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Of course you don't know what slowed them down. On the job they did the day before some of their equipment could have had problems, shutting that job down until repairs are made. Then they can't just leave the other job at the point of break down to get to yours on time. I'm not saying that's what happened in your case but I don't let things like this bother me too much. Lived in small towns all the time and know things happen.
I discovered a long time ago that one of the best ways to find somebody for the job you need done is your local lumber company. They usually have a list of dependable contractors for just about any job you need.
I DID get a good laugh where you said you moved to a rural county of 30,000 and you live in a suburb. Biggest city in our area has a population of 25,000.
My experience after living in very small towns or very rural for the past 40 something yrs and now living in a larger population is the opposite. I found that when I was rural, they generally showed up more on the job and showed up on or close to the time scheduled (and like others said, they won't be in business too long if they don't conduct business in a reliable manner).
Now, in a much bigger city, I can rarely get them to show up at all let alone on time.
I called 7 different companies to get some very tall hedges trimmed back (get the estimate) and 2 showed up. I hired one and he never showed up. Twice. Then I got the other fella and he did show up on time and always has since. He's a little higher but at least he shows up.
Right now I've been getting estimates on having 3 very large trees removed. I have found that they are showing up better for that (much pricier) but the one I was thinking of hiring never did get back to me with his quote so needless to say... I won't be hiring him.
I have found Nextdoor.com to be the better source for recommendations because the reviews or recommendations are from your neighbors. That coupled with Google reviews is generally pretty reliable.
Also, it's been my experience that having that same work done in a small town or rural area is much cheaper than being in a bigger city or the suburbs of one.
Of course you don't know what slowed them down. On the job they did the day before some of their equipment could have had problems, shutting that job down until repairs are made. Then they can't just leave the other job at the point of break down to get to yours on time. I'm not saying that's what happened in your case but I don't let things like this bother me too much. Lived in small towns all the time and know things happen.
I discovered a long time ago that one of the best ways to find somebody for the job you need done is your local lumber company. They usually have a list of dependable contractors for just about any job you need.
I DID get a good laugh where you said you moved to a rural county of 30,000 and you live in a suburb. Biggest city in our area has a population of 25,000.
No, now I live in a suburb with a population of about 40,000. Next year we are moving to a town with a population of about 1,400 that is located in a county with a total population of about 30,000. (Just to clarify. )
And, of course, you are right about problems coming up unexpectedly! (And thanks for the tip about the lumber company, too.)
Last edited by katharsis; 09-19-2019 at 08:22 AM..
Agreed. If you go small town in the south (and maybe other areas?) you'll need to keep telling yourself patience is a virtue because if something more important comes up you may find your job put on the back burner for a bit. OTOH if YOU become the 'something more important' because of some sort of emergency then you get pushed to the front of the line and others will have to wait for your job to be finished. It cuts both ways.
We have found this to be the case, regarding our place in the country. Keep in mind, we live in a St. Louis suburb...but our place in the country is a 2 hour drive away, in a more rural area.
In our St. Louis suburb, we have plenty of companies competing with each other, and thus, they tend to do what they say they're going to do, when they say they're going to do it. We have learned it doesn't exactly work that way in the country. LOL
When we got our cabin, we needed EVERYTHING done on the inside. Electric put in, insulation and paneling put in, sub floor painted, etc. We COULD'VE done the work ourselves, but eh, we're getting older, and we can afford to have someone do it for us.
I got on our Woodland Lakes facebook group page, asking for recommendations. Overwhelmingly, everyone recommended a particular man. So ok, I reach out to him, and then my husband speaks with him, and he agrees to come out to give us an estimate. BUT, he never shows up, and he doesn't call.
A couple of weeks go by, and so I get back on the facebook group page asking for recommendations again, because the first one didn't work out. (I don't get snide or snarky, although I'm FEELING pretty snide and snarky about it.) Small community...not burning any bridges.
So then I get the name and number of someone else. Husband talks to the guy, gives us an estimate, and comes out to work on the cabin. FIRST day, he worked hard a good portion of the day.
The second weekend, it's the holiday weekend, and we don't hear anything from him at all. Fair enough...it's Labor Day after all.
Third weekend, he shows up with his whole family and a buddy. He and the buddy work for 2 hours and then they're gone. (Understand, there's plenty of work still to do.)
We didn't go out to our property last weekend, so we have no idea how much he's done or hasn't done, as he's not very communicative with my husband. We ASSUME he would like to get paid eventually, so maybe he was motivated to finish stuff up. Who knows.
Hubs and I will be doing no trash talking amongst the Woodlanders. It's a small world out there, and it's just a different mindset. Frustrating for sure...but it's the way it is.
I live in a small town and found it depends on the time of the year, there are seasons I never thought about when tradespeople disappear, such as certain kinds of hunting and there are family vacations in July before school starts in August.
One of our tree trimmers is never available in August due to vacation to Georgia or North Carolina mountains.
Fourth of July long weekend? fuggeddaboudit, the long weekend starts Wednesday and goes for a week.
These people do not make 6 figure salaries but they do have some control over their work schedule, that's one of the perks of self-employment.
As far as not showing up when they are scheduled, never happens here. Even Comcast now keeps us updated if the tech is running late. Tradespeople have been very good about showing up when they say.
edit to add: don't hire drunks, they are not dependable. Bricklayer did half the job and then diappeared for 10 days had to call and remind him. Also never pay until job is 100% done, never.
Wait until you see the job that they do before you dump them. Good workers can be hard to find in some areas and they are in high demand. I would rather have a really good worker who is late then a crappy worker who is on time.
I used to work in the vault area of a bank, where merchants would take their deposits. It's inevitable that on busy days, the merchants would be there waiting and talk with each other. They all knew one another and they all shared the same customers.
It's not inconceivable that in a small town there's an organization that all the businesses belong to and they may even have monthly meetings among themselves or even with the city council. I'd go with the assumption that every business owner knows every other business owner and/or service provider (whatever that service may be) and talks to them, even if it's the competition.
Sorry, this was my fault for not being more clear, but what I meant is would I be stuck with using the same company or could I try one of the other two (assuming there are three who do that service) without any negative ramifications?
Thanks for your reply -- and I also thank the rest of you for all the other replies I have received on this thread, too!
You could try the other companies, of course. It isn't like small town businesses are run by the mafia.
I've tried three local chimney sweeps over the past 8 years and finally settled on one of them to come here annually. Nobody cares.
You could try the other companies, of course. It isn't like small town businesses are run by the mafia.
I've tried three local chimney sweeps over the past 8 years and finally settled on one of them to come here annually. Nobody cares.
Actually, from what I have read and heard, some small towns are run by families -- not "the Mafia", but something of a dictatorship! However, that might be either exaggerated and/or a creation of novelists, lol.
No, I just wondered if someone decided not to re-use a company or tradesperson you tried once, whether s/he would run the risk of getting a reputation of being a hard to please customer.
Thanks for replying! -- AND ALSO THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REPLIED SO FAR!!
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