Let The Game Begin.....

J F

nah, just un-enlightened, so far

PGD

Let me just see if I got this straight before I go: If I post the fact that I intentionally pad my bid up by $1,000 when dealing with foreigners and then shout back and forth with the customer in front of his family (so he can feel alpha), and finally give in to his price and then cry about hagglers on a public forum it's OK....But if I stick up for my principals and stand my ground on a legitimate cost for better or worse Or at least not be hypocritical on the matter, that's bad?


hmmn Neo, I guess this is a tough one...

J F

do what I'm doing...have a gin & tonic

480sparky

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Crock

Unimpeded by the thought process?

neolitic

Non impediti ratione
cogitationis conloquium
currus.

You must have been
smacked by nuns.

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Crock

Sister Wilfreda used the wooden boat oar on me. Sister Anacleta used a razor strap. The worst was Sister Geovani, librarian, liked to hit you in the face with hard cover books. Lots of bloody noses!!

J F

Look on the bright side, it was the "sisters" drawing blood as opposed to the "fathers"...

neolitic

But now you see how very
beneficial it all was for you!

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Crock

Absolutely agree. I say it all the time. The problem with kids these days are that they are not beat by the faculty in school.

They don't even beat them in the catholic schools anymore.

BobsLandscaping

I like to look at the business of contracting as a people business. I meet people from all over the world and try to make a good first impression in order to win their business.

Knowing a little bit about foreign cultures helps me make sales. Especially in landscaping, since I'm creating personal spaces for people to relax and enjoy themselves in.

On Wednesday I'm installing a garden for a family from Nepal. It's going to be filled with peppers, vegetables, herbs, and spices from their native country. I'm also using flowers and plants that have special significance to the Hindu religion. They're also having me come by weekly to maintain it and I'll be making a nice profit from this job.

I suppose on principle I could have told them this is what we grow in America, this is the price, take it or get on the next plane home. I would have never heard from them again and wouldn't have the job.

Perhaps I'm wrong (I often am) but it seems good business sense to cater to the customers needs/desires and sell the job.

On the Japanese gardens I maintain there are very strict rules on what can be planted and where and how the garden flows. There are special religious guidelines that have to be observed in all aspects of maintaining the garden. Again I suppose I could tell my Japanese customers that they're in America now and I won't maintain a Japanese garden.

But why though? Can you give me a good reason why? I enjoy it, my clients love their spaces, and I make good money at it.

I also maintain and install Buddhist meditation paths. Theyre special gardens for walking meditations. There are extremely strict guidelines for how the garden is laid out and how I can work on it. For instance all maintenance must be done with hand tools. No machinery allowed. Not even a gas lawn mower. It disrupts the spirituality of the garden. I charge extra for that and do ok.

Yeah I realize we're in America, but this is a land of immigrants. Always has been, always will be. Yeah it's a pain to deal with the special requirements at times, but it's also rewarding. Not just financially.

Perhaps I'm too open minded, what do you suggest I do? Leave money on the table out of principle? Walk away from jobs because they're not American enough?

PGD

Shameless commerce would be the perfect title for this thread, since your Latin quote is nothing more than a T- shirt slogan...





I guess when you hang around enough discussion boards you pick up some other languages... and while we are on the subject.... I Live In Los Angeles we have plenty of universities in my area, in fact my eldest son went to USC and I couldn't get you two Japanese people to rub together let alone know enough of their culture to "perfect" a cultural marketing strategy for Japanese, Buddhist and Persians which involves padding my bid!

and I've pissed on classier places than Genesee Idaho!

"Perhaps I'm too open minded, what do you suggest I do? Leave money on the table out of principle? Walk away from jobs because they're not American enough?" --- Bobslandscaping

You'd like us to believe that you are being culturally sensitive to your foreign clients, when in my opinion you are being Insensitive in the extreme by insinuating that only or mostly foreigners haggle! I get the "can we do a little better on that price?" question nearly every time I submit a bid by EVERYONE and I'd say most my customers are (white) Americans, so please quit with the B.S. I know your used to dealing with a shovel full of manure but you don't fool me.

