You gotta do it cheaper man... RANT!

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Seriously, what is it with people anymore? Is there something that I am just not understanding?

What I am talking about is all of the people that scream for the cheapest price possible. I mean, I certainly understand about wanting to get the most for your money. And why shouldn't you? You worked hard for it. But it is impossible for a reputable company with tools, equipment, insurance and the like to bid against someone with a shovel and pickup truck.

When you hire a contractor to do a job, you are paying them not just for their tools and equipment, but also for the knowledge they have. And when you pick a contractor with a solid reputation that has all of the equipment and insurance, you are also paying for the fact that if something goes wrong in a year or two, they will still be around. When you pick the cheapest, you may just hear this when you call because of a problem: "dee Dee DEE We're sorry, but the number you're trying to reach is no longer in service. Please check the number and dial again."

I am not trying to say that the best contractor to pick is the most expensive either. I am just saying that I think people should look into things more carefully. I have seen a lot of people that will spend weeks deciding on what $15,000 car to buy, but when they need a $18,000 driveway put in, they just pick whoever is cheaper and never check to see if the contractor they pick is actually able to do something that lasts more than the first year. I don't know about you, but that is an absurdity that I just am not able to wrap my head around.

And the problem seems to have gotten worse now with the whole scare over the economy. I have actually had people that asked for a price on something, and when I gave my bid (which I had already shaved as close as I dared), they promptly said "Well, you know the economy is really bad right now so everybody has to cheapen their prices and all..." Every time that I've heard a form of that in response to my bid, the result has been the same. They want it done for the cost of materials. And sometimes they do not even want to pay that much. I'm sorry, I do not need the exercise bad enough to want to pay for the ability to work, I can do that by staying home and working around the house.

What I am driving at is that I am tired of spending my time and gas to bid on jobs (free estimates), and then finding out that the person never intended to spend even enough to cover the cost of materials, much less labor. (Oh, yeah, I love the ones that are "willing" to provide the materials and just pay someone hourly or something ridiculous like $75/day to do something highly skilled and that requires specialized tools. And you do carry insurance, right?)

I am not trying to get rich off of each job. I am simply trying to get enough to cover my bills and maybe have a few extra dollars to go out on the town once in awhile. Is it really that much to ask to get enough money to make a living?




I copied that from my blog... this crap is seriously starting to drive me up a wall. I know I don't work for free, but I also know of other contractors around the country that are charging considerably more than I do an hour (like around $80 an hour) that do some similar work. So why should I bust my hump for $9 an hour? I could work at mickey-D's for that kind of money and they'd pay my healthcare....

 

[bcost882]

yea, i see stuff like this everyday. now i'm not saying i know exactly how you feel..... i don't, i'm in the military. but just the way people with mom and pop jobs can't get a fair deal on doing something(and doing it well). If i owned a house i would want quality work done. not like when my parents had to repair a couple sinking holes at the back door of the house and find out they shoved the bags the cement came in in the hole in the blocks....... who does that. thats a big reason the economy is slumped.... everyone wants it done cheap and some of the people that do the job cut corners to make extra profit..... thus making those that actually do quality work and give a crap look bad.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

yea, i see stuff like this everyday. now i'm not saying i know exactly how you feel..... i don't, i'm in the military. but just the way people with mom and pop jobs can't get a fair deal on doing something(and doing it well). If i owned a house i would want quality work done. not like when my parents had to repair a couple sinking holes at the back door of the house and find out they shoved the bags the cement came in in the hole in the blocks....... who does that. thats a big reason the economy is slumped.... everyone wants it done cheap and some of the people that do the job cut corners to make extra profit..... thus making those that actually do quality work and give a crap look bad.

Yep, people want quality but don't want to pay for it.... gotta love that... So they get crap and then wonder why it came out like crap....

I do have a few customers that are repeat business. They call me and ask me about doing something and just ask for a number to know how much they need to have on hand when the job is done. They don't even bother looking for other prices because they've been so happy with the work I've done that they know it will be done right the first time. I just wish I could find a few more of those...

 

[adsm08]

Thats it! When I go to build my garage, you sir, are getting a call!

