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Posted: 4/26/2023 2:09:16 PM EDT
[#1]
My favorite thing to do is cancel bids on people who try to pull the "I found someone who will do it for X price" when you know they're full of shit about it.
I recently went out and bid an interior repaint, house was 2,381 living square feet. Including materials, I quoted the homeowner $3300. She said she found someone that would do it for half that price.... alright, hope you lock up your jewelry and young children because anybody who is willing to paint a house for 71 cents a square foot, in 2023, is either not doing a good job, or wants to rob you blind in the process.  Keep in mind, they just paid almost $800k for this house and wanted to re-do the interior with a $1700 paint job.  I've only been canceled by one customer (whom I got through my other business), and I knew that most likely they were going to be a PITA before I started, just because of how indecisive and pushy they were. That lesson "only" cost me about $900 or so, which after years of doing this I figure is probably a pretty small loss. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 2:17:46 PM EDT
[#2]
Hired a crew from a lock and safe company to move a safe (that I did not buy from them) from the garage to inside the house. They finished the job earlier than the time expected so the bill was going to be around $80 less. Paid the original quote and told them to have lunch on me. No regrets.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 2:17:47 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted: 99% chance the following preceded your trip: 1. Something went wrong...probably something simple like a switch or receptacle failure...possibly even a tripped breaker 2. Wife says she's calling an electrician. 3. Husband says fuck that, I'm a man, I can do this myself. 4. After hours, days, possibly months of him putting it off, he attempts and either can't figure it out or fucks it up even worse than it was before...possibly almost burning his house down in the process 5. Wife calls electrician to fix husbands fuck up. Most husbands make sure they're not in the house when the professional comes to fix their shit. Some, like the fella you encountered, double down on stupidity. We get the call at least once a month, goes like this ... My husband........ 
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Posted: 4/26/2023 2:18:08 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Years ago I had some work on on my hvac in my attic and the guy asked me to stay up there to hand him tools and assist if I wouldn't mind. Last winter I had some work done on the other furnace and used a different company and asked the guy if he needed me to stay or leave him alone. He says you can stay if you want. I not so jokingly say "I don't want to honestly, and will let you get to work. Just wanted to make sure you didn't need me to get you anything". He goes well, you can go and flip on and off the thermostat when I yell for you to. So that is how I become a helper every time I hire someone. Do Tradesmen want you to stick around and help? Seems like it would just be getting in the way. Maybe I should stop offering because I don't want to get in the way, but i also don't want to look lazy. But I really feel awkward standing around. I've even tried the "Let me know if you need anything " route, but they always say "Well actually, if you could go do this and that, I'll be done quicker". So off I go becoming the apprentice for the day.  , and maybe to clean up after I'm done (if its a small mess, I would never expect anyone to clean up major construction)For me, it definitely helps when I'm figuring up the bill. 
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Posted: 4/26/2023 2:19:12 PM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted: My favorite thing to do is cancel bids on people who try to pull the "I found someone who will do it for X price" when you know they're full of shit about it. I recently went out and bid an interior repaint, house was 2,381 living square feet. Including materials, I quoted the homeowner $3300. She said she found someone that would do it for half that price.... alright, hope you lock up your jewelry and young children because anybody who is willing to paint a house for 71 cents a square foot, in 2023, is either not doing a good job, or wants to rob you blind in the process. I am going to do it myself though. Not because I don't want to pay or I am looking to have it done dirt cheap. I know how much work it's going to be and it should come with a "this is going to be a pain in the ass" price tag. But because at this point, I can't trust not to come home to paint all over my floors and a sloppy mess. My message in this thread is that it's not just unreasonable and idiot customers. They for sure exist and fuck those customers, let them wallow in their shit. The world has changed for everyone though and finding someone in 2023 who will do a good job for the money they are asking, is just as much of a nightmare for us homeowners. The truth of the situation that we now all have to live in, lies somewhere in the middle. It's changed for us too. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 2:20:26 PM EDT
[#6]
Should have turned you head slightly, looked at him askance, and asked "Are you OK?"
