Street Cred

"Street Cred" is a term introduced to me by a friend of mine (who happens to be my age--that is, old enough to clearly remember 1978). Although I am not certain, I am under the impression it is a legitimate slang phrase.

Today I met someone else who apparently was familiar with this phrase. Ms. Kathy called because there seems to be some sort of electrical issue in her home. The poor woman was in a panic because she was afraid the entire house would need to be rewired (which, in my estimation, seems to be the overall conclusion people jump to when anything electrical comes up).

At any rate, I told Ms. Kathy to call my favorite Alabama electrician, explain who she rented from (me) and what the problem was. He would be able to help her out. "You have street cred?" she asked. I certainly hoped I still did.

Personally, I wasn't sure how much credibility I still had with them. I am sure my credibility would be much higher if I had been paying a little more quickly in the last quarter of 2008, but nevertheless, I opted to have Ms. Kathy test the waters.

It turns out I am still ok. Mike the Electrician gave Ms. Kathy a quick over the phone diagnosis--most likely a loose wire inside an outlet, causing all of the other outlets not to work too (or something along those lines). Think pulling out a lamp cord too roughly out of the socket and loosening the internal wiring. That was what I had pretty much figured was the case.

Experience tells me a loose wire often is the offending issue when all things electrical come up. Though, I must tell you, there was a time when I thought "rewire" too. But that was before managing a gazillion homes in Alabama. Which brings up another interesting bit of trivia: I never needed an electrician until I started managing a gazillion homes in Alabama and now I am on my fourth. But, I digress...

After confirming with Ms. Kathy Mike and his band of Merry Electricians would be heading over to her home later this week, I called their office. In the past, they have always billed me instead of asking for a credit card over the phone. I was hoping they still thought enough of me to do this again.

It turns out I am still on the electrician's tolerable client list. "Ms. Landlord," Becky the Billing Goddess said, "Your credit is good with us."