homemechanixcny

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a very Happy and safe New Year!!! In addition I hope everyone has a very Prosperous 2010. For those that have pets a big WOOF and MEOW goes out to them also.

For those that have a heated area to store thier equipment during the cold winter months.... Beware. I would still protect the equipment from freezing. Here in the great white north it get's cold. I thought I was safe by keeping my stuff in a friends heated garage so I didn't winterize anything. Well lo and behold we got a bad ice storm that killed the power for 3 days before it was restored. At the time I didn't even think that it would get cold enough in the garage as it is attached to his house. Well it did freeze and trashed my pump and hoses. The outside temp was averaging in low the teens at night. Yes it is a long shot that something like this would happen but it does. My thinking now is better to be safe than sorry for the very minimal cost outlay to protect your investment. It only costs a few bucks but it is better than paying hundreds if not thousands for new equipment. So now I winterize everything, If we get a warm spell and I use my eqiupment I winterize it again before putting it back in storage. It also keeps things lubricated during the down time.

Both are wonderful organizations. Another would be your local animal shelter or rescue. In these economic times animal shelters are being overwhelmed by people giving up there pets as they can't afford them. However the expenses of running a shelter just keep on increasing and donations are not coming in. Unfortunetely some shelters have had to close. So please remember them too.

Thanks Beth and Mike. Actually Mike yours is the one I remember seeing.

Sometime ago I remember someone posting thier employee handbook. Not sure if it was this board or another one. I do remember it was an excellent well prepared handbook. But now I can't find the post. Does anyone have a handbook that they use or can reccomend. I am planning on putting one together to start using and am looking for suggestions. Thank you all and as usual everyone on this board has been extremely helpful no matter what the question.

your right about alot of bbs's out there. I remember registering with them all. And looking at all of them everyday. But after time it seems like you settle into just a couple of them. Sure every board offers something different along with different people. for one I like TGS there is a wealth of information and a great bunch of people. Plus it seems like you don't have as much of the constant fighting going on like some of the other boards.

Hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving. if you are travelling please be safe on the roads and in the air!!

Ron can you add me to the list. Thanks in advance. christo124@aol.com

When talking to customers I always try to avoid using the word chemical. For some reason chemical has always been associated with some real nasty stuff. Some people actually get scared thinking acid and such. I get a much more laid back reaction when I use "detergents", "soap", "cleaning solution" etc. It puts people at ease instead of scaring them saying I am using some sort of frankentien mix.To me it just sounds less threatening. What do you people think? Thanks for the replies.

Here is a website for a local company that has the franchise for Roof Shampoo. They say they are not using bleach and aslo that bleach will ruin your roof. What would they be using instead? www.shampooyourroof.com

I like the passive approach better. I for one would wonder about the guy that says spots are filling up fast. To me that sounds like an excuse to make me sign right away. Yes they may be filling up fast but I don't like to be pressured into signing a contract. I have gotten better a better response from my customers by just giving them a follow up call and then maybe a second call a couple of weeks later.

I have them same problem here. One little thing I do is carry a blank insurance certificate with me on estimates. I at least show it to the customer. Even though another certificate will be issued in there name the blank one at least shows my insurance companies name and agent so they can call and at least know I have a policy to protect them. I never used to be asked about insurance in many years even though I had it. But these days more and more customers are asking for it. Actually a good thing for us, those lowballers and fly-by-nights that don't carry insurance will be forced out of the market.....maybe. Even though some customers don't understand the cost of expenses like insurance I have sold many projects over the lowballers just because of having liabilty and workmans comp. I explain to some customers that they can be help responsible if some fly-by-night contractor or his "employees" get hurt on thier property.