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Guest rfitz

Customers need to tell....

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Guest rfitz

We had a aggregrate driveway job that we quoted and did, it was over 4000 sq ft to clean and seal with V-seal 101 which does nothing to the appearance

it only seals the concrete, which was thoroghly explained to the customer up front, anyway after cleaning, we noticed a blotchy apperance to the aggregrate, after closer inspection, it looks as though someone in the past had used some type of acrylic sealer, which maybe 10-15% was still on the driveway, but spread out all over and blotchy, anyway when finished the customer wasnt happy, with the original exposed aggregrate flat look, and blotch look, I told them on the contract, we were to clean only and seal with V-seal 101 which does nothing to the apperance, now the customers wants the blotchy spots gone and now she wants a sheen, so, I told them it will be triple the cost if we have to strip off the old acrilyc sealer which she denies ever using, (just like customers do when estimating a deck) and re wash, then apply a double coat of V-seal luster seal, this is why you need to put everything in writing as we did upfront which they signed, and they will be charged accordingly, this drive way sealing job will cost them well over $5000 but I guess if you have 4000 sq ft of exposed aggregrate driveway, $5000 isnt much in the whole picture, I figured a driveway like that would cost between $60 to $ 75,000 so to protect it for life at $5000 is pretty cheap insurance....

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Tony,

.. So, I too could bash 25-35 people a week on this board a week on how I think what they are doing is wrong as Paul does, But I dont, why..? Because I am not ego driven, it doesnt make me look smart or better by doing that, as it just makes others who do it (Paul)...

Rob:

I haven't even finished reading this thread, but I just had to reply to this...you say you're not ego driven...From what I've seen, you very ego driven...You are the only contractor I know of on any board who consistently posts how much he's making, how busy he is, how stupid others are for not charging the same, etc etc etc ad nauseum...

If I had to choose who, between you and Paul, had vastly exaggerated claims in their posts, I'd have to say it isn't Paul. Just my opinion, of course.

There are many companies around on these boards who have a much higher volume than you, and who have many many years more experience than you do, but I sure don't see them posting much about it...Most are just like you and me...well, just like me...They've just been at it longer and learned a hell of a lot in that time.

Oh, while we're calling names and being critical, learn to spell!!!

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Yikes! Spirited group. Paul....we never have had the pleasure of responding to any of your past posts but we have certainly learned much from them.

Beth...the timely intervention was great...kudos to you!

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Dale hit it on the head when he said someone got up on the left side of the bed. "Passing the responsibility" hit a LARGE nerve and of course the rest is history. It's hard to put this and "THE ROB HISTORY" into inperspective for someone that pops into this BB from time to time.

Oneness you hit it on the head:

"you say you're not ego driven...From what I've seen, you very ego driven...You are the only contractor I know of on any board who consistently posts how much he's making, how busy he is, how stupid others are for not charging the same, etc etc etc ad nauseum..."

If I may ad also that he has been "the flavor of the month" as he has been learning this trade (be it house washing, deck work, concrete work or anything else). Always wanting to charge an arm and a leg for something he may not be able to command control of (an example was the gutter cleaning - $5 a linear foot. We can't forget how last year he couldn't get anyone to pay $1 a square foot for deck work until he read one of my posts, from then on he's been getting $1.50-$2 a sq ft).

Speaking frankly, the problem here is not the irritation he causes to most, but how he may impact others as they may be starting out in this business.

I don't want to ad any more distractions to this BB than I already have, so I will stop respond to his posts. All of you good folks can deal with him or ignore him (as you chose).

I can't say I dislike him, I just don't care for his business practices.

Jay and everyone else:

Let me make it clear one more time - My post(s) were not intended to slam ANY product, be it Aquapel by L&M or V-Seal. I have used and am using a variety of good concrete treatment products including Tamms, ChemMaster, Prosoco, L&M and V-Seal. They all have a place and some are apples, some oranges and while others are cherries (no lemons in the group).

My question: Is Aquapel better than V-Seal? (In context of the post)...was not a challange of quality but actually about one company being in business longer than the other not necessarily being a gage of the quality of the product or their service.

The original statement was that 3 companies with combined 150 years experience chose V-Seal hands down by reading the specs. (If they have so much experience why have they not used it or known about it before? You can twist anything many different ways - and certain people are good at it.)

It didn't take me 50 years to figure out that V-Seal is a quality and contractor friendly product. I like and use both products - my customers have also liked both products.

Keep in mind:

- The selection of a sealer, albeit important, is only one part of the process that a contractor goes thru when working with a customer and their substrate in question. Other items are sales and estimating, inspection, contract points, pricing, scope change management, cleaning and application of sealer.

Thanks!

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Paul,

I for one never took any of your comments as a product slam. I also encourage you to continue to respond to ANY post made by ANYONE on this BBS. Your posts are insightful, educational, and contain extrememly helpful information. I can't begin to tell you how many people have expressed appreciation for all of your posts.

Beth

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WOW, pretty intense thread. All I can say is that no matter how much you know there is always someone who knows more. Life is a learning experiance and this applies to EVERTHING.

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