Lack of capable "tradesmen"

[redlite]

Well just came home from an early rise appt with a long time absolute PIA customer that is dear friends outlaw. Old widow. Do a lot of small repairs throughout house ( plumbing, elec, Capetnyry stuff. As a help to my buddy as he had reached breaking point with her few years ago. No time and every other repair main bailed on her in past. Certainly not for the money nor worth the aggravations. Her 40 yr old walk-in shower doors were leaking last week. Several trips to deal with silicone and sealing up temp until could get new doors ordered/ installed in my spare time. Spent several trips running around this week to find ones that would fit.
My boss reached his breaking point in regards to her this week as she was calling 4 times a day and texting non stop blowing up my phone while we hanging sheet rock together to see if ordered shower doors.
Well She wanted me to come over to help her order on line from Lowe's. Drag my ass out of bed to get there early this morning to do it before heading to job. She then decides she doesn't feel comfortable ordering on line and wants me to go to store to help her order some day this week. Then in same breath decides that she no longer wants to repair the sheet rock ceiling and walls that are falling down inside shower enclosure and then decides the shower doors seem to be sealed up and now doesn't do but wants me to come over asap and paint water stain on ceiling below
As if I'm sitting at home waiting to rush over every time she has a problem.
In fact this summer I was on another job and she kept calling and calling when I answered she crying her smoke detectors going off and she needs me. Well WTF do I look like the fire dept. 2 towns away? had to tell her to get out of house and try calling FD. Went and FD found faulty /expired smoke detector.

Try to politely tell her I could
No longer half ass waste my time or perform work for. Amd she tells me I am rude and ungrateful for all the work SHE provided me with. I charge her less than I make regular work which opposite way should be
And I'm rude
Just had to block her number after 14 calls since 7am.
Good ridence
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[nightfighter]

Originally Posted by redlite

Well just came home from an early rise appt with a long time absolute PIA customer that is dear friends outlaw. Old widow. Do a lot of small repairs throughout house ( plumbing, elec, Capetnyry stuff. As a help to my buddy as he had reached breaking point with her few years ago. No time and every other repair main bailed on her in past. Certainly not for the money nor worth the aggravations. Her 40 yr old walk-in shower doors were leaking last week. Several trips to deal with silicone and sealing up temp until could get new doors ordered/ installed in my spare time. Spent several trips running around this week to find ones that would fit.
My boss reached his breaking point in regards to her this week as she was calling 4 times a day and texting non stop blowing up my phone while we hanging sheet rock together to see if ordered shower doors.
Well She wanted me to come over to help her order on line from Lowe's. Drag my ass out of bed to get there early this morning to do it before heading to job. She then decides she doesn't feel comfortable ordering on line and wants me to go to store to help her order some day this week. Then in same breath decides that she no longer wants to repair the sheet rock ceiling and walls that are falling down inside shower enclosure and then decides the shower doors seem to be sealed up and now doesn't do but wants me to come over asap and paint water stain on ceiling below
As if I'm sitting at home waiting to rush over every time she has a problem.
In fact this summer I was on another job and she kept calling and calling when I answered she crying her smoke detectors going off and she needs me. Well WTF do I look like the fire dept. 2 towns away? had to tell her to get out of house and try calling FD. Went and FD found faulty /expired smoke detector.

Try to politely tell her I could
No longer half ass waste my time or perform work for. Amd she tells me I am rude and ungrateful for all the work SHE provided me with. I charge her less than I make regular work which opposite way should be
And I'm rude
Just had to block her number after 14 calls since 7am.
Good ridence
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Yes, she's fired. Doesn't even qualify for the "difficulty tax" I would have tacked on to her bill....
I just dealt with a waterline shut off issue into a building with two condos. Water comes into basement and splits to different meters. Had to get the town to call dig safe and then jack hammer recently installed concrete sidewalk with yellow handicap plate in order to find the shut off. My client was fine, appreciative, and hopefully writing a check today. The other condo owner was an absolute nightmare, the worst I have had to deal with, ever... She even got into calling the DPW super and the Selectmans office... And this is all from my notifying her that her tenant would be without water while we effected the repair!!! I can't even bill her as she is not my client. Incessant texts and calls have stopped, but next contact from her I have decided to tell her she will need to send me a non-refundable $1500.00 retainer to even discuss any issues. And I have no intentions of working for her directly. At all. I am just trying to hold onto a residing job for two sides of the condo complex which involves her being one of four owners...

