# " Did you say THOUSANDS ? "



## AlbacoreShuffle (Aug 28, 2011)

I got a call this morning from a guy that said " Your company came highly recommended ".

He goes on to tell me that hes looking for a plumber that he can trust and not have to second guess on every call.

I assured him " we are the company that hes been looking for " .

He goes on to tell me about all the bad experience's he has had with " plumbers " he found on craigslist. 

I said something to the effect of " you get what you pay for ", He laugh and said " I guess your right "

So anyhow, I went out to one of his rentals to give him a bid for a new shower pan, 3 piece surround, shower valve, and building a wall from floor to ceiling X 36" between the shower and toilet .
The bid was for all parts and labor for a paint ready room.

The floors showed signs of water damage so I left a separate bid to replace the underlayment and install a new vinyl floor. 

The first bid was just over $3000, and the floor bid was a little under $1000.

I could here his butt cheeks slam shut when I gave him the bid.:yes:

The only thing he could say was " Did you say THOUSANDS or did you mean Hundreds " 

" No sir thats thousands, you said you were tired of getting screwed by craiglist guys, this is what its going to take working with a professional , that warranty's his work a guarantees that you will be happy. "

I'm not holding my breath on winning this bid. :no:

Funny thing is I bid this a lot lower than I wanted to , because I'm just getting back to work and need the business.


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## Don The Plumber (Feb 14, 2010)

As soon as I hear the word rental, I run the other way.

Very few landlords, want it done right, they want it done cheap.

So, Run Forest, Run. :yes:


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

I have people calling and saying they don't want to make arrangements or pay anything. I'm not a public service co. lol. I'll work with a customer if they have been good customers over the years and have had some heath issues or such, but that is taking it too far.

I have one old gentleman in his '80's that is out everyday making his rounds for aluminum cans. I have a special respect for that guy. I just take care of him and tell him to pay whenever he can. It may be several mo's but he comes buy and brings me a little cash. Off topic, but it just hit me how different customers can be.


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## AlbacoreShuffle (Aug 28, 2011)

Don The Plumber said:


> As soon as I hear the word rental, I run the other way.
> 
> Very few landlords, want it done right, they want it done cheap.
> 
> So, Run Forest, Run. :yes:


You are so right.
The only customers I have been screwed by since moving to Idaho have been landlords.

in better time I would have given him the time of day, but I have been out of work for the better part of 4 months and the $$ tank is running on empty.


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## bjmi007 (Apr 28, 2012)

*Some landlord will pay.*

Here is my experience, most landlord that call me they dont have the time to go over there so they tell me to go and do the job, they want to solve the problem for their tenant, this keep the rent come in on time when rent is due, as a landlord myself i try to get problem resolve quickly as possible, and little extra so they remember me when they pay their rent the first of the month.
You also run into those landlord that call all over town to find the cheapest guy, craigslist is notorious for this, i post ads on cl and found lot of those people that call r price shopper and i havent got job from there in about a year.
The first thing come out of their mouth is how much u charge to clear this drain, that just tell me that i wont get that job. I tell them my price is always higher then handyman price bc i have to pay for ins, and lic fee. And i told them if they cant find some1 else then call back, i know they wont, and i dont go out to do free estatemate either, waste of my time and gas for $50 serive fee not even worth it.


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

Don The Plumber said:


> As soon as I hear the word rental, I run the other way.
> 
> Very few landlords, want it done right, they want it done cheap.
> 
> So, Run Forest, Run. :yes:


As a landlord I want things done correctly and competently. Obviously I want a good price, but I also want/need the warranty that comes with the work.

My butt is hanging out in the wind every time I bring a Contractor into one of my properties.


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## AlbacoreShuffle (Aug 28, 2011)

Widdershins said:


> As a landlord I want things done correctly and competently. Obviously I want a good price, but I also want/need the warranty that comes with the work.
> 
> My butt is hanging out in the wind every time I bring a Contractor into one of my properties.


You need to button up !:laughing:


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## Don The Plumber (Feb 14, 2010)

Widdershins said:


> As a landlord I want things done correctly and competently. Obviously I want a good price, but I also want/need the warranty that comes with the work.
> 
> My butt is hanging out in the wind every time I bring a Contractor into one of my properties.


 I'm a landlord too. I think the exact same way. Trouble is, 99.999999% of landlords, (AKA slumlords), don't think that way, so I don't waste my time.
Done hundreds of rental house jobs. The majority are crawl space, or pig sty, or both. When you add cheap a$$ landlord to that scenario, nothing smells like profit to me.
Now don't get me wrong, I will work in just about any crawl space, or pig sty, but not for handyman wages.


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

Don The Plumber said:


> I'm a landlord too. I think the exact same way. Trouble is, 99.999999% of landlords, (AKA slumlords), don't think that way, so I don't waste my time.
> Done hundreds of rental house jobs. The majority are crawl space, or pig sty, or both. When you add cheap a$$ landlord to that scenario, nothing smells like profit to me.
> Now don't get me wrong, I will work in just about any crawl space, or pig sty, but not for handyman wages.


I was speaking as a landlord, not for the poor schmuck who has to get a gamma globulin shot, a silver bullet, kevlar vest, Prayer Beads and a Crucifix before entering the crawlspace.

My company doesn't service my rentals. And not just because of the obvious conflict of interest.


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## mtfallsmikey (Jan 11, 2010)

That phone call sounds like the time I met with this large-scale spec-builder; "I can help make you rich"...


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## OldSchool (Jan 30, 2010)

mtfallsmikey said:


> That phone call sounds like the time I met with this large-scale spec-builder; "I can help make you rich"...


He actually meant it the other way around ... You can help him get rich


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