 

[Tiollib]

That is how my dad's business is. He had a big job once. Was at $26k bidding for labor. That was with three guys to build a salon from the ground up. They were an asian couple, and they had one already. Just wanted to build another in town. My dad has been doing carpentry since he was 16 and now is 46. He knows his stuff. They didnt want to pay for the quality. They hired a group of mexicans for a lot less. I don't have nothing against mexicans. Just the ones illegally that steal jobs like that from citizens.

 

[Shran]

Part of the problem is that the cost of everything is going up and wages are flat or declining. I don't blame people at all for doing things as cheap as possible. I could never afford a contractor to do anything - I HAVE to do things for myself and cheap because paying somebody else just costs too much. I make around 32k a year and I have no idea how people who make less than I do can afford to do anything.

 

[Ozwynn]

I copied that from my blog... this crap is seriously starting to drive me up a wall. I know I don't work for free, but I also know of other contractors around the country that are charging considerably more than I do an hour (like around $80 an hour) that do some similar work. So why should I bust my hump for $9 an hour? I could work at mickey-D's for that kind of money and they'd pay my healthcare....

This would be why my tractor has not moved since DEC 17 09.

Part of the problem is that the cost of everything is going up and wages are flat or declining. I don't blame people at all for doing things as cheap as possible. I could never afford a contractor to do anything - I HAVE to do things for myself and cheap because paying somebody else just costs too much. I make around 32k a year and I have no idea how people who make less than I do can afford to do anything.

Are you ready for this...... after I paid all my expenses and liabilities.... for the whole year ...... I came out $21,589 for 2009.

we spend between $650 - $800 a month on food and toiletries.


I think this year I am actually going to take the EIC when I do my taxes.

 

[trail B2]

The other thing that happens is like fourwheelinford was saying they have the experienced guy go on a new lot.This guy lays out how things can work ideas to make the finished product better then they take the ideas to backhoe billy who does it for less with no overhead.My favorite are the traveling workers who were in town that laid pavement on dry ground base no, compaction no,water no .An hour prep on a 200 ft drive and were laying pavement.The other thing that sucks is that because some people have insurance and equipment debt so to get some money moving there doing jobs for less than cost because it's cheaper than parking equipment that's not paid for.So what happens is not only are they not making any money on the job but screwing the chance for any one else to make money too.

 

[Shran]

Are you ready for this...... after I paid all my expenses and liabilities.... for the whole year ...... I came out $21,589 for 2009.

we spend between $650 - $800 a month on food and toiletries.


I think this year I am actually going to take the EIC when I do my taxes.

After taxes and child support are taken out of my check I take home just over $18k.

How can the government effectively stimulate the economy? Lower taxes. I would have at least $150 more a month to spend.

How in the hell do you spend $800 a month on food and stuff anyway? I spend at most $150 for me and my kid and I eat out a lot.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Thats it! When I go to build my garage, you sir, are getting a call!

That is how my dad's business is. He had a big job once. Was at $26k bidding for labor. That was with three guys to build a salon from the ground up. They were an asian couple, and they had one already. Just wanted to build another in town. My dad has been doing carpentry since he was 16 and now is 46. He knows his stuff. They didnt want to pay for the quality. They hired a group of mexicans for a lot less. I don't have nothing against mexicans. Just the ones illegally that steal jobs like that from citizens.

It's sad that this is true... and it's not just the illegals that are doing it anymore. Some guy gets a hammer and tape measure and thinks he's a contractor. When he screws up some expensive job, he just walks away and refuses contact. So then the now irate homeowner wants to hire someone else and often only wants to pay the remainder of the original price. No thanks, I'm not fixing someone else's screwup for pennies.

Part of the problem is that the cost of everything is going up and wages are flat or declining. I don't blame people at all for doing things as cheap as possible. I could never afford a contractor to do anything - I HAVE to do things for myself and cheap because paying somebody else just costs too much. I make around 32k a year and I have no idea how people who make less than I do can afford to do anything.

I realize that costs go up and wages have not. It's been that way since the '80s, oddly enough. And I can understand wanting it done as cheaply as possible. My complaint is that people want things done cheaply and claim they want quality, but they often do not bother to look into anything, they just look at the lowest number. It's really not that difficult to check into a company.

And yes, I do realize that some people are not in a financial position to hire a contractor on a regular basis. So I try to keep my prices reasonable and work with customers as much as possible.

This would be why my tractor has not moved since DEC 17 09.



