Is a low price the only thing that matters?

[jmellc]

you should be wearing shubees every time you walk in someone's house anyway.

I assume you mean clean room slippers? I have them now. I'm past taking my shoes off for anyone, unless I picked up mud outside. I am not comfortable working in sock feet & it is not safe.

 

[satcom]

I assume you mean clean room slippers? I have them now. I'm past taking my shoes off for anyone, unless I picked up mud outside. I am not comfortable working in sock feet & it is not safe.

You don't take your safety shoes off you slip the protection covers over the shoe

 

[growler]

Go there, have to take my shoes off.

you should be wearing shubees every time you walk in someone's house anyway.

Brant I think when he's talking about removing the shoes it's a religious practice of the homeowner.

I don't really like to insult people's relgion but most of the time I just use the shoe covers and that Ok with them but I have been asked to remove my shoes. All religions have a few followers that are really strict.

I find the best thing to do is just to ask if the shoe covers will be OK and this shows a little respect. I explain that it for safety.

 

[kwired]

Brant I think when he's talking about removing the shoes it's a religious practice of the homeowner.

I don't really like to insult people's relgion but most of the time I just use the shoe covers and that Ok with them but I have been asked to remove my shoes. All religions have a few followers that are really strict.

I find the best thing to do is just to ask if the shoe covers will be OK and this shows a little respect. I explain that it for safety.

My wife wants shoes removed as if it were a religious practice, but we both practice same religion and I never remembered being taught to remove shoes in any teaching received at the church.

If shoes are really soiled I understand, otherwise I can make a bigger mess on the floor just 'doing the job' sometimes than I will ever make just walking through the room with my shoes on. It all vacuums up when job is completed. If job is going to take a fair amount of time something needs to be put on the floor if it is that important to protect it. What I don't like is laminated floors. They are easier to damage than carpet, I think they are stupid.

 

[petersonra]

First off - MYOB. What he does on his own is none of your concern.

Second. Price matters. It always has. It just matters a lot more sometimes.

These kind of retail establishments are often not real profitable. Many times the owners could make more money and have better benefits working as a stock clerk at Walmart (quite literally), and work a lot less hours. Whatever money they pay you to do work comes out of the money to pay their mortgage and to feed their kids. What do you think comes first?

 

[bradleyelectric]

First off - MYOB. What he does on his own is none of your concern.

Second. Price matters. It always has. It just matters a lot more sometimes.

These kind of retail establishments are often not real profitable. Many times the owners could make more money and have better benefits working as a stock clerk at Walmart (quite literally), and work a lot less hours. Whatever money they pay you to do work comes out of the money to pay their mortgage and to feed their kids. What do you think comes first?

The fact the owner does not know how to or is not willing to run a profitable business is none of my concern. I've worked in some places that looked like real dumps and made quite a bit of repairs due to improper work. I've then gone and done work at the owners houses and they've had marble tile throughout the whole first floor of the house that had an impressive footprint.

Some times I get the story about being on a fixed income. I then get to hear that they are at the beach in their home there and will be going to their place in Florida when the weather turns colder and the job they want done is in another propery of theirs that there son in college lives in so please do it for less then it costs due to them being on a fixed budget.

Either they will pay a price that is profitable for me to do it or someone else can. I can spend the time better looking for profitable work.

 

[satcom]

The fact the owner does not know how to or is not willing to run a profitable business is none of my concern. I've worked in some places that looked like real dumps and made quite a bit of repairs due to improper work. I've then gone and done work at the owners houses and they've had marble tile throughout the whole first floor of the house that had an impressive footprint.

Some times I get the story about being on a fixed income. I then get to hear that they are at the beach in their home there and will be going to their place in Florida when the weather turns colder and the job they want done is in another propery of theirs that there son in college lives in so please do it for less then it costs due to them being on a fixed budget.

Either they will pay a price that is profitable for me to do it or someone else can. I can spend the time better looking for profitable work.

So true they are on fixed income the only thing they neglect to tell you is it is fixed in the high six figures.

The secret is to work for anyone willing to pay your rate, and not waste time with someone that thinks anything more then their hourly rate is robbery, and let someone else go broke playing games with them.

 

[jmellc]

My wife wants shoes removed as if it were a religious practice, but we both practice same religion and I never remembered being taught to remove shoes in any teaching received at the church.

If shoes are really soiled I understand, otherwise I can make a bigger mess on the floor just 'doing the job' sometimes than I will ever make just walking through the room with my shoes on. It all vacuums up when job is completed. If job is going to take a fair amount of time something needs to be put on the floor if it is that important to protect it. What I don't like is laminated floors. They are easier to damage than carpet, I think they are stupid.

