About Eugene

He’s tough. He’s rugged, and he doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty.
Meet Eugene, a real man amongst men.

 

Hello Eugene, great to meet you. What keeps you busy at the Italian Plumber?
Hello. I’m a plumber, heating and drainage engineer.
I do mainly what’s known as ‘reactive’ maintenance.
It means most of the time I’m attending all the nice jobs like blocked toilets, sewage pipes, that kind of thing.

 

So not the sexiest kind of work then?
No, but if I’m lucky I’ll get to fix a radiator from time-to-time ?
It’s all good though… I enjoy my work.

 

Where are you from?
I was born in Paddington, and have always lived in west London.
I’m currently based in Parsons Green, but I also spent many years in Shepherds Bush.

 

Why did you want to become a plumber and how long have you been doing it for?
I’ve been doing it for over 35 years. I’m not entirely sure why I decided to go into it. But it might have something to do with the fact that after leaving school most of my jobs involved working with people in the building trade. I’ve always been good with my hands, so I suppose it just made sense.

I also went to college and got my City & Guilds levels 1, 2 and 3 in plumbing.

 

It’s true that there’s quite a lot of freedom in this job.
As long as you are doing what you are meant to be doing, and helping the customers, you are pretty much left to your own devices.

 

How long have you been working for Samuele?
I’ve been working for him since May last year. I got the job through my friend Shane, who I had worked with for some years previously.

Samuele is very easy going, and I get on great with the girls in the office, too.

 

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had to attend?
There’s a kind of toilet called a Saniflo. They are usually installed in lofts and basements.
Suffice to say it was ‘backed up’. I spent hours unblocking it. I’ll spare you the detail.

Another time, very late at night, I was called to a blocked sewage pipe in Chiswick. There are a lot of restaurants down there, so there was a tonne of fat and grease that had built up in the underground pipes. There really was what you would call a fatberg. It took forever to clear it.
Because it was dark, we had to work by torchlight, so the whole job was made even more difficult.

 

Outside of work, what is your passion?
I tend to just take it kind of easy. I like gardening, and watching sport. I used to play rugby, so still have a keen interest in it.

 

Do you have any special talents?
Some might say that I have a talent for unblocking the things other people wouldn’t go near. But apart from that, not really. I do enjoy DIY though, so I suppose I’m quite good at that.

 

Eugene, it’s been great speaking with you today. I hope you won’t have to encounter another fatberg anytime soon.
Thank you. I hope so, too. Was nice to meet you.