20% Actually Know What They Are Doing!!

Floordude

Who watched 20/20 tonight on ABC? did you see where the statistic was mentioned, that only 20% of all contractors, actually knew what they were doing.

I agreed!!

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dirt diggler

i can agree with this

but - i don't think it's just limited to contractors only. I don't think too many people know what they're doing

Teetorbilt

I must meet people on a different level. After 20+ years in this area I'd say that 90% were reliable. The 10% were newbies.

Recurve bow? I can still shoot one. My new Drenalin has scored 2 hogs and one deer..............so far. Lot of season left.

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dirt diggler

i am dumbfounded

how does hunting tie into all of this??

send_it_all

see floordude's avatar

mickeyco

I agree, I see the work done by the 80% on a regular basis and Dirt's "I don't think too many people know what they're doing" statement is right on the money. I remember when I was in high school, I was a petroleum dispensing engineer, I knew how to change and repair a tire, was able to give directions to places and highways in the area, etc. I felt knowing these things were a part of the job. Today if you ask for directions at a gas station you get "I'm not from around here", can you repair a tire? "no, you'll have to leave the car here until tomorrow and a "mechanic" can fix it. You go into stores and the employees don't even know what items they carry. I know those are small things but I think they're indicative of today's work force, many seem to be mindless robots that do not care to learn anything that wasn't directly thought to them.

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shed-n-deck

I was going to disagree with you when you said the thing about leaving the car here until tomorrow...But, once I read the rest of the post, you are absolutely correct. I'll tell you where my bad experience happens though(obviously I have good tire guys) is at Home Depot or Lowes, and especially at McDonalds when I'm ordering lunch....You can't ask a simple question anymore, I order a double cheeseburger plain, and they ask if I would like cheese with that......Duh! I didn't ask for a double hamburger plain....Same thing goes at HD and lowes.....Hey buddy, how much does a 2-0 3-0 window cost? The reply? Um, uh, we don't carry 20" by 30" windows....That's a true story..So then I ask about double hung windows, the guy tells me "You only have to hang our windows once. They're guaranteed".....

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bobcaygeonjon

mickeyco, are you looking for the contract to build the fence?

Flacan

I'd say that well over 20% of the people I've dealt with knew enough about their job to do it well and efficiently.

I'd say the number is closer to 30-40%.

Many people like to apply the 20/80 rule to most everything.

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mtp

some days it seems the number is far less than 20%

dougchips

He's going to hire all of the illegals to built it and stiff them on their final payment.

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Magnettica

LOL!

I'd say about 20% of the drivers in New Jersey actually know how to drive!

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dougchips

Figure this, I can shoot a recurve better than I can a compound.

In reference to the 20/20 show, I never watch network tv but last night I was out of state and watched most of the show. The quote was from Holmes not 20/20 and I really think that he rounded up by 18%. That show was so informative that I am thinking about contacting them to buy a copy of the show.

The down sides of the show:

They did not pressure Angie from "Angie's list" to properly declare why she did not post the contractor's rebuttals for all of his crappy work. They let her get off with some lame excuse about his rebuttals did not meet the TOS.

The contractor that did all of the crappy work had a bunch of his happy clients in for the show and they sort of ignored the fact that he had happy clients.

The contractor claimed that some of the crappy work was not in his contract and they did not show a copy of the contract.

The couple that they talked into selling their home to the highest bidder never sold their home to any bidder----shady---very shady.

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PressurePros

The best part is, all 20% are here on ContractorTalk

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dougchips

Don't order that crap for your clients.

Once every 5 years (in case he left out some of the details).

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SuperiorBuilt

I agree that about 20% of contractors know what they are doing. It's amazing to see what other "contractors " call a finished project. But I also believe HO are to blame too.(some, not all)
Lately I have running leads in which Price and price alone is the deciding factor on whether to go with contractor X over contractor Y. Yes contractor Y was more expensive, but he spent the time to write out the detail contract, but he had the knowledge and expertise.
HO sometimes get hung up on price and when things go wrong that when they found out price should not have been the only deciding factor.

daArch

Come come, you inflate those numbers. Granted we here in MA are known as "Massholes", but NJ drivers are lethal !!!



But to get back to the subject, Maybe I work for different clientele or in an field which attracts higher skills, but I see MUCH higher percentage. But then I guess I should consider the DPW and other municipal workers....OH, and then we have Boston's famed Big Dig - maybe 2% of those clowns were conscientious, qualified, and honest.

BTW, we just had four bids on some serious swimming pool renovations. The choice came down to two (before I saw the numbers) based solely on the "comfort level" I had with how they listened to my questions, what they offered for solutions, and how competent they seemed. And the final choice? He was $2,000 higher than my second choice. Why? Confidence gained by his years in the business and loyalty - he replaced our liner 13 years ago.

I hope I made the right choice.

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Grumpyplumber

He said himself last night on 20/20, something to the effect "Many self proclaimed contractors don't know what they're doing as far as pricing, they wind up not having enough for stock or no money left to pay help at the end of the job and the homeowner who thought was getting a good deal gets shafted in the end. If you think you're contractor falls in this category, ask him to leave NOW...it only gets worse from here."
I say it's a combination of newer inexperienced individuals that give in to homeowners and lower their prices with the best of intentions, and "foreign subcontractors" that have lowered the market rates so much that some contractors may have to take risks just to eat.

POOLMANinCT

I'm thinking about 5 of my contractor "buddies"

All 5 are the real deal pro-types...

I have a hard time believing 1 in 5 knows what they are doing.

ray

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mahlere

maybe, they just seem that way to you...maybe one of them looks at 5 of his buddies and thinks "man, these guys don't know anything"