Confessions of a Trampoline Installer

Over the last six years we’ve installed a few hundred trampolines, mostly within our home county of Pembrokeshire, some in the Bristol area and a handful along the journey between them. On a lovely spring or summer day it’s a fantastic job – out in the fresh air and putting a smile on children’s faces once we’ve finished. On a raining winter’s day it isn’t so appealing but we never let a customer down.

You may have seen the 1970’s slapstick films “Confessions of a Window Cleaner”, “Confessions of a Driving Instructor” etc. and whilst there are not so many naked escapades, our trampoline installer Glen has come back with quite a few interesting tales and he has encountered one lady answering her door naked! We’re not sure if she was expecting someone else but the polite question ‘Whereabouts in the garden shall I put the trampoline up?’ led to a speedy exit and an end to an embarrassing situation.

We offer free installation in Pembrokeshire so expect no further payment once the goods are paid for. However, many customers have insisted on giving Glen a tip after a good job done. These include a few pounds, cans of beer, bottles of wine and even a gas barbecue!! He’s been given countless cups of tea, coffee or squash together with home made cakes and his favourite – Welsh Cakes. Once he had a full cooked breakfast to say thanks for an early completion and on one frosty morning in Carmarthen had a few rounds of toast with lumps of cheese, a local tradition?

On arrival with one customer he was shown the location in the garden for the trampoline to be installed and was given a spade. The slope of the garden was closer to a downhill ski run than the flat area needed for the set and the lady of the house wanted Glen to dig the bank away and level the area! It would have taken two men a week to move the required amount of soil away so he had to politely point out the free installation didn’t cover the re-landscaping of the garden and they agreed on a flat area further from the house that was suitable.

We install many sets purchased for a birthday surprises and arrive after the children have gone to school. However, during the summer holidays the youngsters at home like to help Glen to put the sets up. By the time they have helped drop the springs, nuts and bolts in the grass, what was an hour installation has been helped to a two hour one.

A couple of years ago Glen completed a routine installation in a village only 10 minutes from us. A week later the customer asked us to go back and fix it as the frame had buckled unexpectedly? We were perplexed as to the reason for the failure and as we couldn’t explain why it had happened Glen replaced the parts and left it as new again. During the winter six months later the same customer said it had done it again and Glen went out to inspect it. The trampoline and enclosure were in a buckled mess and when asked what they were doing in it while it collapsed the customer said it just happened. Glen was left on his own to repair it again and the next door neighbour looked over the fence. He informed Glen that during a severe gale in the previous week, the set had blown over the fence into his garden, wrecking the set, his greenhouse and taking down his phone line in the process. He also said the last time he saw us repairing the set in the garden it was after about six adults on the set after a drunken barbecue had broken it. At least we got to the bottom of the mystery!

Whether there is incident or not we always enjoy installing!

Author: Bob Bounce