sign I saw this morning

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brian john said:
Bernies Garage and DISCO - (Different but a good use of space, I mean who doesn't want to dance in a grease pit.)
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They must have quite the 'radio in the background' system when they're working on cars.
 
On another forum there was talk sometime ago and I heard that there a number of sparkies who'll pull out with a plow in the midwest and east coast - some work slows up in the winter, got 3' of snow - make some money...
 
peter d said:
Weird...of all people you portray yourself as someone who would do just about anything to earn money. After all, if you will work into a rodent infested dive with Vapo-rub under your nose to do electrical work, why not pressure wash a deck? (assuming the $$ is right of course) :confused:
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He doesn't have room to stock the power washer in his truck!:grin: :roll: j/k

Hey, if the HO is paying for a hour, why shouldn't they get an hour? I know I've had mechanics do some work other than what was bid when they finished a job in a few minutes.
 
With me you are not paying for my hour, you are paying for me to resolve an issue and 3 hours is the minimum for my training and expertise.

And even if the training and expertise ain't there it sure sounded good when I typed it.
 
brian john said:
...Jimmy's Electric, Plumbing, AC and Small Appliance Repair - (which is not usual)......
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We had a guy in town a while back whose truck advertised plumbing and fly fishing. ;)
 
I can remember back when I was first married a few years with three little mouths to feed and I was working for an electrical contractor in Lake Placid, NY who had 10 other sparkies on board, too. When winter came and the work slowed down and we'd already done inventory and cleaned the shop, he'd apologetically let the fellows go onto unemployment benefits but he graciously kept me on all winter.

I plowed a lot of snow in those days, but I fed my family and as soon as electrical work picked up again, I was right back at it.
The man's dead now but I will always remember him. :smile:
 
DanZ said:
Hey, if the HO is paying for a hour, why shouldn't they get an hour?
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The one time I spoke up and mentioned how much of that hour was left over, the lady had me weeding flower beds for 30 minutes. No, thanks. If I get done in less than an hour, bonus for me. Your car mechanic is likely to still bill you the hours from the Mitchell guide rather than how long it actually took him. Auto body work is much the same way.
 
Hey - if it was Alabama, he might offer free brain surgery for every new service installation. Throw in a free dog neutering if it's over a 30A main.
 
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Hey - if you're a lawyer, how many clients are being billed for that same half hour. I've been on the phone with my lawyer for less than 5 minutes and it always seem to show up 10-20 minutes on the bill.
 
This is starting to sound like a list of all the 'careers' Jethro Bodine had on The Beverly Hillbillys.

bodine.jpg
 
There are several guys in the area that advertise "handyman" services. Not sure exactly what they do, but I know at least one of them spends a fair amount of time tree trimming.

Getting a real tree trimmer to come out is really pricey. The handyman will trim your tree for $45 an hour, plus the trip charge.
 
mdshunk said:
The one time I spoke up and mentioned how much of that hour was left over, the lady had me weeding flower beds for 30 minutes. No, thanks. If I get done in less than an hour, bonus for me. Your car mechanic is likely to still bill you the hours from the Mitchell guide rather than how long it actually took him. Auto body work is much the same way.
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Sorry to hear about your gardening.
brian john said:
With me you are not paying for my hour, you are paying for me to resolve an issue and 3 hours is the minimum for my training and expertise.

And even if the training and expertise ain't there it sure sounded good when I typed it.
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I figured you guys were the kind of slick upsales man that would say, "I've got a few minutes of that hour I have to bill you for left, would you like me to put a GFCI receptacle in your bathroom/kitchen?" or fix some other electrical work that should be done.

The times I have had mechanics do that for me, it was really strange stuff, like welding washers so they could remount a shock that had popped through the mount. It only took them 20 or 30 minutes, so they asked if I wanted to have them check out a few other things, since I still had paid time.
 
petersonra said:
Getting a real tree trimmer to come out is really pricey. The handyman will trim your tree for $45 an hour, plus the trip charge.
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Oh right.... I guess arborists should be cheap too, right? I mean, having heavy trucks, cranes, bucket trucks, chippers, stump grinders, trailers and all the insurance doesn't cost that much. :roll: You must live in some kind of fantasy world.


And as far as having a handyman do tree work, I would not even allow anyone less that a licensed, insured professional arborist on my property to do anything more than cutting down a bush or a sapling.
 
peter d said:
Oh right.... I guess arborists should be cheap too, right? I mean, having heavy trucks, cranes, bucket trucks, chippers, stump grinders, trailers and all the insurance doesn't cost that much. :roll: You must live in some kind of fantasy world.
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I found most Arborists that I had show up, usually ended up having a college degree. I had some trees that needed to be cut, others that had to be trimmed. It was pretty clear which ones were "lumber jacks" versus which ones were true arborists.
 
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cschmid said:
wow here we call them loggers...
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:confused:

People who clear forests for a living are called loggers here too. People who trim and remove trees for homes, business, and the poco are called arborists.
 
peter d said:
Oh right.... I guess arborists should be cheap too, right? I mean, having heavy trucks, cranes, bucket trucks, chippers, stump grinders, trailers and all the insurance doesn't cost that much. :roll: You must live in some kind of fantasy world.


And as far as having a handyman do tree work, I would not even allow anyone less that a licensed, insured professional arborist on my property to do anything more than cutting down a bush or a sapling.
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You really don't need much more than a ladder, some safety and climbing gear, and a few tools to do most tree trimming.

I never heard of a licensed arborist before.
 
peter d said:
Oh right.... I guess arborists should be cheap too, right? I mean, having heavy trucks, cranes, bucket trucks, chippers, stump grinders, trailers and all the insurance doesn't cost that much. :roll: You must live in some kind of fantasy world.
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He neglected to mention that the trip charge is $500. :wink:
 
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