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how do you find out info on people

4K views 27 replies 17 participants last post by  Agility 
#1 ·
So other then Google how do you find out about people you are about to do business with or do already? A year ago if I got a phone call from out of the area code chances where high it was a telemarketing call that wastes my time. Now it seems I get a lot of calls of homeowners that have cell phone numbers "from back home". If I Google the number I get tons of sights that just list a boat load of phone numbers from that are code. Or other worthless information. Half of them say they have all the info about said number and want money.

Also I have had several appointments where things didn't seem to be on the level. It seems to come in waves. Then nothing unusual for a while.
 
#2 · (Edited)
For instance one lady asked for a window bid and when I got there to look at it some guy was there too but knew way to much about windows. Was reading the numbers on the tape measure over my shoulder as he was too impatient to let me read it for myself. And would mention technical terms such as " what would the difference of an XO window turned on its side?" ..........do you want a single hung or double hung window instead? "NO.......NO (said all bent out of shape)........I mean what would be the difference of using an XO window on its side?"..............uhhhhh sir you can't turn an XO window on its side! It would either slam shut, slam open, fall out of its track and crush someone. The drain holes would not drain properly as well as a few other reasons. For something like that you would either want a single hung or double hung widow. (He was trying to set me up for some kind of trap and I wasn't playing along and he kept getting more of a hot head) I stopped what I was doing looked at the both of them (her face was an oh crap he is on to us look) paused for a moment and then asked how the two of them were related to each other? They both looked at each other in horror and you could tell that each of them was trying to come up with the same answer. They both laughed nervously as if to say they didn't rehearse for that question. The girl was suppose to be the owner of the house. And her mother had just stopped by to visit and was just doing some dishes. And when I was starting to call their game. The mother grabbed her purse and headed for the door quick like. He tried to redirect it. He looked at the girl and told her to ask me (uh hello I'm still standing in the same room) what's the difference in the expansion and contraction of differ wood species and grade levels...........uh sir most of these windows are 2ft wide. Expansion and contraction will be at a minimal what species of wood would you like to have? "Well we want it to match the sliding glass door but we don't know what the manufacturer of it is." Two seconds later I said the manufacturer after looking closely. He said he looked all over it and even took some trim work off and didn't find anything stating manufacturer and that I was just blowing smoke. I said oh well I just looked at the etched name in the lower right side of the main glass. Right there were is says Anderson.......a well known manufacturer. Unless the former home owners last name was Anderson and the did crazy stuff like etched their own name and an 800 phone number just for chitz and giggles? He looked at her as if he was finally defeated as he studied the crap out of that door to figure out who made it but failed to simply look at the glass.

He figured he wasn't going to beat me at that game so he started drilling me on what manufacturer's I have connections to and why I would prefer the ones I'm already connected to vs the competition's and blah blah blah. She had done the smartest thing and shut up since I took him to school during my visit. I hit his ego with.......... you've made a horrible mistake! You have mistaken me for a window salesman trying to sell you some windows. That's where you are wrong because I don't care what kind of window you want XYZ company or ABC company you see because I am a craftsman who only cares about doing the best I can to do to make sure that it's done right. So do all the over analyzing you want about wood species and contraction and expansion rates you can order those and I'll install them or you can hire someone else or what ever.

My guess is this guy works for a competitor and is bent out of shape that I had so many A+ reviews and wanted to figure me out. They never hired me.......go fish. But it's not the only time I've been called in for a bid and things don't add up. So what gives you leg up to figure these things out? Spokeo.com? A private detective on speed dial?
 
#4 ·
We've all sat appointments that were wacky, but unless you are consistently getting these appointments, I would imagine it would cost you more time and money to get the level of info you want on someone (and potentially make the wrong inference) than having to deal with the occasional wack-job...
 
#5 ·
Some people get a really low bid for a job. They aren't sure whether or not to trust it.

Then, when they interview other contractors, they play twenty questions trying to indirectly qualify the low bid.

In construction there is somehow a misunderstanding between knowledge and quality. IOW many believe that the understanding of directions and the implementation of the directions are somehow the same thing.

I don't know if this is what you experienced, but it definitely happens.
 
#11 ·
A buddy of mine did a couple days work/repairs on a place for a guy. And then said well we are all done. Here is the bill for the work.

The guy looked at my buddy and said "don't give that thing to me......give it to the land lord.......he is the one that is suppose to be fixing all this stuff since I've been hounding him to do it and wont".

My buddy had no idea that someone else owned the house and there was no talk of it before he started.
 
#12 ·
I can't figure out the original question either but knowing who not to do business with is at least as important as knowing who to do business with. As soon as the games start, I'm outta there. That's a red flag and ignoring red flags can get expensive.

As to this one the guy ordering the work is liable. The landlord has no obligation to pay you since he didn't order the work. The tenant could go back on him but it was deceptive on his part. I'd offer him a few days to pay with the understanding you'll have to go to small claims. That, late fees and process service will be added to the bill.
 
#15 ·
If you want to find out something about a homeowner, you can check the county assessor's web site and find their names, then look on google, facebook, and online court records.

I don't know how politically correct it is to do this, but if I'm looking at doing some business with someone, or if someone in my family is making friends with them, I'll do a bit of research on them.

If you research a guy and you find out he has been sued by every lumberyard, ready mix company, plumbing supply company, electrical supply company, etc., it might be useful information for you to know before you extend credit towards them or start some other business relationship with them.
 
#18 ·
Other then my small novel.

The question is how do you go about finding out about a potential clients background for instance has any one subscribed to websites like Spokeo? Is it worth it? Are there more helpful ones? I'm not looking for social security numbers or medical records. Just enough to know how much effort should be taken about spending a lot of time putting estimates together for either some. Or know something to better understand a customer before meeting them a first time.

If you google a phone number. The first three pages come back with useless info. Either they only find things with certain parts of the number. For instance you search (404) 555-1234 and you get pages like "555 north elm street. London England" or "we found all the television 404 1234 models from depart 555". So just googling a name or phone number is useless.

If you look up info on Facebook like "Liza Rockstarlots" you'd think well with a rare name like that there can only be one right.......nope their are 5 and all their profiles are set to private except the one that lives in Africa.

I am hoping to hear that someone favors a way to find out some things about people like spokeo.com or radaris.com and if they have paid for it or wasted their money subscribing to such info sites.
 
#19 ·
I will often look up public property database info. Maybe they are always late on their taxes. Maybe they own a lot more property than they are telling me about. Useful information. Googling is good too. I've found police reports and lawsuits this way. The vast majority of the time I find nothing interesting.
 
#20 ·
My lumber yard always checks to see that the name on the title is the same name I give them. If protects me and them. I open an account in the property name. If they don't pay my lumberyard handles the lien process. There are times in not sure about a customer and I call the yard to find out if the name I have really does match the title.
 
#25 ·
A can gather a bit of info by the vehicle a person drives. Make, model, aftermarkets, rims cleanliness, items in the interior. Cross referenced with the home they live in, these can be fairly accurate judgements..in regards to sales at least.
 
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