Email Complaint From Customer + Painters Email Back

George Z

Not to come to anyone's defense here,
but can you guys get off the mob lynching and offer something positive here?
Is it just me or are there couple of people here just attacking Mike here
and nothing else? I mean nothing else, just shadow posting.
Start your own threads or just thank Mike here for keeping things interesting.
The guys has balls, does anybody else?
Not agreeing with many of his methods but
he lays it all on the table for everyone to see.
So, everyone else get your "φαλλός" out and start comparing or just stop it.

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Mr. Mike

If you want to ask a question, and want me to answer it-then put a little effort in it and be specific.


Let me show you what an engineer is since you are saying we need to go to school to call ourselves that!

Engineer is someone:

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Mr. Mike

By me researching to find the definition of engineer, I think from what I read that makes me an engineer of some sort.

I am honored to have George Z kindly come in here to try and simmer the room down, I am not here to try and spam you folks for anything in fact I am on here for my own selfish reasons just as I hope everyone is. My selfish reason is to be the best salesperson and painting contractor that I can be, I have made it clear just as most have that we don't agree with everything or even most of how others operate and you have never seen me post that the way you do something is wrong, but I have offered suggestions and as far as I have seen I am the only person that says hey here is an idea not just do this like I said or you are a donkey.

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Mr. Mike

For the record I just read that it is illegal to call yourself an engineer if you really don't have a degree! But that is not in the US that is in Canada and a few other countries where it is illegal. I don't call my self an engineer and leave it at that I say I am an engineer at giving paint estimates I can work up at least 30 different bids for you.

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premierpainter

We use almost the same sales tactics as Mr. Mike. We have salesman that earn $70k and up. It is the only way to make it in this business. If you don't mind being a solo painter for the rest of your lives, you might want to listen to guys that have bigger businesses. People say that they like being a one man operation...bull. They just don't know any other way to not be. We use a one call close system and it does work. We don't twist arms, or force sales, but one call close is the only way that we sell. Big jobs often are not one call closes, but our salesman sit and give the whole presentation and then follow up with the client.
Stop bashing Mike because he says what you are afraid to try, or do.

Handymanservice

Mike, you're killing me. I am trying NOT TO bag on you, but this response isn't helping.

I get it that you say you scrape over loose and popping/peeling paint to prep the surface and do not paint over it. What I believe you are saying is that after you prep and paint, the surfaces that may "pop" later are due to a previous paint job being improperly prepared? Is this a correct assumption?

If it is, how do you CYA on this problem. I would think the HO would be all over the last guy that painted (you) the house, since you were the most recent.

Sometimes a little more detail in your responses would help clarify things for us. Really though, right or wrong doesn't matter, if this is how you do things. Everyone has there own way of dealing with issues that arise in their own company. I would prefer to do it properly the first time (as you may) to avoid having to explain to a customer later why something failed.

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Steve Richards

Word

Anyone that says they're happy doing what they're doing, is full of crap (and they disgust premierpainter, Mr. Mike, and me).

DavidNTX

I will give this to Mr. Mike, he is a salesman. My whole beef here was from the beginning talking about filling holes and cracks with paint, painting over loose paint and giving a lifetime guarantee. If he wants to guarantee it for a lifetime that is his business but as far as the way he first talked about his prep and the way he defended it until just a few posts back is not the proper way to repaint an exterior. Even to a degree of saying eveyone else here is wrong, he is the only one that is right and we need to get an expert to say what is right.

There is something else I will give Mike credit for. Apparently he does stand behind his work and does go back and fix things. That in itself says a lot.

It works for him, great, but there is a right and wrong way to prepare a repaint and that is the point I was making.

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Handymanservice

This has sure been an interesting thread. It is the type of thread that is actually usable because it stimulates discussion.

Good post Mike.

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"You can shear a sheep every year, but you can only skin him once!" Remember that when dealing with your customers and pricing.

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rbsremodeling

I probably would word my warranty a particular way But i think the gist of what Mike was saying its you can pay me to scrap all of the siding to the bare wood or just hit the loose parts that come off with a simple scraping and not too much effort, is that the right way to go about it.

We could debate that to the cows come home, but if he warranties and goes back and lives up to his warranty if it fails.

He did what he said he would do. Its a fine line between what is right and what is acceptable now.

We all would like to build it to the best of our ability but sometimes we have to draw a line and give a bit to meet the HO budget in some instances.

The key is knowing where that line is and if you should cross it.

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monkey

http://img43.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=pict0012a.jpg

A few examples of how a "real painter" does prep work.
proper prep can't be taught by the guy behind the paint desk.
I have at least 1 job that has lasted 14 years or more.
strip Mr.M... College pro mess and apply one coat oil primer followed by two coats Moorglo.

