TASK 1 ----I've had 3 guys come to my home and quote me from $16k-$18k to do a full re-do of all decking around the pool and add more around a hot tub and walkway area--total run about 3000 sq/ft of beautiful natural stone. I've said YES let's do it 3 times and never heard back.

Company #1 no return calls or texts after agreeing on job in person

Company #2 was a guy a co-worker referred me to that has done stone work for over 20yrs. Met the guy at my home measured and discussed, met him again at rock quarry and picked stones. He just disappeared. I called and texted him for 3 weeks before asking my co-worker if he knew what was going on. That guy claimed his crew quit and went back to whatever country they were from and he just couldn't face me I guess?

Company #3 no-showed after the in-person quote, written contract and appt to start prepping the job.

Am I supposed to beg these fuckers to take my hard-earned money? This is a great job with great margin. I just don't get it.


TASK 2 ---- I also want to add 2-3 more electrical outlets around the area stated above and to relocate one in the garage or just add another one there too. Company #1 - Quote given I say OK when can you do it> We'll call you from the main office and schedule....NOTHING! I've left messages 3 times for a week since meeting the guy that came out for the quote. I call company #2 - They say they have a min charge of $500 labor and prefer not doing residential at all. Can you refer me someone? NOPE We just don't want the job. WELL DAMNNN This money I have truly is shitty I guess. Can't be ME, these fuckers never saw me and I pretty much have no problem paying fair pay for good work.

TASK #3 ---- Hey Mr. Gardner, that has done our property for 5yrs. Can you trim that tree that is overhanging the roofline back a little? Let me call the owner. He calls right then and sends a pic. Owner wants $1000---WHAT? Says he has to cut and haul away and guy has to get on ladder. This was approx 2ft of trimming a tree with 1/2" to 1" branches on a single story ranch home. There is no haul away, just put the damn branches in te 96 gal cans I have and the city will pick it up like always.

I'm convinced that good and honest SERVICE IS FOREVER GONE!!!

People will either fuck the shit outta you or not do the job if they can't get a good fucking outta you. I don't mind a lil fuckover every now and then. I've gotten used to getting fucked a lil bit on all these deals of today, but I be DAMNED if I'm gonna just offer up myself for a regular and randomn rough fucking from every fucker that fucking comes to my house or does business with me.

FUCK THESE FUCKS AND THEIR FUCKING FUCKERY!!!!!!

---

You too? I was wondering if I was the only one who was experiencing this type crap.

Other side of the coin, I'm lucky to have two service outfits, a one-man garage door service and a three-man HVAC service, that are both responsive, do good work, and are reasonably priced. Both of them referred by SIGforum member bigdeal (who seems to have disappeared around eight months ago).

Likely a ripple effect of the increasing dearth of tradesmen.

Used to be, the worthless contractors got pushed out by the good ones, or else were forced to either shape up or starve.

Nowadays, there are so few of them out there and such high demand that even the crappy ones can find enough work to pay the bills, despite their shitty work practices. So guys like these can afford to ghost clients and still have a full schedule.


Once you find some good ones, hold onto them for dear life. I'm trying to rebuild my rolodex of skilled tradesmen in my new town, and I've experienced similar difficulty in weeding out the no-calls, no-shows, no-availability, no-effort, etc.

(If I had a do-over in life, I'd go to trade school to be something like a plumber or electrician, and laugh all the way to the bank. )

Well damn. If it makes you feel any better, it's not just you.

I have been through EXACTLY what you describe in TASK 1. New hardscaping around the house, and particularly a deck replacement. Got as far as design proofs with the only company that would even go that far with us and now... nothing.

It's seemingly impossible to give away money these days. If you're too busy - just say so. Don't waste my time with estimates and whatnot if you have no intention of following through.

Fortunately, I have an excellent electrician for the few things I won't tackle myself, and I've recently found a solo GC who charges extremely reasonable prices and is willing to do anything from fixing a squeaky hinge to building an addition on the house. Come to think of it, I should ask him about the deck.

-Rob

I didn't even mention the thieves that try to get a 50%, or even more, CASH deposit upfront.

You KNOW these guys will never return.

I'll pay for the materials/supplies to be delivered to my home and I will pay that directly to the supplier. All you have to do is show up and provide the skill. We will set pay intervals for your labor that you and I are comfortable with or we can use a credit card right now with no issues at all. I try to use a credit card AT ALL TIMES! Anyone uncomfortable with this is just gonna rob you.

---

quote:

Originally posted by FLKev:
I try to use a credit card AT ALL TIMES! Anyone uncomfortable with this is just gonna rob you.

I don't mind paying cash, and most folks seem to prefer that. But they're getting it after the work is done.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by FLKev:
I try to use a credit card AT ALL TIMES! Anyone uncomfortable with this is just gonna rob you.

I don't mind paying cash, and most folks seem to prefer that. But they're getting it after the work is done.