[Guppy]

You guys need to chill out,,, maybe this will help…

Lady of the house corners me on the job and tells me she really needs a change, she had that look in her eyes,,, yikes ! And she was hot!
I got that look a couple more times , I turned the heat up and finished that one earlier than scheduled….. phew….. made it out alive LOL …..

[redlite]

Originally Posted by Guppy

You guys need to chill out,,, maybe this will help…

Lady of the house corners me on the job and tells me she really needs a change, she had that look in her eyes,,, yikes ! And she was hot!
I got that look a couple more times , I turned the heat up and finished that one earlier than scheduled….. phew….. made it out alive LOL …..

Boss and I joke about stuff like that all the time as he a buff stud and yet in the 12 yrs we been together crazy enough I don't think we have ever had a single customer either of us would touch with a 2x4..::::
Some of my buddies elsewhere have relayed film worthy adventures tho.. we have great customers, just not good looking.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[nightfighter]

Yeah, I think this is where I will excuse myself from the conversation....

[Rmarsh]

I have not had anything like that happen to me but....a buddy of mine and I were building a deck for a wealthy customer....Jewish doctor. At break time the daughter... early twenties.... came outside and brought us some iced tea, she was obviously smitten with my friend. She was cute and he was single .... he told me he would ask her out. I warned him that she was a spoiled princess type and not in our socioeconomic class and to beware. .Fast forward...after her parents said she should not marry a carpenter he took accounting classes and after he got his degree they got married. He first had to convert to Judaism and wasnt allowed to celebrate Christmas with his two sisters.
He lasted two weeks at his new job before he couldnt stand it and quit. He was an excellent carpenter and he told her he was going to start his own business and would build a big new house for them right next door to her parents. She started to feel better...telling me he was no longer just a carpenter but a general contractor now.
Her new cars and diamond rings were never good enough and the rift between them grew until after two children and daily fighting they divorced. He later remarried to a poor catholic girl and is finally content.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by redlite

Boss and I joke about stuff like that all the time as he a buff stud and yet in the 12 yrs we been together crazy enough I don't think we have ever had a single customer either of us would touch with a 2x4..::::
Some of my buddies elsewhere have relayed film worthy adventures tho.. we have great customers, just not good looking.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Putting in a stockade fence once and the lady next door comes over and asks "Do you need help? It's July and about 90 with 90% humidity so I said "No, this is really hard work". She says: No I mean do you need HELP?" She bats her eyes at me. Now she's about 5' 3" and 300 pounds. I politely declined, finished the job and got the hell out of there as fast as possible.

[Rmarsh]

It's interesting... that when you work for certain segments of society....you will observe patterns of behaviour. I once worked for a contractor that had connections with the Jewish population in the area. I started noticing some similar traits after months and years of working on their homes. One wealthy couple had a live-in maid and a driver/errand guy with a list of jobs they were required to perform daily. Within days of starting the huge remodel of their home, the lady of the house was asking me to do domestic chores while I was "there". Not understanding that I was a skilled craftsman...not a pee-on. Pretty sure they didnt understand the difference. Carry items to her car.....bring up bottled water from the basement.....and a lot more stupid stuff.
The maid would lock the door behind me everytime i went out to my truck for a tool....told me she was just doing her job as instructed by Mr. ***. After about the fourth or fifth time......I pounded on the door hard enough to shake the house....when the maid and the Mrs. came running to see....I told them if it happened again...I would leave and not come back. Message sent and received. There are times you have to stand up for yourself and demand respect.