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Old 12-02-2010, 06:57 PM
 
Location: Pipe Creek, TX
2,793 posts, read 6,018,270 times
Reputation: 1603

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Our tile guy finally came over this evening and did the measure stuff, etc. He said they are extremely busy this year as compared to last year, so I figure that's a good thing.
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Old 12-03-2010, 06:24 AM
 
Location: Charleston, SC
5,615 posts, read 14,742,758 times
Reputation: 2555
Quote:
Originally Posted by sa dave View Post
Bump....
Three times this week, I have called flooring [tile] specialists that let me know an hour past the appointment that they can't show up.

Tile person number three gave me the whole, I left my phone in the car, I was working late and I'm not sure when I can stop by. I finally told him, look buddy...its close to the holidays, its a one day job with a good payout. It should be worth your while. But if its not - no big deal; there's another guy out there that wants to buy his kids gifts. Snarky and condescending is not my style, but it was brewing in me the whole week.

Even though I'm not an apple eater, I understand that it takes just a few bad apples to spoil the bunch. The best one can do is stay positive, not over-generalize, and don't take it personal....
Contractors Direct sells wet saws and the big boxes sell thinset... It's not rocket surgery you know.
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Old 12-03-2010, 07:22 AM
 
360 posts, read 770,528 times
Reputation: 368
Good to know SS...so when can you start?
And I believe the term is rocket science.
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Old 12-03-2010, 08:03 AM
 
Location: Charleston, SC
5,615 posts, read 14,742,758 times
Reputation: 2555
Quote:
Originally Posted by sa dave View Post
Good to know SS...so when can you start?
And I believe the term is rocket science.
For one I require round trip tickets from Charleston since I don't live in SA anymore. It's kind of funny though, I managed to beat contractors friends have used. I go slow and steady, they work fast... when you can get them to show up. The John Bridge forums - http://johnbridge.com - answered all my newbie tile questions my first couple of times around. But anyway.

Rocket surgery as a field has been around a while - it's very complicated you know.
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Old 12-03-2010, 08:47 AM
 
360 posts, read 770,528 times
Reputation: 368
LOL!
I thought you were in Seattle...
And yes yes, very correct, I wikipedia'ed it: Rocket Surgery, is the operating on the brains, removing the tonsils from, or the transplantation of rocket organs. jk. Just yanking your chain.

Thanks for your advice.
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Old 12-03-2010, 10:38 AM
 
10 posts, read 17,556 times
Reputation: 10
I work for a service company & we give exact time frames for our Paying clients & we always call if we get delayed for any reason. The people who want free estimates are not given exact times. We give them a choice to pay for an appointment or to get put into a que for a free visit. The ones who want it free are almost always the most demanding & do not want to pay a fair price for the work. I'm not saying you are like this I'm just telling you that I have worked with this inustry for 30 years and this is what I have observed. If you are willing to pay a fair price for work, you will get more reliable contractors, if you are looking for bargain service that is what you will get.
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Old 12-03-2010, 12:35 PM
 
1,552 posts, read 2,316,828 times
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We just had a tradesperson come on time to look at a repair that we might need. He determined we didn't need it and our worry was unfounded. I asked him how much, he said - NO charge. We have used and paid him in the past though.

But my original point was and still is - that maybe you want to be paid for an estimate or want to give a range of times. So say SO! Don't say you will show and don't. That's not right.
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Old 12-03-2010, 12:59 PM
 
10 posts, read 17,556 times
Reputation: 10
But my original point was and still is - that maybe you want to be paid for an estimate or want to give a range of times.

I believe that is what I said we do.

It's fine to do free calls for repeat clients but again, if you request a free trip you have to understand that a business has to put paying clients first. After all they have to pay their overhead.

I was not aiming any sarcasm or insult toward enyone just giving informaiton from the tradespersons perspective. The business I work in pays our tech's by the hour. When we go out and don't collect, we still have to pay the tech, the gas and all the overhead associated with that call. We have to limit the number of estimates we give in order to keep our overhead within reasonable limits. If you are a homeowner you are thinking about your issue, and rightfuly so; you want the best service for the best price but the business is also thinking about the issue of the overhead required to provide the service and still be around to warranty the service or product. There are always 2 points of view to a problem I also believe it is not right to be a no show but again, in my experiance the issue has a lot to do with the price of doing business.
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Old 12-05-2010, 01:06 PM
 
1,552 posts, read 2,316,828 times
Reputation: 1139
That's not the point. If you say you will come at X time, you made a promise. If your policy is to make an appointment with the knowledge that you will ditch it if something better comes along, you should say that when you make the appointment.

If you never even inform the person that you aren't showing, so I lose time from work - you are flat out wrong.

Thus, your tradesperson perspective does not to talk to the behavior I initially described.
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Old 12-05-2010, 05:06 PM
 
177 posts, read 356,781 times
Reputation: 162
Had to post a GOOD experience, which is nice for a change: No hot water this morning, called AAA Auger and they were out within two hours on a Sunday. Figured out sediment (no, I'm not mad at my hubby even though I warned it it was time to drain the water heater) had filled up to the point it made the heating element shut off. When it's about to overheat, I guess it shuts itself off. The repairman drained the water heat for us, re-set the switch, filled it back up and said "No charge". What a treat right at the holidays!!!! I've used them twice now and won't consider anyone else.
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