Members glenecho Posted June 9, 2011 Members Share Posted June 9, 2011 thing is, what distinguishes YOU from somebody else who DOES? you can no more tell what contractor will be a deadbeat than they can tell what clients will be. and despite the fact that you're trying to get a hold of them to help YOU out-- there's no guarantee that they're not spread too thin. i'm not saying you're WRONG, by any stretch.. but lots of small businesses can get themselves spread thin. i mean.. you could also learn how to do what you need done.. and that takes time too. the goodn's also get busy... i'd be more concerned if they called back TOO fast .. you also oughta monitor what you say to contractors, because they'll use intuition about clients just like you will in picking contractors. So you're saying that the contractor has a feeling I'm going to be a bad customer? How do you get that? Is that from the part where I tell them I'll pay them what they need? Or the part that I tell them that there's no hurry but I'd like to know when they can get to it....god forbid? It's all bull{censored}. I'm a perfectly good customer and I have to go through 20 different contractors just to find someone to put up a few doors. OP is correct, people just don't want to do the {censored}ing work...a luxury I'm certainly not afforded in my job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted June 9, 2011 Members Share Posted June 9, 2011 So you're saying that the contractor has a feeling I'm going to be a bad customer? How do you get that? Is that from the part where I tell them I'll pay them what they need? Or the part that I tell them that there's no hurry but I'd like to know when they can get to it....god forbid?It's all bull{censored}. I'm a perfectly good customer and I have to go through 20 different contractors just to find someone to put up a few doors. OP is correct, people just don't want to do the {censored}ing work...a luxury I'm certainly not afforded in my job. no, i'm not saying that-- i'm saying that you MIGHT potentially put them off-- but that's ALWAYS a risk. you're dealing perpetually with the unknown in the service industry-- i've had clients drag their feet ENDLESSLY to get paid. when i've asked 'why? job was signed off to your satisfaction' they just drag their feet- no reason. i've had red flags come up with totally normal seeming people. of COURSE i'm not doggin' you GE.. i'm just saying-- it's a tough sell both ways.. 'cause contractors will bear a lot of risk and liability to do your work.. and it's a trust game, so be careful! i got no beef with you personally, man! the OTHER thing is-- a lotta guys HATE small jobs. the toughest aspect is load-in, load out, and getting your materials. if you're in a tough spot, or you have a little job for not much bang for the buck... it's not seen as a good job. i'm not saying is IS a bad job... but access is a factor, and so is sustaining work. if you have a half day job... people will balk because you can take a marginally bigger job and sustain your biz. if you do a coupla doors.. sometimes it's just too small to be worthwhile-- OR you have a job that people don't have tooling for- which happens a lot. mortising hinges isn't HARD... but a lotta guys don't carry jigs for it-- and it usually takes 2 people to make it profitable. i'm really not busting your balls-- but sometimes these things aren't apparent, and there's only so much time in a day-- so explaining it can be tricky in terms of being polite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ron Burgandy Posted June 9, 2011 Members Share Posted June 9, 2011 Bull{censored}...it's not my fault when I go to the yellow pages and look up a contractor, call him up, sounds fine on the phone, willing to pay him whatever he asks, and he doesn't show up to do the work. Where do you get this {censored}? If people don't want to work they shouldn't advertise. ugh, I meant us as a people overall. we have driven out so many quality people that we're left with the majority of them being crapholes with skil saws like D said above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members glenecho Posted June 9, 2011 Members Share Posted June 9, 2011 the OTHER thing is-- a lotta guys HATE small jobs. the toughest aspect is load-in, load out, and getting your materials. if you're in a tough spot, or you have a little job for not much bang for the buck... it's not seen as a good job. Then all they have to do is say "no". I'm not asking these people to do me favors or work for free. It's not like I've put a gun to these guys' heads and said "YOU MUST DO THIS WORK". It's work they've agreed to do, signed a contract for, that they've been paid half for up front, and I'll be damned if nearly every single time they don't finish the work and