Part two of this series explained the relationships that develop between installers and inspectors and ended with three crucial items, the first being the need for mutual respect. 

No one denies that mutual respect is essential to working together in any business; it’s the only way everyone wins. But let's look at the two types of respect — positional and personal. 

Positional respect is just that — respect for the position regardless of who currently holds it. 

If you’re driving into an intersection and even though the light is green, a person in a uniform with a gun and a badge is signaling you to stop, you do so even though he or she is a total stranger. Why? He or she is in a position of authority wherein the respect is automatic. By simply donning the uniform, he or she gets the respect. 

Personal respect is an entirely different matter. It does not come automatically with a position of authority. It must be earned over time and with a lot of hard work. Additionally, though it takes a long time to build up, personal respect can easily and quickly be lost. 

Onsite installers and inspectors have distinct positions, or roles, in terms of onsite systems. The two types of respect come into play because installers must respect the role of the inspector and inspectors must respect the role of the installer. They rely on each other to get a job done successfully and efficiently. And whether they admit it or not, each must earn the personal respect of the other. 

An installer earns the inspector’s personal respect by keeping his word, being totally above board, following the rules as agreed upon and making the inspector’s job as easy as possible. 

An inspector earns the installer’s personal respect by making it easy and convenient to get an inspection, being consistent in his application of the rules and being knowledgeable about what he is inspecting. 

An easy way for the installer to lose the inspector’s personal respect is to constantly cut corners and to try covering up shortcomings in his work. Soon, the inspector totally distrusts him. 

The inspector can lose the installer’s personal respect by applying, without notification, subjective rules that were not originally agreed upon or clarified. 

If either one does not value the personal respect or attempts to get by on positional respect alone, even when he thinks he’s getting approval, acceptance and cooperation, the relationship will falter. The working relationship is damaged because its success is built on personal respect. 

When either side stops valuing and working toward personal respect, the other side gives up on it and their relationship is doomed to failure and despair. They instead will be rivals when we should all be working together to shape a great industry. 

Next time we’ll delve a bit deeper into the question of mutual respect and discuss three field examples. 

About the Author
Frank Aguirre owns Septic Systems Express, a system design and inspection company located in San Antonio, Texas. Contact him at 210/275-7866 or via email at frank@septicsystemsexpress.com.

This article is part of a series on onsite septic inspections:

• The Politics of Onsite Septic System Inspections
• The Politics of Onsite System Inspections: Part 2
• The Politics of Onsite System Inspections: Part 3
• The Politics of Onsite System Inspections: Part 4
• The Politics of Onsite System Inspections: Part 5
• The Politics of Onsite System Inspections: Part 6