Not trying to start anything

[Sam_Fear]

Talked to the guy over the phone once for a 1/2 hour or more about some dimensions. A talker, but real helpful. I think at the time, he was building his own rods and selling them. My guess is he started doing builds to order and got in over his head. Like a lot of guys, they can do the work, but have no idea how to run a business.

 

[Torch]

To work around the aprehension people have with puttting money up front for a project when i'm doing a construction project for someone and i don;t have the cash to fund it i prefer to pre-order my materials and set it up with an invoice number and allow the customer to go to the store or pay over the phone with their credit card.
no problem since I'm charging for the work and not markup on materials and most customers understand that the work has value in itself.
When I do run into someone who thinks they can get the work done cheaper my response it "that's fine go ahead but if you want it done as per our schedule and you like my work i think you're better off hiring me to do it."

 

[Torch]

One guy who turned out to be a schmuck hired me to move some walls, jack up and straighten the floors, ripout the lath and plaster, insulate and drywall a house he wanted to flip.
he agreed to my bid...
So after i went in there and hauled off several loads of garbage left behind by the previous renters, ripped out the carpet and old cabinets he kicked me off the job with a $200 check for the hauling. I told him dude that doesn't barely cover the dump fee and the gas. to which he replied he found someone able to do the job far cheeper.

So a couple months later he calls me up moaning how he's been screwed and needs bailed out and asks me to meet him and give him a price on fixing the fail.

I showed up, let him travel to the place spend half his day showing me everything and asks me what it will cost.
They absolutely butchered the place
It went like this

Victor-"So what do you think"
Me-"lol yes you really got screwed"
Victor-"I mean how much do you think to do it like you were going to/"
Me-"Oh I don't care... I'm not doing it"
Victor (angry)- "what do you mean you don't want to do it"
Me- "Don;t get me wrong i WANTED to do it but after you screwed me i just wanted to have a good laugh at your expense"
and I patted him on the back and said "good luck with the house buddy" and walked out feeling mighty fine.

 

[Country Misfit]

Way to go Torch, I have had similar experience. I used to do some rental property maintenance for a lady and she kept trying to get me to do things cheaper and cheaper.One day she had a major remodel to do and she didnt like my price. She got somebody else to do it. When the renters moved in,and had the electric turned on, a lot of the lights and receptacle"s did not work. She called the person that did the work-but he gave her the run around. She called me and I looked at a few things,and pulled some of the receptacle"s out and there was no wire going to them. She asked me,how much is it going to cost to fix? I said a lot and I aint doing it.

 

[lowbudget50]

Thats awesome torch!

 

[Willowbilly3]

We had the same thing many times in the concrete business. Some jackwad would bid a job in at less than our costs, do the flatwork, pull a good draw and disappear. Then when they wanted us to come in and do the technical stuff and clean up the mess, it was cost plus and if you don't like it, find another jackwad to do it cheaper.

But on the rod builder, Like Sam says, he was probably a guy who liked building rods, turned it into a business he didn't have the skills to manage. Plus doing things your own way is a lot different than doing it for a customer. I strongly dislike commissioned work because now I have to try and be in the customers head doing it to their vision and my creative process just doesn't function that way.