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John Doherty

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Posts posted by John Doherty


  1. I do not pay contractors deposits, period. If you ask, I'll ask why, if you tell me it's for materials, give me the $ amount and supplier name and I'll make a check out to them. If it's for 'expenses' or 'overhead', I haven't cost you anything yet, or if it's, 'just your policy', NEXT.

    The chances are pretty good that my house, roof, deck, etc will be here in a month, will the contractor be in business?


  2. What a missed opportunity for those guys, imagine if this had been their response:

    I'm gonna overnight express a new fuel pump & celinoid to your mechanic and call him in the morning to confirm he got it and see if he has any questions. I apologize that you couldn't get through to us, someone's out sick, on vacation, we are hiring someone new, we are selling machines like crazy, whatever, but that should be resolved in the next few days. If that happens again please call me directly on my cell phone at ...we really value your business Jeff and we'll do whatever it takes to make this right.

    or

    You had a problem and you called, we didn't respond or call back, you told people we didn't respond or call back. So in that case we will not honor our own warranty, we will not help you, and we will call our lawyer, who will tell us we don't have a leg to stand on.

    These guys need a lesson from Ken.

    Jeff sorry your having a rough time.


  3. Research your market, I admire your ambition, but keep doing what you're doing by posting here, gathering information.

    I know your market pretty well, building/house washing really doesn't exist there, dry climate=no mold mildew growth. Flatwork virtually ends at the first snow because it's too costly to have you out after each storm so they wait until spring (also this is night work can't be done in freezing temps). Decks can be good money but you need to really sell the quality to get a decent price and you can almost forget about fences, nobody will pay what it's worth. Check the local water districts too, Denver and Aurora for instance restrict you to 2 gpm machines, they catch you with anything more and be prepared to open your checkbook for fines.

    I'm not trying to discourage you just to prepare you, continue your research, and watch every penny, try not to get ahead of yourself on equipment that will be a capital killer.

    Good Luck,

    JD


  4. I've never done a house wash before so this may seem like a dumb question. If you have the right chem mix do you even need a p/w? Couldn't you apply chem mixed w/water with a shurflow, and rinse with a garden hose? Or is it that you couldn't get the distance (height) or coverage to get the whole house?


  5. I'm with James and Mike on this one. Of course there are some things you keep quiet about like prices. Otherwise what do you really have to worry about? You have much more to gain than lose, you said he was already offering advice, isn't that good?

    I always used to talk to my competition, and used most of them as subs, worked out real well for all of us. I guess you really need to ask yourself if you have some really big secret your afraid you'll give away, if not I'd call him.

    At 3:00 on a Sunday afternoon you blow a hose and don't have a spare, who you gonna call? We all need to try and stick together, there's enough money out there.

    JD


  6. No I don't see a problem, and it certainly takes more to offend me. I can't express how fed up I am with all the PC crap!

    Am I the only one who finds fault with a society that endorses describing things as other than what they are?

    As each little bit of truth is chipped away things become unrecognizable. This is why people who are here illegaly are now only 'undocumented'.

    Not meant as a knock on you Dan but the whole PC subject drives me crazy!


  7. I know plenty of guys who have embraced the 'south of the border' labor market. There are many who go back for the winter months and return in the spring to the same co year after year.

    If you have the work you can outpay the landscape co's and we usually only need one or two guys, they need entire crews. Just remember that good english speakers are at a premium and expect to pay accordingly.

    Most folks exposure to this is a local day labor 'pick up spot', or whatever you want to call it. These guys are generally not the cream of the crop, the best workers are working full time and don't have to look for work this way. Go to where they are; construction sites, etc and ask if they know anyone looking for steady work. In many cases you will end up with someone who can provide you with 'documentation' which is a bonus. The work ethic is usually there, but you have to pay for it.


  8. newpig com

    tyvek 25 for $100

    dupont nexgen 25 for $95

    they also have a great nitrile apron, from chest to shins, 47 mil thick $13.15 ea.

    I don't know if these are the best prices, but this is a great company to do business with. If you do nothing else order their catalog, it's free and has lots of cool stuff.

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