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OT: I'm gonna rant for a minute.....

  • I'm gonna rant for a minute..... For those that don't know, I'm a remodeling contractor. This week, I did a kitchen estimate for someone I've known for probably 20 years or more. I live 4 miles from them. I eat breakfast with him every now and then at the local restaurant. I've played golf with him at least 30 times over the years. Money is not an issue with this guy, he's retired from an extremely good job.
    .
    I had about 8 hours in this estimate including the initial consultation, drawings, material bids from my vendors, granite, tile, cabinets... etc. They went to my folder on PhotoBucket and looked at about 100 pictures of my work. I offered to give them a dozen or more referrals. I presented with CAD renditions, and a detailed quote, and sat in their kitchen for well over an hour answering questions. I could tell when I gave them the quote, that it was LESS than they had thought it was going to be. I've been self employed for 28 years, and I've learned how to read this. I left feeling good.
    .
    I ran into him this morning at the and he thanked me but said they were going with another guy.
    A guy that lives 30 miles away,
    A guy who neither one of them had ever met until he came and looked at the kitchen.
    A guy that had no pictures of his work.
    A guy that had no renditions of the job.
    A guy that had priced higher than me..
    I never ask why. If he has a reason I won't ever talk him out of it. That's the way it works.
    .
    People... please support your local businesses.
    Buy from the local bait store, not Wal-Mart
    Buy gas from the privately owned store, not the monster chain. That .03 a gallon equates to less than .65 on a tank full.
    Hire your neighborhood kid to cut your grass.
    ...and if you know someone that's owns a business you need, by all means, hire him over a stranger.
    .
    Ok, I'm done.

    CockyMike1

  • Honestly, if it bothers you that much then you are better off not getting that job. You can keep your friendship and it sounds like had you got the job it would have ended, trust me.

    Pierce211

  • clearly he saw his wife staring at your package with a blank look and thought better of leaving a seductive stud like you there to hammer and nail while he is away.....that's all i can attribute it to

    BritBrant

  • In this case, you should have asked why after all that. Especially if you have known the guy a while. twocents

    signature image

    BCMCock05

  • My son has a Plumbing Business...Things like that happen to him as well. He rants and raves too but what can a person do? It is ultimately the homeowner's decision and not much else he can do about it. Also, he actually had a business decline his services because he did NOT have a Facebook page. Not because of what is on one but because he did NOT have one.

    Homey

  • CockyMike1 said...

    I'm gonna rant for a minute..... For those that don't know, I'm a remodeling contractor. This week, I did a kitchen estimate for someone I've known for probably 20 years or more. I live 4 miles from them. I eat breakfast with him every now and then at the local restaurant. I've played golf with him at least 30 times over the years. Money is not an issue with this guy, he's retired from an extremely good job. . I had about 8 hours in this estimate including the initial consultation, drawings, material bids from my vendors, granite, tile, cabinets... etc. They went to my folder on PhotoBucket and looked at about 100 pictures of my work. I offered to give them a dozen or more referrals. I presented with CAD renditions, and a detailed quote, and sat in their kitchen for well over an hour answering questions. I could tell when I gave them the quote, that it was LESS than they had thought it was going to be. I've been self employed for 28 years, and I've learned how to read this. I left feeling good. . I ran into him this morning at the and he thanked me but said they were going with another guy. A guy that lives 30 miles away, A guy who neither one of them had ever met until he came and looked at the kitchen. A guy that had no pictures of his work. A guy that had no renditions of the job. A guy that had priced higher than me.. I never ask why. If he has a reason I won't ever talk him out of it. That's the way it works. . People... please support your local businesses. Buy from the local bait store, not Wal-Mart Buy gas from the privately owned store, not the monster chain. That .03 a gallon equates to less than .65 on a tank full. Hire your neighborhood kid to cut your grass. ...and if you know someone that's owns a business you need, by all means, hire him over a stranger. . Ok, I'm done.

    As a contractor myself, YOU CHARGE THEM 3X AS MUCH TO TEAR OUT AND FIX THE OTHER GUY'S CRAPPY WORK when you get the call. And as we both know, you'll get that call

    signature image signature image signature image

    Left to right: Coco and Coffee, Princess, Buddy Lee www.WildHeirLabradorRescue.org

    floodcock

  • BritBrant said...

    clearly he saw his wife staring at your package with a blank look and thought better of leaving a seductive stud like you there to hammer and nail while he is away.....that's all i can attribute it to

    This is the only thing that makes sense.

    signature image

    You may run like Hayes, but you hit like $*!#

    CockAtLaw

  • BCMCock05 said...