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Posted: 4/26/2023 2:21:48 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted: People are assholes. Just seems that there is a bumper crop of them since the pandemic bullshit. Absolutely accurate |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 2:42:43 PM EDT
[#8]
Do you know how you starve an electrician?
Hide his paycheck under the jobsite broom. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 3:35:58 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted: We get the call at least once a month, goes like this ... My husband........ Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: 99% chance the following preceded your trip: 1. Something went wrong...probably something simple like a switch or receptacle failure...possibly even a tripped breaker 2. Wife says she's calling an electrician. 3. Husband says fuck that, I'm a man, I can do this myself. 4. After hours, days, possibly months of him putting it off, he attempts and either can't figure it out or fucks it up even worse than it was before...possibly almost burning his house down in the process 5. Wife calls electrician to fix husbands fuck up. Most husbands make sure they're not in the house when the professional comes to fix their shit. Some, like the fella you encountered, double down on stupidity. We get the call at least once a month, goes like this ... My husband........ I found a shop to fix something on my truck that I fucked up while replacing steering rack bushings. I knew I was in the right place when I said I did X, now it makes sound Y, which supposedly is Z, and I don't wanna fuck this up anymore. The guy looked over and said something about that's probably what it was, and he could have the part in a couple days and he'd call me when he had space. I'm sure they laughed after I left. But I never understood denying what you did. Just makes the diagnosing harder. Even if I came to the wrong conclusions, here's what I know, and what I did. Pretty please take my money? I'm already pissed at myself.  They were a good shop, and one of the reasons I'm annoyed we moved as quickly as we did. 
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Posted: 4/26/2023 4:47:27 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Years ago I had some work on on my hvac in my attic and the guy asked me to stay up there to hand him tools and assist if I wouldn't mind. Last winter I had some work done on the other furnace and used a different company and asked the guy if he needed me to stay or leave him alone. He says you can stay if you want. I not so jokingly say "I don't want to honestly, and will let you get to work. Just wanted to make sure you didn't need me to get you anything". He goes well, you can go and flip on and off the thermostat when I yell for you to. So that is how I become a helper every time I hire someone. Do Tradesmen want you to stick around and help? Seems like it would just be getting in the way. Maybe I should stop offering because I don't want to get in the way, but i also don't want to look lazy. But I really feel awkward standing around. I've even tried the "Let me know if you need anything " route, but they always say "Well actually, if you could go do this and that, I'll be done quicker". So off I go becoming the apprentice for the day. I actually enjoy being an apprentice for the day. I get to learn new skills and hopefully make their day easier. I supply them with bottled water or soda and always give them a $20 in cash for their lunch. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 4:53:10 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Do you know how you starve an electrician? Hide his paycheck under the jobsite broom. Yep so true ! we dont clean up shit! |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 5:10:49 PM EDT
[#12]
I grew up on a farm in an old house. My grandfather built the house, wired it when electricity became available, and my father added the plumbing. I was doing basic plumbing and electrical work as long as I can remember. I recall one of my cousins asking me how I knew what to do when they saw me updating a ceiling fixture. I was probably 14 at the time. I built a new house over 20 years ago and it was all contracted out. I recognized it was way over my head and my involvement amounted to dropping by every day or so to see what I could do to get them what they needed. The house is 12 miles from most of the contractors were based. But, 6 months after moving in, the washing machine hookup started leaking. I called the plumber and it was fixed under warrantee. It leaked again 6 months later. This time I fixed it myself and it's been trouble free for over 20 years. I also had trouble with my waterheater that first year. It's combi unit, providing hot water to the house, and heating water for an in floor heating system. Called the repairman because I knew nothing about these units. The plumber played a game of replacing parts, some of them needing him to go the 25 mile roundtrip to get the parts. He took so long his boss told him I was going to get charged mileage for the next part needed. He wasn't joking around. So I was about to get charged for what amounted to this guy's training. He got it working and left. A month later it stopped working. I replaced one part and it worked for 10 years before needing any repair. I tend to not call professionals to do work I think I can do myself. I do know my limits, and when I'm in over my head, I leave it to professionals who know what they are doing, as long as it isn't basic electrical and plumbing. I can blindly replace parts as fast as they can. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 5:23:22 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I'm so happy when a tradesmen responds to my emails and voice messages offering them money for their services I could shit myself. I call four and five times in two weeks leaving messages on the business answering machine, fill out contact forms on the web site, and send emails later on in the month. There are companies that I've been trying to do business with for two years and they don't want the money. When I do get a company to pump my septic, patch a hole in the roof, or deliver firewood I offer the workers soft drinks, snacks, and tip afterwords. I'm thinking of hiring a cute girl to do foot massages to see if that helps. I have been trying to get a concrete pad roughly 45'x26' 5 inches thick put down for 2 years....around 8 contractors...all ghosted after a few emails or text messages. None have showed up to even meet with me or inspect the job in person. I only gave a description of what I needed and that a city permit had to be pulled....  . Haven't asked in the past 8 months because my field of fucks is barren over the matter currently.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 5:33:32 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Yep so true ! we dont clean up shit! Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Do you know how you starve an electrician? Hide his paycheck under the jobsite broom. Yep so true ! we dont clean up shit! Ain’t that the truth! Every tool in the van except for a broom. Damn Sparkys leaving a trail of Romex sheathing, crimp cuts, and speed bore dust all over the damn place. And of course, y’all are training your helpers well. They at least get the empty reels in the vicinity of the empty 30yd can, but never in it. But hey, when I find some framing fucked up, it’s easy to tell who was on site last  (Former IBEW local 103 ) |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 5:34:42 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I think I might be overly nice to contractors when I hire them. I feel guilty for not doing the work myself. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 5:39:29 PM EDT
[#16]
If hes starting off like that, you did good. Fuck em'
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Posted: 4/26/2023 5:44:23 PM EDT
[#17]
I did not read all six pages of this thread, but in my construction-adjacent industry, we often see bids with what we refer to as the 'asshole tax'. When you see a bid that is three times higher than what you'd expect, it's often the contractor's polite way of saying 'the only way I'd put up with your shit is if you paid me three times as much to be out here'. Amazing how often this tax is present in the rich-adjacent neighborhoods.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 5:44:35 PM EDT
[#18]
I’m planning to build a shop in a few years. I plan on paying a family friend who does it for a living to be the general contractor. I trust him and will gladly pay the premium to have him get it done right.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 5:53:05 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Good walk OP. Guy was an insecure douche. You'll see them if you ever browse the bogleheads forum. Every other post about something labor related is worrying whether or not they'll get scammed or if they got scammed. It's pretty annoying. Then you also have the folks with no common sense, like this one guy now who has never used a chainsaw asking if he should cut down a leaning tree himself or hire a tree service. Word...I regularly read bogleheads... |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 6:22:26 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted: My favorite thing to do is cancel bids on people who try to pull the "I found someone who will do it for X price" when you know they're full of shit about it. I recently went out and bid an interior repaint, house was 2,381 living square feet. Including materials, I quoted the homeowner $3300. She said she found someone that would do it for half that price.... alright, hope you lock up your jewelry and young children because anybody who is willing to paint a house for 71 cents a square foot, in 2023, is either not doing a good job, or wants to rob you blind in the process. Keep in mind, they just paid almost $800k for this house and wanted to re-do the interior with a $1700 paint job. I've only been canceled by one customer (whom I got through my other business), and I knew that most likely they were going to be a PITA before I started, just because of how indecisive and pushy they were. That lesson "only" cost me about $900 or so, which after years of doing this I figure is probably a pretty small loss. You paint in MS? Sounds like a good price to me.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 6:31:16 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Go back and bang his wife. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 6:35:26 PM EDT
[#22]
There are a lot of really stupid, self-consumed, selfish folks in the world. I kinda think more now than ever.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 6:46:06 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted: $25/hr to watch. $50/hr to help. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: I'm an asshole customer in a different way. I can do a lot of the work, sometimes better, many times worse. I also like it being done when I get home. I also understand the work required to get it done. Which I appreciate. I often stick around and want to learn the process and the approach of the tradesman. I also learn nobody wants a backpack. Couldn't do it as a living, thanks to those who can! $25/hr to watch. $50/hr to help. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 6:49:05 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I did not read all six pages of this thread, but in my construction-adjacent industry, we often see bids with what we refer to as the 'asshole tax'. When you see a bid that is three times higher than what you'd expect, it's often the contractor's polite way of saying 'the only way I'd put up with your shit is if you paid me three times as much to be out here'. Amazing how often this tax is present in the rich-adjacent neighborhoods. I call that a 'FOAD' quote...Fuck Off And Die... |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 6:50:12 PM EDT
[#25]
I must be a weirdo.. I used to make knives for sale, but after dealing with people who would try and chew down the price that would have had me paying $150 for materials, and work 20 hours on a knife, then they want me to sell to them for $175. I would rather give the knives I make to friends than end up working for less than a dollar an hour. As a result, I have much greater respect for the time and work of other people than most folks. Even the guy that weeds my gardens is paid fairly and his time is respected.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 6:50:44 PM EDT
[#26]
When I was a home inspector, I had to tell a few Realtors to lose my phone number...major PITA some of them were.