then I have to start making the godamn phone calls. I've never once bitched about price or about how many people they need to do the work. I at least have a good exterminator...but that's about the only reliable help we've been able to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted June 9, 2011 Members Share Posted June 9, 2011 Then all they have to do is say "no". I'm not asking these people to do me favors or work for free. It's not like I've put a gun to these guys' heads and said "YOU MUST DO THIS WORK". It's work they've agreed to do, signed a contract for, that they've been paid half for up front, and I'll be damned if nearly every single time they don't finish the work and then I have to start making the godamn phone calls. I've never once bitched about price or about how many people they need to do the work.I at least have a good exterminator...but that's about the only reliable help we've been able to find. i hear ya. sometimes you just do have bad luck- and there's no shortage of jerks out there on either end. i'd send you good guys if you were local! talk to your exterminator and see who HIS people are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OverDriven Posted June 9, 2011 Author Members Share Posted June 9, 2011 jeez.. you guys must be looking in the wrong place for contractors. i guess being in the trades, i have a different opinion on the topic.. or at least marginally. most of the guys i consort with on a REGULAR basis definitely give a {censored}, and show up-- but a lot of the problem IS that people lowball and lowball to the point that joebob home depot buys a 10 amp skil saw and calls himself 'carpenter'... hangs out his craigslist shingle, and goes to work 'for less'. well.. that dude couldn't hold ANY job, and with his 'training'... you get what you pay for- crap. service, communication, follow up.. all that stuff costs money, and people want bottom dollar pricing. that works for wal-mart... sort of. but it doesn't really work for a service industry. hell.. you pay doctors exorbitant rates to give you antibiotics to 'cure' a cold ( )... if you pay more for a real contractor to do work for you in a building you LIVE IN, you stand a chance of getting good service. not to excuse ANY of it.. 'cause not communicating is terrible biz.. but it's not ONLY the fault of contractors. Doesn't apply. I don't lowball. I put money where my mouth is every day. This company is know for having no problem with spending the cash as long as the end result is there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted June 9, 2011 Members Share Posted June 9, 2011 Doesn't apply. I don't lowball. I put money where my mouth is every day. This company is know for having no problem with spending the cash as long as the end result is there. not YOU, necessarily. just like it's not about GlenEcho-- it's just a general trend, and we all get to be collateral damage. in talking with a 72 year old MONSTER trim carpenter i used to work with-- he said he actually made less money NOW with 50 years of experience, than he did in 1962. not in adjusted income-- in ACTUAL US dollars in regular arabic numerals. yikes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Say Ocean Posted June 9, 2011 Members Share Posted June 9, 2011 On a much smaller scale, I've been waiting for this piano tuner to show up for 45 {censored}ing minutes now What the {censored} would make a piano tuner this busy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JKD Posted June 9, 2011 Members Share Posted June 9, 2011 On a much smaller scale, I've been waiting for this piano tuner to show up for 45 {censored}ing minutes now What the {censored} would make a piano tuner this busy Boning the MILF needing her 'piano tuned' ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Say Ocean Posted June 9, 2011 Members Share Posted June 9, 2011 Boning the MILF needing her 'piano tuned' ? You ever seen a piano tuner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ShaneV2 Posted June 9, 2011 Members Share Posted June 9, 2011 On a much smaller scale, I've been waiting for this piano tuner to show up for 45 {censored}ing minutes now What the {censored} would make a piano tuner this busy Sorry, our Wyle E. Coyote fan convention got a little carried away. I don't think it was a good idea letting us stay in the same hotel as that 20th story grand piano showroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hecticone Posted June 9, 2011 Members Share Posted June 9, 2011 On a much smaller scale, I've been waiting for this piano tuner to show up for 45 {censored}ing minutes now What the {censored} would make a piano tuner this busy Humidity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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