    In this case, you should have asked why after all that. Especially if you have known the guy a while.

    Correct!

    OP is a salesman as well. A great salesperson always asks why so he can 1) overcome objections. Many of them are simply misunderstandings. 2) Not make the same mistake next time.

    This post was edited by floodcock on 7/22/2012 at 1:55 PM

    signature image signature image signature image

    Left to right: Coco and Coffee, Princess, Buddy Lee www.WildHeirLabradorRescue.org

    floodcock

  • Sorry you didn't get the gig....sounds you did all you could. Sometimes you can lead the horse to water, etc. I will say, however, some folks, and I have considered this in the past, are reticent to hire friends/acquaintances for fear of damaging the personal relationship if the job somehow goes bad. Maybe sometime later you can ask this guy nicely, hey, I really thought I made a good presentation to you for your job...is there anything I could have done differently to earn the bid? Then you can gauge his response to understand his decision and/or tailor your efforts.

    signature image signature image signature image

    CockOfAges

  • Pierce211 said...

    Honestly, if it bothers you that much then you are better off not getting that job. You can keep your friendship and it sounds like had you got the job it would have ended, trust me.

    Yep. Sounds like someone low balled the job. when he calls to either ask you to complete the job or fix the other guy's work, respectively decline. He will probably beat himself up over it more than you over the years.

    DT USC

  • For those of you saying I should have asked why, I'll answer with this.....
    .
    My wife and I bought our first house when I was 25... a really nice house is a nice new neighborhood. Of course, as a first time home owner and especially because we were so young, we had spent everything we had to get in the house. We had to save up for a lawn mower. My new neighbor commented for a couple of weeks over my weeds/grass that was getting about knee high. I asked, if maybe he would mind if I borrowed his lawn mower. He said, "No, the price of wheat in Russia is at an all time high."
    .
    I stood there dumbfounded trying to figure out why this was important. "What's that got to do with me borrowing your lawn mower."
    He said, "Absolutely nothing, but if I don't want to loan you my lawn mower, it doesn't matter what excuse I use."
    .
    My rant was more about urging YOU to spend your money with locally owned businesses, not so much about whether I got that particular kitchen.

    This post was edited by CockyMike1 on 7/22/2012 at 2:18 PM

    CockyMike1

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    Cain57

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    DavidsonNCCock

  • DT USC said...

    Yep. Sounds like someone low balled the job. when he calls to either ask you to complete the job or fix the other guy's work, respectively decline. He will probably beat himself up over it more than you over the years.

    Did you actually read the whole OP?

    signature image signature image signature image

    Left to right: Coco and Coffee, Princess, Buddy Lee www.WildHeirLabradorRescue.org

    floodcock

  • Sounds like you're going to have to bang the guys wife IYAM.

    SCarcock

  • sometimes people don't think that their "bud" can do a professional job, because its their "bud"...they may view the stranger as more professional because they put him on a pedestal a little bit more, if that makes any sense at all...something I have observed.

    signature image

    3

    cockengr

  • I agree with you totally on patronizing all local businesses.

    Not everyone will agree with the effort and time it takes to grow a business.

    "You got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen,"

    Cockscrow

  • Cockscrow said...

    I agree with you totally on patronizing all local businesses.

    Not everyone will agree with the effort and time it takes to grow a business.

    "You got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen,"

    There is already a thread about this on the Barnyard. Thanks for ruining this one though.

    signature image

    You may run like Hayes, but you hit like $*!#

    CockAtLaw

  • CockyMike1 said...

    I'm gonna rant for a minute..... For those that don't know, I'm a remodeling contractor. This week, I did a kitchen estimate for someone I've known for probably 20 years or more. I live 4 miles from them. I eat breakfast with him every now and then at the local restaurant. I've played golf with him at least 30 times over the years. Money is not an issue with this guy, he's retired from an extremely good job.
    .
    I had about 8 hours in this estimate including the initial consultation, drawings, material bids from my vendors, granite, tile, cabinets... etc. They went to my folder on PhotoBucket and looked at about 100 pictures of my work. I offered to give them a dozen or more referrals. I presented with CAD renditions, and a detailed quote, and sat in their kitchen for well over an hour answering questions. I could tell when I gave them the quote, that it was LESS than they had thought it was going to be. I've been self employed for 28 years, and I've learned how to read this. I left feeling good.
    .
    I ran into him this morning at the and he thanked me but said they were going with another guy.
    A guy that lives 30 miles away,
    A guy who neither one of them had ever met until he came and looked at the kitchen.
    A guy that had no pictures of his work.
    A guy that had no renditions of the job.
    A guy that had priced higher than me..
    I never ask why. If he has a reason I won't ever talk him out of it. That's the way it works.
    .
    People... please support your local businesses.
    Buy from the local bait store, not Wal-Mart
    Buy gas from the privately owned store, not the monster chain. That .03 a gallon equates to less than .65 on a tank full.
    Hire your neighborhood kid to cut your grass.
    ...and if you know someone that's owns a business you need, by all means, hire him over a stranger.
    .
    Ok, I'm done.

