Tegrey

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I liked it! Nothing like tail from a whale to groom your ride! LOL

Beth, Very nice of you to share the achievments of leaders in our industry. These people are looked upon as the workers and developers of yesterday & tommorrows business. Thank You.

Mike, We are pretty dedicated to Flood's Solid stain. It is a very good product and properly prepped and applied, will not come off. We have been testers for Flood, before Azko bought them out. I worked with the chemists personally and the product is what they say it is. The signs they advertise in HD with is one of our decks. Check out their web site. Thank you.

Each vehicle is equiped with a first aid kit. We are very safety oriented. I was a paramedic / fireman at one time. I know the value of a band aid! LOL

Matt, You might want to check your info. Restora is or has been pulled from shelves. Too many law suits, including my own. The product fails on light siding, not just white. Great for very dark shutters though.

Krisztian, I would run to my local safety store and find out. We cannot recommend your needs. You have to speak with a supplier and see the recommendations. They are up on all the safety equipment required by OSHA. It will pay for you to do the right thing. Also it may save your life? I believe the penalty for no harness is now $20,000? Thank You.

Folks think we are crazy for not spraying stain? Go figure.

Russ, I will state here and now, Heather is much nicer to look at then you! LOL Seriously, If she has great knowledge of the PW industry and can provide the right info, she will be outstanding. Nothing I dislike more than anything is an ignorant sales person. I sell jobs. I handle the customers. My wife comes into the home and runs the painting crew. When she arrives, the whole perspective changes. People bake the crew cookies and makes them coffee! Am I missing something? LOL I think you need to amp up the music on your video. I kinda like Jimi's Purple Haze! LOL Have a great one. Thank You.

Jeff, Believe it or not, we also get questioned about our speed. #1, we do what we do daily. For 12 years now. Our speed had better be faster then a newer company. Our proceedures are in place. We do almost everything the same every time. Minus the human factor. When a customer questions why we finished anything so quickly, I explain the same info. If they feel they were over charged, I jokeingly tell tell them we could charge by the hr. instead. However it is still the same price! They are paying for our, Quality-Service and our price. Noting less. You could also add that the water tepm, chemicals, humidity, etc. was perfect that day! LOL Thank You.

My worst vinyl cleaning to date! This house is across the street from a factory. Trucks drive past hundreds of times a day. The fuel clings to the siding. The dark area is actually cleaned with Simple Cherry as usual. The cleaner side is cleaned with f-13. Thank goodness for Bob. He gave me the lowdown on this job. It took me three hrs. of scrubbing to get it right. Have you experienced the same or similar situations? Thank You.

I only brushed the front. Fuel oil + dirt + mold = Crap! No fun but I'm done. Just think of the folks living there. Breathing it in daily?

Don, I'd be happy to just have some time off to relax. Heck your back yard for a BBQ would be fine!LOL

I'm not sure where to post this. We are starting a new venture of estimating. Electronically through a tablet pc. This is a PDCA Pacer program. The info will be downloaded through the PDCA with our company info added. The system allows us to estimate any project we desire, changing as needed and using up to three different suppliers. The tablet, Motion Computing Le1700 is the hardware. We will save many hrs. of time and will dedicate the extra time to grow our business. With the time saved, we should pay for it in a few months. Having an onsite estimating program, will give us an oppourtunity to show the customer an instant quote. If changes are needed, they will be done instantly. The hard copy will be printed in our vehicle, eliminating more work or trips. Does anyone else use a tablet? What is your experience and how does it save you $ ? What benefits or drawbacks have you felt in an electronic program? Thank You.

Ron, I will receive a 30 day boot camp, online. It will take a while after that to get the right buttons working. However sending a copy from the customers living room to my vehicle to print, sending a copy back to my office and reading the latest e mail from any where my phone works, will work for me.

We are getting two new Sonics this year. I will check your info out. Everybody is cutting cost!

Matt, It would be tough estimating your project by photos. The variables are too many. The condition of the wood, figuring the exterior over the water, etc. I would take a long look at the project, figure in all the variables, add for difficulty and profit. This would get you a good project. Let us know how it goes. Thank You.

It's good to hear some are getting electronic. The advantage will be great. I have done clean printed estimates in the past and it helped us get jobs. I have seen other contractors actually using the ole match pack to write a price on. Setting ourselves apart will definitely help us with growing our business. After all, if we look like everybody else and act the same, why would a customer pay more for our services? I hopefully will have some equipment and idea of running our new program by the RT coming up. I will be happy to share thoughts and ideas. Thank You.

Social workaholic's head swelling with pride.

Too much work, not enough skilled workers and getting my business life in order?

I never did that one!

ezdayman, Will you be coming to any of the round tables? I would like to have a chat with you as well as others to see what is happening. Discussing the problem could solve it? If not feel free to PM me. Thank you.

John, Business with customers are only good for you, unless they sign a contract with the new owner? Having no equipment value, your yearly income and debt means nothing. Everything in a sale, must be tangable. If I have nothing you can hold, You have nothing? A friend sold his business last year. He had vehicles, equipment, signed contracts for the new owner, bank statements for the last 10 years, etc. All this adds up. If you are serious, I'd check with a banker, business specializing in exit strategies. They will set you on the right road. One would be to sell your business to your employees or family over a period of time. My 2 cents. Thank You.

Jon, I like the idea of cutting these folks off! What will they do with women?