The truth is EVERYONE likes to get a better price... EVERYONE! and it's people like you that pad their bids and allow people to think that a little arm waving and yelling can save them $1,000 bucks off a playground (or any other service) Hell I'd wave my arms around at Best buys if I thought it would knock off $1,000 a home theater! But I don't because I know Best buys wouldn't budge, in fact, I'd get laughed at and ridiculed!

So when HACKS like you give in to customers and are so wishy washy about your COST that you give up $1,000 dollars if asked, you make your numbers obvious for what they are;made up! and people assume all contractors "Make up" numbers, and put us in the category between Traveling Carnies and used car sales men.

Try giving Honest prices based on your actual cost, and stand your ground you'll feel better about your self and you'll be helping our business get over this CON-tractor mentality people have of us.

P.S. I'm sure you do quality work, just a bit misguided in my opinion...

BobsLandscaping

We got everything you need here.

1 grocery store.
1 hardware store.
1 bar.
1 restaurant.
1 car wash.
1 great greenhouse/nursery.

Ok, maybe not everything. If you need gasoline it's a 20 mile trip to the nearest pump.

Other than that small inconvenience this is a great place to live! If you want to come visit for vacation we have a 10 space RV park.

The night life in the winter kinda sucks, the farmers put the sheep in the barn at night.

Leo G

From the last email I received from her asking what could be done about the price. She was wondering if changing from inset to overlay doors/drawers would lower the price, reminding me also that the side panels and back need not to be finished because they would be going against walls. I told her that if I changed from inset to overlay it is still the same price. It is the same amount of work, 2 doors, 6 drawers and a 71" carcass. I am setup to do inset, overlay is really harder for me because I don't have the hinges and rarely setup to do overlay. I suggested that we change the Cherry interior to birch and replace the dovetail drawers to pocket screw butt drawer to realize a savings.

I haven't heard back. Like I said, she went along with everything, not complaining about price or mentioning what her budget was. Made me do the work of 2 drawings to see if I new what she wanted to be built and the pricing of the 2 vanities. Her location changed 3 times, first Bloomfield by the phone and name she gave me, which is a poorer town, to Granby which is a richer town to Avon which is a wealthy town. She new what she was doing, she was trying to scam me into lowering my price so she could get a champaign vanity on a beer price. Too bad for her that my price is my price. So I guess this is the end, no job, time wasted, client unsatisfied. But, I didn't work for peanuts because "it's the economy were in".

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Leo G

Wow, she emailed back after a few days. She wanted the dovetail drawers but was willing to go with the Birch interior. But the change from Cherry to birch is only about a $70 savings. I sent her the email. Got a quick response, she decided it was to much money for her current budget. She has another pc of furniture that I may bid on sometime in the future and she said she would recommend me to her friends. Whether it will happen or not we shall see. But she seemed sincere in the way we discussed the project and the way she declined. So, the way I put conducted myself as a businessman must have been well received. Only time will tell.

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naptown CR

Finished job today
Materials $800.00
Helper ( my 17 year old son poot with his considerable skills) $100.00
Job sold for $4200.00
Took 23 hours

I had a good several days.

All I could possibly ask for is one a week like this

Leo G

23 man hours or 46 man hours?

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neolitic

At 17,if I'd asked my son
to work for $4 an hour....
They paid him $7 to chop
veggies a Subway.

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Warren

Wow, Poot only got a hundred bucks for 23 hours of work? I know its your kid and all but if he helped at all and you made out like a bandit I think you could at least get him up to minimum wage.

Leo G

Room and board, free meals, ride to and from, clothes, electronics etc...... And he gets money for giving Dad a hand all the while bonding man to man.

Priceless

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