Jarrod

Hey Chris, I mix 1 box with 55 gallons of water. I put 1 gal in with my bleach.

Ken, I'm using E-Plus. It was pretty warm today. I broke a sweat. I'm pretty sure that E-Plus has S.M. in it. Ill add some TSP next time. Thanks. John, I'll try heat next time. How about 5 gal of love and mix my powder soap in it instead of a concentrate? Thanks.

As soon as I saw that thing, the theme song from "Sanford & Son" was ringing in my ears.

Seems to me that you helped the PM co. get rid of a hack. I show no mercy to my competitors, especially the hacks.

Easy Rick. I wouldn't say that Russell is being 'disingenuous' as you stated. If you really think that he is, then please explain. You RS guys simply have a different business model than others. There's two kinds of wood contractors - Type 1 - Every time they see a deck, a certain Barry White song plays in their head. They can't wait to make sweet love to the deck and take their time caring for it. It doesn't matter to them how long it takes either. Type 2 - When this type sees a deck, they have $$ in their eyes. They want to get the job, complete it as efficiently as possible (without sacrificing quality) and get paid. In both scenarios, the deck was restored and looks great. I'm a type 2. I'll save Barry White for when I get home.

You're welcome to come up here and check us out.

Last night, we were washing one of our new fleet accounts. This is our first week there. The trucks were not parked on time for us, the night Mgr. gave me the sob story, "I have to be out of here by 11 00. Is there a way you could just wash half tonight and half tomorrow?" I answered with a very firm "NO!" Then I pointed out to her that if HER people had the trucks parked on time I could get started sooner and finish sooner. I don't know how these people get these jobs. Anyways, we finally get started. Every time I let off the trigger, the belts would sound like a pack of hyenas. (They have been a bit squeeky for a week) I was in a hurry, so I checked the belts and they were tight so I kept washing and gritting my teeth. Then my float decides to start restricting my water to my fill tank. I then run out of water. (Not bone dry, but the pressure just started to flutter.) I run to shut everything down. Since I now have time to better inspect my belt issue, I do so. I look at them again and as I ran my finger across tham, I find "black sludge) on them. Now I'm really confused! After further inspection, I see oil all over the base of my skid. After I crapped my pants, I checked my oil level and it was full. I had just changed my oil a few hours earlier. I fired up the pw'er again and saw a very slow leak behind the oil filter. I had blown a gasket. Since it was so close to the belts, the suction from them sucked the little drops of oil right on the belts. Now, remember, I'm a 7 day a week operation. I can't afford to be down at all. Today, I arrange to have the problem fixed at a local repair shop. A friend comes to follow me there and give me a ride back. I open my rear shop (garage) door half way to let him in. As I back my 15 ft. straight truck out CRUNCH! Yeah, you guessed it. I mangled my garage door!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! So I call a door repair place to fix it. Thay tell me that they will, but I have to pay time and a half! GREAT!!!! As I'm typing this, the engine repair shop calls to tell me that my pw'er is fixed and ready to go. YES!!!!! Meanwhile, the door guy is on his way. I need a hug!

A competitor.

Don, I can assure you that after doing only 5 decks, you will be very fast.

Michael, It was so much fun hanging out til we all had stinging, red eyes! I really learned a lot from you and Scott that first night. I'm glad that you are considering bring wood restoration back. You won't regret it. I'm still feeling a bit tired from last weekend. It was soooo worth it!

We all want to do business with people who can afford us right? In my experience, there's 2 kinds of rich people - Rich (wealthy) people - People who make a great living and appreciate quality. They don't mind spending more for better things and services. They are pretty down to earth and "normal." Rich snobs - These people tend to all live in the same neighborhoods or areas. (Secret society perhaps.) When you knock on their door to give them their requested proposal, they open it just enough for you to slip your quote through it. Of course, the chain lock is still engaged too. They won't really talk to you either. They say "Thanks, we'll call you later." or something like that. Almost always, they don't hire you, they go for the hack. And, if they did actually hire you, they are very nit-picky, fussy, demanding, and often pay late. This is my experience with this matter. How about yours? I want to see if I'm crazy or not, so please respond honestly. If you disagree, please explain why. If you agree, please elaborate.

Thanks for the responses so far guys. The reason why I'm bringing this all up is for advertising reasons. I mean, is it worth it in your opinion to advertise to the "snobs" or not? In my opinion, no way. I would rather advertise to people who are well off, but with "regular Joe" attitudes. I have proved this theory to myself many times. I just wonder if you guys have the same mindset that I do. I know that in a neighborhood, rich or poor, you have quite a range of people. But there are those certain neighborhoods that the air is a bit stiffer. The majority of the people there are snooty and cheap. If you knew about such a neighborhood, would you still advertise there, or not? This is kinda demagraphics of demagraphics I guess. Let's do it this way - Say you have 6 groups of people you can advertise to, but you can only pick 4. Which 4 do you pick? 1. Poor 2. Lower Middle Class 3. Middle Class 4. Upper Middle Class 5. Rich 6. Rich & Snooty

Thanks John. I did not know that there were vampires here. I always thought Squirtgun had a transylvainian tone to his accent. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

I guess you do it different than we do. We sweep the sand in, blow it, then seal it. Otherwise sfter the first rain the sand will be washed away. If you don't seal the sand, why even apply it? Unless you use "Super Sand."

No. Use a metal pump up. The air will just blow the sand around.

Yes, it's Constantine. (spelling) He was just walking down the street in N.Y. My wife spotted him and of course my daughter wanted a pic with him. He was really nice.

Good idea Celeste.

Actually my hair was that long back then, but that is not me in the pic. The girl is mu daughter. Guess who the guy is.

Thanks Jeff, I'll do my best.

unloader, orings, qc's, plugs, hose, garden hose fittings, d/s injectors, hose reel swivels, guns, wands, tips

How do you price maint. jobs compaired to strip, brighten & stain jobs?

How long do you give your customers to pay after you complete a resi job? Most people are not home when we complete the jobs. Do any of you tell the customer to leave a check or something? Just curious.

I would d/s the whole thing (columns and skirt). Simple Cherry & 12% love should work great. How many buildings are there?

Who's in my avatar?