I'm OK with cash in steps as they complete the job, but like you said I prefer all or the largest payment being paid at the end. Most guys need some $$$ for gas, food, etc... for their crew.

---

I've been trying to get a heat tape installed and some flashing repaired on my roof since March. Can't get anyone to even return my calls unless they're some unbonded uninsured chancer. It's a half day job, if that, for cash.


25 years ago, I'd have done it myself, but the days of me climbing a 45* pitched roof are long gone!

This happened with our kitchen remodel. Been trying since before the coof. I finally took the money and invested it.
I hope it works out for you.

Honestly, I'm vehemently against 'a lil fuckover every now and then', to include EVER for that matter! Just Sayin'...

LOL it's amazing the contractor issues, especially lawn services here, have a guy that used to do our shrub trimming, can't get him over for anything, including building a paver patio out back

Text goes like

me: hey you still doing paver work
him: yes sir!
me: can you stop over and let me know what it will take $ and time wise to put in a patio out back
Him: yes sir! we can do that
me: any day is fine, I'm working from home what do you have available, let me know
Him: silence

couple days later
me: When you get a moment when can we get
together
him: silence

this is a guy that's done work for me since high school... LOL

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Honestly, I'm vehemently against 'a lil fuckover every now and then', to include EVER for that matter! Just Sayin'...

I wish it were that easy. The days of a man having PRIDE & PASSION are long gone my friend.

People will do the job, but it will be the min job with no pride at all unless you literally stand over them and correct them as they do the work. (I generally take off work and do exactly this at the beginning of the project if real $$ are involved)

---

quote:

(If I had a do-over in life, I'd go to trade school to be something like a plumber or electrician, and laugh all the way to the bank.

This is SO TRUE! I'm begging my boys to get a vocational trade in SOMETHING rather than college (which is great but can be done at any time, especially if you are doing it just for knowledge and curiosity, and books in libraries are free).

And I had three people ghost me on building a cement retaining wall, it's not just Florida.

The last 3 projects I've tried to do have gone like that. Call around, asking for quotes. Can't get 75% of the companies to return my calls, and the ones that did come out and give quotes were outrageously high. I ended up giving up and just doing it all myself. The only thing I can figure is that they're all so booked up with new construction contracts that they don't have time to do any smaller jobs.

I feel your pain!

Years ago, I learned that the definition of "soon" in South Florida is much broader than I have come to expect.

I was in need of a painter, and made a few calls from recommendations of people down there.

"I can be there soon."
"Well sir, what's 'soon'?"

"Anywhere from two Thursday's from now to end of next month."


There were a handful of other incidents like you described, and I pretty much gave up on finding good help down there.

Wife called around in March to get quotes on adding mulch to her flower beds. You know, while the plants are small and it’s easy to see where it goes. Only got one landscaping company to show up and provide a quote.

On a positive note, they did show up today and got it done. Things ain’t what they used to be!

I have had the same experience except they showed up and did a shitty job. Tale of the three stooges.

First, it was a small job of replacing some shingles that blew off. At least a bundle was needed but no they just nailed down the old ones.

Next the heat pump was not running and the breaker for the backup heat was stuck. A/C guy comes out and gets the old breaker out but you could see the panel was burnt. I had a spare breaker and he puts it in and it starts smoking and I turn it off as he had gone outside to check the heat pump. He comes back in and turns it back on and I say that is enough. He charges me $150 for his time.

I get a quote for a new breaker panel and they come out and did the job in one day. They cut holes in the sheet rock around the new panel and just left it. If the building inspector saw what they did, he would probably pull their license.

High demand and lack of labor created this. Or what some will do is what your gardener did: quote a price so high that he will get people to bite on the high prices and pass up lower paying work.

When did this started happening? I don't recall it happening much before 2020.

It's been a thing for at least a decade around here. We're one of the fastest-growing areas in the nation, yet the supply of tradesmen has been dwindling as the larger pool of old school guys retire or die off. And most of those that are around can get plenty of work just from the new construction side of things.

The good news is that there is currently (finally) a big push to get more kids back interested in the skilled trades and headed towards trade school instead of the prior generation of "college for everyone" and $100k student debt for a useless degree in 14th century Somalian art history. Heck, many of the larger electrical/plumbing/HVAC/etc. firms are offering paid training now too. They'll literally take guys off the street with zero experience, pay them to get trained and licensed, and then roll them into an apprenticeship and a well-paying career.

So it'll hopefully get better as this newer generation of tradesmen hit the streets... It'll just take a while. And in the meantime we'll have to continue to deal with high prices, long waits, and shitty service that's allowed to continue to thrive due to scarcity.

This is one of the many reason I do ALL of my own work. The biggest problem is it takes me FOREVER to complete the projects. BUT, they eventually do get done and are completed to my satisfaction.

Don't take this the wrong way, but can you just do it yourself?