A few religions demand or encourage bare feet, but it's mostly that 3rd world people have a practice of that, to keep floors in good shape. I understand that, but I won't do it any more. I have clean room slippers that go over my boots and don't scuff or leave dirt. I mostly got sick of shoes off/on every time in/out, answer a million questions about why this, why not that, why so expensive, can't we do this or that, etc. And STILL not get the job. 1 guy out there has burned his bridge. I won't go to his house any more unless a different owner is there; MAYBE.

 

[growler]

So true they are on fixed income the only thing they neglect to tell you is it is fixed in the high six figures.

You can normally just look around a home and see if people are forced to live frugaly.

One of the cheapest and most complaining guys I know lost 3 million in the stock market at couple years back and can probably stand to lose several million more before it starts to become a hardship.

 

[Benton]

Perception is Reality

Perception is Reality

I find that peoples perception of an electrician is their reality. Electricity is so common today, lights, receptacle, plug it in, it works. People have friends to come over and put a receptacle in, hang a ceiling fan etc. In their minds, it must not be that hard. They have no real sense of the broadness of the trade the skill that it take to "properly" perform work etc. They only see what they see. They don't see the levels of the trade of we do. Whether domestic or foreign, it is the same nature. It truly is a thin line.

 

[cowboyjwc]

As Ron White says, "you can't fix stupid."

I used to worry about stuff like that, and as an inspector I really worried about stuff liket that, and then an old and wise inspector once said to me, "it's not your problem as long as you didn't put you name on it."

 

[jmellc]

Yes, we need to somehow come up with switches & receptacles that just stick to the wall and use "wireless power".

Nicola Tesla was actually working on such a thing with his Tesla Coil generator. I've read bits & pieces on that. He was seen as a mad scientist. But what if someone actually makes it work?

 

[cowboyjwc]

Yes, we need to somehow come up with switches & receptacles that just stick to the wall and use "wireless power".

Nicola Tesla was actually working on such a thing with his Tesla Coil generator. I've read bits & pieces on that. He was seen as a mad scientist. But what if someone actually makes it work?

Just in case it's me, I'll say goodbye to you all now, because once I've got that kind of money you won't be seeing me again.

 

[jmellc]

You don't take your safety shoes off you slip the protection covers over the shoe

Duh, that's what I said. Sorry it wasn't clearer.

 

[jmellc]

I don't care so much about the permits or inspection because this is not my job but the unsafe crap work really gets to me. Just the other day I found a circuit that was fed by an #18 GA. lamp cord running exposed and naturally it didn't have a ground.

One the same job I found a receptacle installed without a box where the wire was feeding through a mounting hole in a buried panel. I started out to replace a burned receptacle and ended up having to dig out a buried panel. The wires were burned all the way into the panel so I had to uncover it just to get and idea what was actually wrong.

What's really bad is that the new owners of the business had not idea of what they were getting and now they end up paying for repairs.

The good thing is that I think that many problems will show up in the future so there will always be more work correcting all this crap work.

Lamp cord? That was high quality. I've seen receptacles on doorbell wire.

 

[dexterg]

Good advice

We see it all the time the small store owner starts a business and it never brings in enough to pay all the overhead and operating expenses so they end up trading a few lunches for repairs and installations so some guy that has ten minutes of electrical experience does the job

You hit right on target.! We see the same thing a lot here too.

 

[Fulthrotl]

People will spend 10,000 dollars on a kitchen floor and crab about a few hundred needed to fix an electrical problem.

it's human nature....

the wires inside the wall aren't visible.... and most people are into bling,
and not infrastructure. maintaining infrastructure is expensive, and not
very exciting.

i was watching tv, and the topic was something really sexy... rust and
corrosion.... and this little number came up.... the US navy spends more
on dealing with rust and corrosion on their ships, than canada spends on
their ENTIRE defense budget.

as for this thread, with regard to the rants about having to remove your
shoes, i have had to take off my shoes in customers houses, and there
weren't any cultural reasons to do it, as the customer doesn't remove
their shoes, and we are walking on the same ground, and that means it's
just an ego thing so that you will know your place..... i've only had it
happen twice where i had to take off my shoes, and the customer didn't.

i price accordingly. start with doubling the price for any work being done.

sometimes, you are talking to someone, and the thought goes thru your
mind...... "how much is it worth to me just to have to put up with you?"

and that affects a lot of pricing decisions.