New rip off-- Prop managing Co's want us to pay to stay on their list.

[John T 744]

A few months back we had a Property Management Co. Demanding we pay $300 to be on their Vendor approved list. This company handles the Target Stores. Since the only thing we dealt with target was turning down there dumpster area cleanup we did not pay. A few emails of them requesting us to pay but A certain date came and went. So where off their list.

Now I get another one from a different Prop. Management Co. we do a lot of work for. We do a couple of condo jobs for them. Now they to want a fee to be on their Vendor list. The Fee is $95 and we paid it. Not worth losing our connection with them over $95.

What annoys me is these companies should be lucky to have us on their list to pick to see who can lowball far enough to get some jobs and also to keep the dependable ones(like my company) at their disposal.

I wont "Bite my nose off to spite my face" but it's like another scam to squeeze $$$ out of us contractors and there is no one there to make our case that this is wrong.

Just venting.

[Adrian 155]

John, in my expieriences, "Pay to Play" has always been around.

It is just rising to the surface a bit more nowadays as every single penny counts in a company's budget. ( or they are beefing up their petty cash fund for employee bonus')

In order to play onstage at the whiskey-a-go-go in LAX, you have to pay, then sell your tickets.

Seems STUPID sometimes as it can literally break a service company's account ( or a band's travel expenses budget, and I speak from experience).

What you describe is similar to being "exclusive" in the national contractors directory. Pay to play.

To me, a service contract would be more viable though as you "lock" into sustaining future work with that firm.

I want to know when we are all going to start charging for estimates? This "Free" crap is for the birds man.

We have to offset these expenses somehow.

There truely is a measurable amount of loss when doing 10 estimates a week for free. Granted there is a return, and it would be nice to land them all.

That's not always the case. Expensing the estimates is cool but leaves little in your pocket.

It has been pounded into our heads (by the man) since we were children that money makes the world go round. To an operational degree that is somewhat true.

However that has also trained people to be money mongers and implement stupid surchrges of every sort.

Just think in terms of extra baggage that has to be c hecked for a fee.

What's next, the air we breathe?

[Guy B 70]

John, the $95 one you're talking about is not a rip off (per say) I don't much like the hassle with it but it will weed out the ones without proper insurance, plus they pay you after the job is complete, not 30-60-90 days couple of weeks in most cases, if its the company I'm thinking about.

Unless there's a large amount of work, I'm not paying $300 for a couple of box stores......I don't blame you.

[John T 744]

John, the $95 one you're talking about is not a rip off (per say) I don't much like the hassle with it but it will weed out the ones without proper insurance, plus they pay you after the job is complete, not 30-60-90 days couple of weeks in most cases, if its the company I'm thinking about.

It could be the company your thinking it is because there a national company. That condo Gutter job we just did was thru them. We also clean either 2-3 condo complexes thru them every few yrs. I won't mention their name and I understand it's the cost to do business but it urks me when we have to submit to them every year our updated WC Ins., our Liability ins with what they want listed in there etc. and now we have to pay to do this as well.

2 can play this game even though it's a bit sneaky. I'm going to jack up my price just a hair next time to offset that cost.

[RSuds 24]

I am getting the same thing. I do not like it.

[Alexy 85]

Charge the money back,

They want to be added as a loss payee on insurance, there is now a fee for that with us.

Government clearance required build it into the price.

That is a 2 way street.

[John T 744]

Charge the money back,

They want to be added as a loss payee on insurance, there is now a fee for that with us.

Government clearance required build it into the price.

That is a 2 way street.

That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'll pad it a little more so they think it's just a small increase in price only. Goes around, comes around.

The real problem is to get on some list where you may never get any jobs.

[Alexy 85]

That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'll pad it a little more so they think it's just a small increase in price only. Goes around, comes around.

The real problem is to get on some list where you may never get any jobs.

If they are going to charge you just to pimp you out they are dollar shopping anyway and will go with some lowballer anyway.

[apple 14]

We haven't seen it yet, but thanks for the heads up.

[John T 744]

If they are going to charge you just to pimp you out they are dollar shopping anyway and will go with some lowballer anyway.

Very true. The flipside to that is even ones we do work for many years are now charging us a fee or we'll be taken off their Vendor list.

To me and its just the way I think, it looks like just another way to extort money out of hard working contractors who in most cases aren't getting the money they deserve for doing the work in the first place. Keep in mind, This is my Union mind way of thinking but in this case it looks to be a small extortion out of the business owners. The "Bleeps" of these people...........

[Alexy 85]

I hate to say get used to it but.. get used to it.

Buisness models for the service industry all are trying to build in fees for access to work. I went to a GSA confrence where the speaker gave his speech on bidding jobs and afterwards spent considerable time telling about how he had to make his speech the exact OPPOSITE of what the entire service industry is doing. While the governemnt just throws out a RFP and contractors then bid the work. The private secor now sees the entire RFP process as a opportunity for making money by taking fees to prequalify vendors to requiring on site inspections that are the vendors resposibility.

[John T 744]

I hate to say get used to it but.. get used to it.

Buisness models for the service industry all are trying to build in fees for access to work. I went to a GSA confrence where the speaker gave his speech on bidding jobs and afterwards spent considerable time telling about how he had to make his speech the exact OPPOSITE of what the entire service industry is doing. While the governemnt just throws out a RFP and contractors then bid the work. The private secor now sees the entire RFP process as a opportunity for making money by taking fees to prequalify vendors to requiring on site inspections that are the vendors resposibility.

So we pay for Liability,WC insurance, some of us pay to be a license contractor(I have to in my area), for commercial work we have to at times raise the liability on our vehicle insurance etc etc etc... And now little shizz like this.

Your right. Just have to get use to paying these small extortions to possibly get more work or just "paying the piper" for nothing.

[One Tough Pressure 580]

Multiple places have wanted this over the years. "Sign up with us and we will get work for you" is the basic idea. The BBB, Chambers, Orgs, Associations and so on.

If it works for you, then go for it, if it doesn't then don't. If in doubt, ask around to see who has any information. Ask for a list of their clients to see who you might work for.

[Alexy 85]

Multiple places have wanted this over the years. "Sign up with us and we will get work for you" is the basic idea. The BBB, Chambers, Orgs, Associations and so on.

If it works for you, then go for it, if it doesn't then don't. If in doubt, ask around to see who has any information. Ask for a list of their clients to see who you might work for.

Pimps, Ponce, my 10%...

Whatever you want to call it. They are just leeches to people who work.

[John T 744]

Multiple places have wanted this over the years. "Sign up with us and we will get work for you" is the basic idea. The BBB, Chambers, Orgs, Associations and so on.

If it works for you, then go for it, if it doesn't then don't. If in doubt, ask around to see who has any information. Ask for a list of their clients to see who you might work for.

Great advice Allan! This one caught me off guard because we have dealt with this prop. Management company for a few yrs now.

A couple of months ago we had to pay for a specific thing on this parking garage RFP we dealt with that cost me $300 out of pocket. In the end us and only 1 other company ended up in the final stage of the RFP and we lost. It was worth the risk of course but what a bulljazz thing we had to do for that $300 bucks. What that was is we had to register our business within that state even though we do business there all the time. It did not matter. So in that case the state got the $300 and we got Zilch and I still Legally do work in that state that never needed me to register there.