Replies

1. 
   Hudson Valley Carpenter | Jun 11, 2009 12:09am | #1

   That's some pretty sinister negotiating there.  Interesting reading.

    

   
   

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   Edited 6/10/2009 5:10 pm by Hudson Valley Carpenter

2. 
   renosteinke | Jun 11, 2009 03:20am | #2

   I have a customer who considers himself a 'business broker,' among other things. One of his favorite sayings is "Never be afraid to fire a customer."

   Oddly enough, he has a project going right now. We were not able to agree on the scope of the job, or the payment arrangements - so he is proceeding without me.

   Our previous job had me simply replacing his lawn sprinkler timer; this morphed into his expecting me to troubleshoot his valves and plug leaks in the system. Why, the valves have wires - naturally they should be 'part of the deal' in replacing the timer. Doom on me time!

   Well, the current project has a commercial tenant improvement being performed by a general contractor. The GC, it appears, will be doing the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC himself .... without benefit of either permit, or licensing in those areas. You can be sure the fire sprinklers won't be re-arranged to fit the new floor plan, either.

   Naturally, the GC is of the opinion that my electrical design was inappropriate .... and lately, he's been talking about doing some work inside the main switchgear.

   My plan is to stay clear of the job, not even look in the windows. When the project fails, that's when I plan to 'fire' him. I'll tell him to let the GC clean up his own mess.

   How does this relate to the "5 tricks" article? This customer has played every one of them - and a few more. I'm not a bank .... indeed, poorer than he ... so if he wants the project financed, he needs to see a bank, not me. This was but one of our sticking points. You absolutely must be ready to walk away from a job.

   Too many folks seem to think the trades are little more than trained chimps with tool belts - they are all too ready to tell us how to do our jobs, and want us to re-order the world for their convenience.

1. 
   Dreamcatcher | Jul 27, 2009 06:08pm | #4

   "Too many folks seem to think the trades are little more than trained chimps with tool belts - they are all too ready to tell us how to do our jobs, and want us to re-order the world for their convenience."FWIW, I think it's even worse for carpenters than for "certified" tradesmen like electricians, plumbers, and mechanical contractors.DC

3. 
   jimAKAblue | Jul 27, 2009 05:30pm | #3

   I just noticed this thread title and I followed that link. There's some good stuff in there. Thanks.

1. 
   Scrapr | Jul 27, 2009 06:32pm | #5

   That's not a bad e zine to subscribe to. I'm probably about 50% on finding a useful tidbit here and there

    

    

1. 
   jimAKAblue | Jul 27, 2009 09:18pm | #6

   I didn't realize that I could subscribe to the ezine. I don't do that often. Jeffry Gitomer was one I did and liked. I'll check back into this one and sign up.