Always older females, too... |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 6:52:05 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Doctors and Lawyers seem to be some of the worst. Even if they know nothing about it a lot of them think they are experts because they are experts in their field.  It has always been my experience doctors are insufferable. My background is in economics and they will publish economic articles in different, non economic, journals. They are so bad. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 6:54:53 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Go back and bang his wife. Also post pics. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 6:55:29 PM EDT
[#29]
Quoted: Any of my fellow tradesmen seeing this trend of extremely rude customers trending more? People are getting more thin skinned, brittle, and outright hostile. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 6:55:42 PM EDT
[#30]
Did he sound like potato Joe?
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Posted: 4/26/2023 6:58:32 PM EDT
[#31]
laughs in autotech.
people say shit like that all the time. the more they talk, the more it costs
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Posted: 4/26/2023 7:03:24 PM EDT
[#32]
When a local hvac guy came to replace my heat exchanger I cleaned the entire area and brought in proper lighting and a chair for him to use while he disconnected everything. I offered him ice water and checked on him every 30 minutes or so without interrupting his train of thought. I carried out the pieces as he removed them and kept the area clear.
Insulting him never entered my mind. He did me a huge favor only charging $800. I know I'll need him again and he will remember being respected and paid without complaint. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 7:04:14 PM EDT
[#33]
Guys that have been extending my patio have gotten home made Texas hot links and bday cake from a locally famous Dutch bakery so far. After they put my smoker back on the patio on Friday, they'll be getting brisket the following day.
Some people just suck. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 7:10:25 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted: People are getting more thin skinned, brittle, and outright hostile. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 7:14:42 PM EDT
[#35]
Worst assholes, management, especially if they get a little up the ladder and welfare/UE lifetime moochers.
No you are NOT my boss and no, you don't get ''free shit'' because you're a deadbeat. And you stinky Mo FO's and your houses, fix your own shit you nasty SOB's. A fresh shit in your house would be a pleasant diversion to the stench in there already. And yes, I CAN smell you nasty herd of cats and all their shit and piss you don't bother to clean up after. And quit with the ''I was just going to clean up a bit, it's a bit messy.'' No you weren't, it would take 3 days to even see part of the floor and you haven't ''cleaned up a bit'' in a couple of years. And for Gods sake, if you have fleas, say so, no customer after me want's the damn things in their house. I find A single flea on me and my ass is gone. Don't bother telling me you didn't know you had them because I know you did. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 7:45:59 PM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Yep so true ! we dont clean up shit! We sub some of the big boys in town once and awhile. When they leave their shit laying around, and they always do, I am the first PM to call them on it and make them come back and pick it up. The field guys hate me for it. I swear, they teach this shit in electrician apprenticeship school. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 8:56:29 PM EDT
[#37]
Quoted: " I just can't have uneducated people in my home and take the chance on you or your ill trained employees burring my house down." Let me guess, have your master electrical cert/license. Yep, somehow you get white collar working class, that does not have a clue what it takes to get trade certified in the first place. Hence just look at the construction trades like they all just swam across the boarder, stole some tools at the nearest house after crossing, this is the first project they are showing up on still wet from the crossing that morning. As for the part I really get a kick out of, when the white class workers finds out what a union certified blue collar trade worker really makes/what training and certs it took to get there, they really loose their shite in disbelief since it not what they were taught to believe in the first place. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:06:41 PM EDT
[#38]
Fuck his wife op.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:08:30 PM EDT
[#39]
I experienced almost the same thing about a month ago. Woman contacted me about doing some driveway work, so I showed up to look at what they wanted. She came outside, started telling me what they were looking to do and asking for advice. While we were talking, I saw this guy walking towards us who looked like he just got back from sleeping off a hangover, complete with a disheveled look.