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DavidNTX

Don't get me wrong, I still don't agree with some of the methods used. It might be okay to adjust a bid by using cheaper paint or even reducing the size of the job. We do that all the time in the form of alternates on commercial work but I would never sacrifice workmanship. Maybe don't paint the back or the left but what is painted will be prepared and painted right. And yes, this could be debated until the cows come home. I haven't even touched on the "self priming" and the need to use a good primer. That isn't anything I even want to touch at this point.

I bet this thread will still be making it's way to the top of the list from time to time even in the year 2012 or 2015. People will be smacking Mike around like he just posted this yesterday. LOL

He is a good salesman. I bet Mike could sell a drink of water to a drowning man, if he can find out how much the guy has in his pocket first.

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monkey

What ??? Do I smell bad or something?
No.. Nice work?? Make us proud??
Monkeys got a nice a$$
just crickets

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RoSSco

What did you use to strip it? How long did the smaller house take? Why would you do that if the house isn't peeling? You don't seriously do that to every job? If you go all the way to the raw wood why not use stain? Monkeys got a nice a$$

Mr. Mike

Yes

I combat that with, if this is the case Sir or Mam why did you call me to repaint your house 2 years ago instead of making the other painter come back out and fix it? All of the paint that was popping and peeling that I said I would fix 2 years ago is still holding up fine, it is the other paint that was not coming off that is coming off now. They may even come back with: I don't deserve to have my house look like this, and I will say no you don't that is why for the cost of $x we can do a maintenance touch up to get everything up to par. During the time of my warranty there is no charge at all for any of this after that runs out we have this conversation. I let people know that my warranty is very important to keeping the house looking fresh and I also tell them after it runs out they should have me come back once a year and pay me to do the same thing for ever.

Please stop me and let me back up to clarify anything at anytime, and thanks.

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Sportioli

HA!

You guys think you know it all? Come to Louisville and bid your exterior repaints for removing all of the old paint on the home before applying new paint and you won't get any work.. Period! Nada! Nothing!

Up here homes are scraped and pressure washed before painting. And if you don't bid that way you don't paint, it's as simple as that.

I worked for Mike when I first got into this business and he helped me get my start as a painting company. I see another poster on here that worked for Mike too, before he started his company. And I'm sure that like myself he'll tell you that Mike is the premier painter here in our town, and really does have all these happy customers he says he does.

What I find hilarious is that the comes in here and posts what he does hoping that someone finds the info to be beneficial to them and can do some good with it. That somehow it will help another painter to become more profitable and realize a higher degree of success in life.

And what's his reward? He has a sturker now!

For those of you that don't know, a sturker is an internet phenomenon. It's a lurker that stalks another poster. They always pop up with nothing positive to say on the sturkee's thread busting on them. They follow them around with remorseless efficiency applying their negativity anywhere or anyway they can.

Are they motivated by jealousy? Envy? I don't know, I really don't.

Here's what I do know. I've watched Mike come in here and post some pretty hard to believe stuff. Of course knowing him personally I know that he's never posted anything in here that's not true. Even his rediculously high closing ratio's on the first call are true. He let me ride with him on his appointments for a few days to see how he does it and I watched him close at over 90% on the first call.

If you **** can your negativity for a while you may just be able to learn something.. That's my advice to the sturkers here. No doubt they know who they are.

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Mr. Mike

Thanks for the compliments gang, thanks for any negativity also.






Nice Monkey, at a boy...

Thanks for sharing and let me ask you this, Did you do this so you could stain this house? Also how much did it cost them to have you strip this house, I ask this because I am going to try and do the math on replacing the wood and then stain or paint vs strip. I am guessing to strip this house you show my price would be around $6000.00 to $9,000.00 to strip it all off not including painting or staining.

I know for a window and frame I charge around $100.00 to prep, spot glaze... for you and to strip that window 100% I would charge $400.00 instead of $70.00 to $128.00. The home owner can replace the window and have a brand new perfect window for around the same price as the stripping.
Monkey, does your post say a real professional would strip it down to the bare wood on a re-paint?

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premierpainter

There is no need to go to that extent on any job....but nice job anyway. The paint shaver is a great tool. Do you own the pro sanders...they are also great tools.

Crock

disagree 100% opposite is true in midwest.

i love bidding against a fancy lad.

Mr. Mike

Very good disagreement it is just very broad,

Hope we can discuss this.

1. Why do you say you love bidding against a fancy lad?
2. Do you close a big % of those type of bids?
3. What do you wear and drive to an estimate?
4. How many painters or staff do you employ on average?
5. Roughly on average do you do many jobs per year?
6. Do you advertise?

If you tell me anything about these I will understand better, I think it may be that you could feel better not being a fancy lad and everything seems to be riding itself out, I try not to be fancy it just keeps getting bigger.

If we all choose the customers the same way they choose us then we do need to determine who we want to work for not to kick any one or two person painters because we do need you also for our trade and it is not a bad living to paint by yourself for your self...but I can easily discourage a person from using anyone but my company if my price is in line with others I think most people in any state would hire me with the experience and confidence I have to go with it. In short it is just that you are painting your whole area of prospects with one broad paint brush.

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