Are you ready for this...... after I paid all my expenses and liabilities.... for the whole year ...... I came out $21,589 for 2009.

we spend between $650 - $800 a month on food and toiletries.


I think this year I am actually going to take the EIC when I do my taxes.

I hear ya. My truck has gone out a fair amount, but it hasn't been taking me to work all that often. I've had just enough work each month since Sept/Nov of '09 to pay my bills and not much more. I've been using the extra time for other things, I got plenty to keep me busy without working for nothing.

And I'm afraid to see what my taxes are going to look like...

The other thing that happens is like fourwheelinford was saying they have the experienced guy go on a new lot.This guy lays out how things can work ideas to make the finished product better then they take the ideas to backhoe billy who does it for less with no overhead.My favorite are the traveling workers who were in town that laid pavement on dry ground base no, compaction no,water no .An hour prep on a 200 ft drive and were laying pavement.The other thing that sucks is that because some people have insurance and equipment debt so to get some money moving there doing jobs for less than cost because it's cheaper than parking equipment that's not paid for.So what happens is not only are they not making any money on the job but screwing the chance for any one else to make money too.

Yep, I've experienced that. It's a situation that's a bit upsetting for reputable contractors, but there is not really any way that I've been able to find around it. Copyrighting a design for redoing a yard or whatever does not help because the yahoo down the street with the backhoe that will do it for a case of beer only has to change one little thing to be able to say it was his idea.

 

[Spitfire1975]

I did landscape contract work. Try competing in an industry that is 25-50 an hour with the overhead of $20,000 trucks, $350 blowers that some idiot fills with regular gas, $200 weed wackers, $1000 lawn mowers that some idiot doesn't check the oil on, $30,000 Dingo's, bonds, insurance, Landscape Contractors Board looking to screw you over, permit costs, continuing education costs, massive illegal competition and the big guys that ARE legal cutting every corner and finding every loophole imaginable. We were running $250,000 gross a year, not huge, and I was losing money. Then the damn banks get bailed out and people are expecting my prices to go down. Screw that. I gave the banks back their money, their house and my headaches. Fired the guys, filed a bankruptcy, taking financial aid and getting a Masters in Landscape Architecture. Have more cash now than I ever did with business. Ain't gonna play that f***ed up game.

 

[mentalbreakdown00]

I run my own auto/ diesel repair shop. People are horrible about wanting cheapest, but say they want good stuff. I cannot, and will not work for free. People wonder why I have to charge them for things like a diagnosis, well let's see if you buy a few K scan tool, a volt meter, a power probe, and pay for your own monthly subsription to things like alldata and such, pay my jacked up light bill (because i'm a business in a building the taxes are higher on electricity), and all else I will diagnose your car for $10-$15 dollars sir. Oh, and by the way the first couple scan tools you may buy may not do everything that may need to be done so you might have to buy a couple more, I have 3 and run into things none of them will do..... sorry to rant in a rant...

 

[TheBeast]

It is caused by the ever growing gap between the blue collars and white collars. The blue collars have legitimate, practical sense that is used day to day. We understand what each dollar accounts for, when they only know the set amount gets them X. X could be anything, whether it be good quality or bad. They just want X, and want it for the cheapest amount, completely disregarding all common sense and practical knowledge of the situation. It's alot like buying a blue ray player, you find one for 80 dollars, and it is absolute junk, and they run around with their face all red pissed because the POS taiwanese junk broke, when a kid walking out bought a PS3 for 200 more, and hasn't been seen since.

 

[847b]

I am reminded....

"There's never money to do it right but there's always money to do it again"
-Joel5.0

 

[Hopman]

I am reminded....

"There's never money to do it right but there's always money to do it again"
-Joel5.0

How very true.

This got me thinking. I'll put my money into the good studd. For example, I'll drop $200 on a pair of godd Red Wing work boots. My friends might say "What'd you do that for? I pick up a pair for $50 at Wal-Mart."

My reasoning? They'll lastt 5 times as long as your cheapos, they'll fit my feet better so I won't be kvetching about them all day, and in the long run, I'll SAVE money because they won't be toast in three months, AND I'm helping keep my fellow Americans employed!

Oh yeah, if I EVER have ANY issue, my local Red Wing store, with a guy who deals with NOTHING BUT WORK BOOTS, is just a phone call away.

This is why I'm willing to pay for the good stuff.