way up (spoiler: I got caught later, walking down the stairs).

Mr I apologised about the state of his bedroom. I would describe it as a galaxy of things but I'm an aspiring minimalist.

"It's fine as long as you can find what you want" I said.

"Well, I cannot find anything!"

Indeed, we didn't manage to locate the instructions, after looking inside several 2024 notebook-style calendars. Mr I was getting ahead, looking already into the new year and the doorbell instructions must have been the thing of the past.

I suggested we can look up the instructions online. As a result, Mr I got distracted by other tech problems he wanted to solve: unlocking his new phone, unlocking one of his laptops, logging into his emails on a computer. While he was trying to call a person who apparently had his PIN code for the devices, I charged his new phone and updated Windows on the laptop that we were able to unlock. But we were supposed to deal with the doorbell!

After I prompted Mr I about the priority job for today, he agreed on going back outside, so that I could check the make and model of the doorbell. I found the instructions on the Internet and a link to a video about setting up the device. There, I found an explanation on how to remove the cover. No brute force, no screwdrivers required - just a tiny release pin. Mr I didn't have the doorbell packaging, so we scanned his house for something thin like a paperclip or a needle. Nail clippers were our best bet but still too thick to use them in place of a release pin.

Mr I thought for a while and concluded that women would be able to solve those kind of problems.

"Women got those kind of things men don't have" he said.

We tried two neighbours: I ringed one who had the same doorbell as Mr I, with no success. In the meantime, Mr I knocked on the door of the other neighbour's house. Bingo. The woman who opened the door had the solution: the safety pin 🧷! That was much better than a paperclip suggested in the FAQ in the online instructions. For the people as old as me, you know how useless the paperclips can be!

I opened the box with the borrowed safety pin, bending it in the process, but the battery was free. Now, we could charge it. Or could we? Mr I was worried that he didin't have the cable and was ready to go to a shop.

"I can get that lead for a fiver!"

I suggested we can try his phone cable as it looked like it had a micro USB. Mr I was quite adamant that he wanted to buy a cable specifically for the doorbell battery but I convinced him it was unnecessary and at least for now we could use what he already had.

I left Mr I's house with the battery charging in the kitchen. While reading the instructions, I also learned about the next step which would be connecting the charged doorbell to the app Mr I had already installed on his phone. I logged into the app and verified Mr I's account via email, so hopefully whoever picks up after me will just have to scan the barcode from the app using the charged doorbell camera to connect both devices.

Another unexpectedly successful job by K.a.S.H. services - and another shocked client who couldn't believe he doesn't have to pay at all!