Pet Peeves & Other Grumblings/What Peeve Do "You" Have Today???? (interesting, driver)
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That so irks me as a pedestrian! The crosswalk was design for pedestrians to cross not as a waiting point for the light! I recall once I was crossing a street with a cart load of groceries and this idiot extraordinaire comes up and blocks part of the crosswalk forcing me to walk dangerously close to a busy major street! I just wanted to whack him one!
Woulda been cool if you could have rolled the cart over his hood. I've heard of guys walking over the hood of a car to make that point.
When someone gives me a ballpark figure on the phone, I automatically add $100-200 to the quote, assuming they're going to run into problems, and there'll be incidental costs.
When Lowe's gave me that ironclad $660 quote on the phone, I added $200 automatically, figuring they'd come out here, run into problems, and there'd be furthur expenditures.
I'm still shocked to this day, that they never deviated one dollar from that quote as I had an extra $200 in my pocket, waiting for the unexpected.
If I had a more major remodeling project, I'd probably add $500 to the quote. $500 more? Fine and dandy with me!
I see the issue more from the POV of a consumer, too.
I acknowledge that rrtechno may represent those contractors who honestly have to adjust costs. It seems like you have a realistic view of that kind of thing. I do, too. My attitude to anyone I have to hire for something: I don't mind paying a fair price, but don't try to cheat me.
Generally, imo, lawyers, auto mechanics, and home contractors TEND to be some of the sneakiest and sometimes most obviously dishonest SOBs around. If they weren't mostly white guys, frankly, many of them would be in jail as the thieves they are. And I am a white guy saying that.
Then called Lowe's. They gave me a straight-up quote on the phone, I had to run to Lowe's to sign the contract in the a.m., it was installed the same day perfectly. $660! And I added $50 for a 5-year all-inclusive warranty.
Just out of curiosity, what exactly does that "5-year all-inclusive warranty" cover? They installed the same water heater as they would have if you hadn't bought the warranty, and most water heaters come with a minimum 6 year warranty. The installation should have been the same, warranty or not, and it would seem appropriate that the plumber installing it would have done a job that would have lasted that long without paying extra. Any problems on the installation would show up almost immediately and a reputable plumber would have fixed those without the "warranty".
Quote:
Originally Posted by tijlover
When Lowe's gave me that ironclad $660 quote on the phone, I added $200 automatically, figuring they'd come out here, run into problems, and there'd be furthur expenditures.
I'm still shocked to this day, that they never deviated one dollar from that quote as I had an extra $200 in my pocket, waiting for the unexpected.
That's because they have determined that if they install 20 water heaters, they should get $13,200, so they charge $660 each. You planned for the possibility that it might cost more. Good for you. Many people don't and will scream and holler and rant and rave and write letters if the bill is one cent over the estimate. If the actual cost of yours had been $590, wouldn't you have liked the bill to have reflected the actual cost of the install.
By the way, many people do not know the difference between an estimate and a quote.
Location: El Segundo/All of South Bay up to Palos Verdes
987 posts, read 1,746,424 times
Reputation: 4671
My Grumbling for today..
All too common. We (husband & I carpool), driving the long roads from our home to the freeway at 5:00 AM (you would think it would be pleasant), but ofcourse theres always something...
This jeep was coming way far behind, as we can see his headlights. When we turned the corner to the next long road, we saw that jeep go right through the stop sign, tailgate us, and then cut us off and sped off. I told my husband, "Well he showed us!!" "darn slowpokes"!
Funny thing (as I predicted) we all ended up at the same place, the Cross-Light before getting on the freeway, and we were side by side, ofcourse them being cowards, had that cheap tinted windows, but I still could see their faces & ofcourse they were looking straight ahead, avoiding us., although as soon as the light turned green, they sped off again....
Oh why, oh why do people do such stupid immature things......
mind boggling.....
Just out of curiosity, what exactly does that "5-year all-inclusive warranty" cover? They installed the same water heater as they would have if you hadn't bought the warranty, and most water heaters come with a minimum 6 year warranty. The installation should have been the same, warranty or not, and it would seem appropriate that the plumber installing it would have done a job that would have lasted that long without paying extra. Any problems on the installation would show up almost immediately and a reputable plumber would have fixed those without the "warranty".
Normally, when I buy something, I forgo any additional warranties.
But, in this case, being I was in a real bind (water on the floor in my utility room, fearful of it getting worse and flooding my house) and given the huge price spread from $660 vs. $1500, I threw all caution to the wind and went for the warranty at $50 extra.
They sold me on the limited warranty of the heater, vs. the additional warranty, and I fell for it, happily.
All too common. We (husband & I carpool), driving the long roads from our home to the freeway at 5:00 AM (you would think it would be pleasant), but ofcourse theres always something...
This jeep was coming way far behind, as we can see his headlights. When we turned the corner to the next long road, we saw that jeep go right through the stop sign, tailgate us, and then cut us off and sped off. I told my husband, "Well he showed us!!" "darn slowpokes"!
Funny thing (as I predicted) we all ended up at the same place, the Cross-Light before getting on the freeway, and we were side by side, ofcourse them being cowards, had that cheap tinted windows, but I still could see their faces & ofcourse they were looking straight ahead, avoiding us., although as soon as the light turned green, they sped off again....
Oh why, oh why do people do such stupid immature things......
mind boggling.....
I wonder if their related to the idiot that chose to pass me on the freeway a few weeks ago?
I was doing about 75mph and this jerk passes me on the right. Problem with that, I was driving in the far right lane when he did. Where are all the State Troopers when you need one?
Ever wish you could just "bump" somebody off the road?
Where are all the State Troopers when you need one?
(a) The donut shop, (b) Running radar on an adjacent road or highway, (c) Counting their daily ticket tally.
If you really need a Trooper, just toss a cup out the window, drive without your seat belt fastened, do some texting, or increase your own speed, and bingo they will find you. And that crazy driver, oh they didn't see him at all. Amazing how that works.
Where are all the State Troopers when you need one?
(a) The donut shop, (b) Running radar on an adjacent road or highway, (c) Counting their daily ticket tally.
If you really need a Trooper, just toss a cup out the window, drive without your seat belt fastened, do some texting, or increase your own speed, and bingo they will find you. And that crazy driver, oh they didn't see him at all. Amazing how that works.
In our area of the state, there are a total of 138 HP officers (as of 2008). Divide that by 3 shifts a day and you have about 46 officers on duty at any one time (If you don't count "weekend" time off for any of them). They have nearly 5,500 miles of highway to patrol in our district.
As much as I have had situations where I have wished there was a patrolman there to "nail" someone for something, I understand that they obviously can't be everywhere at once. As for the long-standing joke about the donuts, I can see that when an officer needs a break (and they DO deserve a break during their shift), a donut is something that is quick, and not much of a waste if you get called out during your break and have to leave it set.
I have found there are more important things to get upset about than an officer not being right there when I see someone acting stupid. If it is a hazard, get the info and report it. They will track it down.
By the way, I am not a police officer and have no relatives who are police officers.
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I recall once I was crossing a street with a cart load of groceries and this idiot extraordinaire comes up and blocks part of the crosswalk forcing me to walk dangerously close to a busy major street! I just wanted to whack him one! 