He walks up to us and starts asking me rapid fire questions and not letting me answer. He was Eastern European of some sort, like Czechoslovakian, Hungarian, or Russian or something and his accent made it even harder to understand what he was saying. After about a minute of him constantly interrupting me, I was just about to say, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I will be able to help you," but he beat me to the punch and told me get out of there. I said something along the lines of "Don't worry, I'm leaving anyway."
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:17:42 PM EDT
[#40]
Paramedic. Countless times I’ve responded to a 911 call and had to tell the person “You called me for help, if you keep acting like a jerk I’m walking out of here.”
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:26:27 PM EDT
[#41]
Try explaining to the Xanaxed, washed up feminist boomers that the reason their new plumbing fixtures are dripping is because they're too retarded to operate a faucet handle.
Not kidding, this happens probably once every couple of months. The best is the no hot water calls because they're turning single handle faucets the wrong way. |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:28:29 PM EDT
[#42]
Heavy Civil, Commercial & Industrial. FTMFW!
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:28:48 PM EDT
[#43]
sounds like he fired himself before even starting
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:36:23 PM EDT
[#44]
~2001 or so
Yup. I walked out of a few houses with my assistant. All were time/materials repair scenarios. 2 were like yours where we didn't even get started. One went ballistic when we came to a stopping point at about 5:00 PM, and said we would be back the next day. They expected us to stay all night if necessary. They refused to pay for the day's work as agreed upon. I then dumped their original programming back into their remotes and left. They had already tested the 3 remotes. Needless to say, they were beyond angry when they discovered what I had done after we had left the house. Dr. Cocksucker and former Cowboy cheerleader wife. 
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:46:44 PM EDT
[#45]
I asked a plumber coming in on a job my wife called him for. pipe was leaking behind the shower . I asked if came last time and was familiar with the issue and instead of saying no or yes he replied with "There is no way I could possibly remember. I go to different houses". I answered ok and he proceeded to stare at me and then before I could explain he said he would just figure it out. I bit my lip . I had to leave for a while and my stepson and daughter stayed while he worked . When I got back I walked into my bedroom to change and came out . I asked where he was and my step children stated he spent the last 5 minutes while I was in my bedroom complaining to them about how rude I was. Needless to say he wont be returning .
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Posted: 4/26/2023 9:53:37 PM EDT
[#46]
I can do some minor stuff around the house. But when its time to call someone in its a done deal. I will stick around the house, offer water or Gator Aid. and point them to a shutoff or breaker if necessary. I always tell the trades people thank you and appreciate the work they do. The price is the price, I may not like it but the alternative is no living in the house. And that just sucks when AC isnt working in the summer, or heat in the winter, or plumbing (any time).
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Posted: 4/26/2023 10:01:05 PM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Do you know how you starve an electrician? Hide his paycheck under the jobsite broom. 
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Posted: 4/26/2023 10:02:48 PM EDT
[#48]
I have had to fire a few ….. customers that is.
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Posted: 4/26/2023 10:05:41 PM EDT
[#49]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I have had to fire a few ….. customers that is. I have had a dimmer hooked up to my fans for 30 years!!!!!! |
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Posted: 4/26/2023 10:07:07 PM EDT
[#50]
I work commercial/industrial but just wanted to say well done, you handled yourself perfectly.
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