    Not trying to be anything but helpful, but you may need to get a little sales training. The problem was that you gave him all your ammo to shop with and he probably got a much cheaper price using your info. It sounds like you are a wonderful contractor and provide a great service, but you are selling yourself short by not understanding that you need to be on top of the sales aspect of your business.

    jetusc

  • I am in the mortgage business and that stuff happens every day. People will dump on you for .25% in rate even if who they go with some bigger bank who cannot close you for 90 days and they wind up not closing you at all. And it doesn't matter how well you know them.

    Dirtydomincker1

  • This post is for members of TheBigSpur or All Access VIP members only. Start Free Trial

    CockyMike1

  • jetusc said...

    Not trying to be anything but helpful, but you may need to get a little sales training. The problem was that you gave him all your ammo to shop with and he probably got a much cheaper price using your info. It sounds like you are a wonderful contractor and provide a great service, but you are selling yourself short by not understanding that you need to be on top of the sales aspect of your business.

    being similarly situated, i can relate to mike's story. i lay it out and if people dont bite....so be it, but it can be aggravating sometimes. i hate a high-pressure salesman--i had to literally put a hand on a guy's back and help him out then slammed the door a few years ago. he was determined to sell me windows and i was not about to buy from some dbag salesman/traveling road show crew when i know craftsmen in that line of work. i had already barked at him for jumping on a window (could scratch floor) and being a tool, but he wouldn't quit. he even tried the affirmation trick on me (if i can do x y and z, will you commit) i laffed at him on that. mike will stay busy elsewhere and the friend can GTFO as he will prolly regret his decision.
    in the future, i'm sure mike will try to wear tight brief undies and loose fitting pants if there is a woman in the equation

    BritBrant

  • BritBrant said...

    being similarly situated, i can relate to mike's story. i lay it out and if people dont bite....so be it, but it can be aggravating sometimes. i hate a high-pressure salesman--i had to literally put a hand on a guy's back and help him out then slammed the door a few years ago. he was determined to sell me windows and i was not about to buy from some dbag salesman/traveling road show crew when i know craftsmen in that line of work. i had already barked at him for jumping on a window (could scratch floor) and being a tool, but he wouldn't quit. he even tried the affirmation trick on me (if i can do x y and z, will you commit) i laffed at him on that. mike will stay busy elsewhere and the friend can GTFO as he will prolly regret his decision. in the future, i'm sure mike will try to wear tight brief undies and loose fitting pants if there is a woman in the equation

    Not sure what your point was, but okay. If you lay it out there like Mike did, it's no wonder you were in "simuliar" situations. I don't think I recommended that he become a high pressure salesman. The fact is pretty plain and simple, he gave the guy all he needed to shop the price and then got mad because the guy did it. But of course he may love being someone's unpaid consultant.

    jetusc

  • jetusc said...

    Not sure what your point was, but okay. If you lay it out there like Mike did, it's no wonder you were in "simuliar" situations. I don't think I recommended that he become a high pressure salesman. The fact is pretty plain and simple, he gave the guy all he needed to shop the price and then got mad because the guy did it. But of course he may love being someone's unpaid consultant.

    yeah, i coulda left off the little story and go straight to the point..............hide the bulge from any husbands, but wth...i ll bite. what would you recommend in a deal like that? be vauge about specifics, details etc? (not being a smartasss)

    This post was edited by BritBrant on 7/22/2012 at 10:44 PM

    BritBrant

  • have the other guys started working on the project yet? If not then its not dead. Go after it, it will hurt your friendship either way if you keep pushing or if you dont. Tell him all the reasons why he asked you to come out there, what you had to offer and after hearing everything and seeing the quote what part was it that he felt uncomfortable with? They might not be insured, be using illegals, or using cheaper cabinets and just dressing them up with some molding.
    Give him some different options that are similar to what he likes but could be some decent savings, and the service after the sale is the most important. He will know he can call you anytime if there are ever any issues, the other guy can move or go out of business. Just some thoughts.

    TheImpact2