Here's a red flag. if the contractor show up in your driveway uninvited saying he's working down the road and wants to do work for you., absolutely send them packing.
Good conversation. You guys in Derby, and Chris letsdig18 and a few others are better than real tv. I never miss a video. Retired farmer, so you are good entertainment.
Mike, you are spot on about engineers. It gets even better when their family members tell you, I know how it's done my so, and so is an engineer. you also forgot the best of all, a customers who watched a UA-cam video. And says that's not how the other guy did it.
wishing Mike, Matt, Aaron, Farmer Chris, Captin Kleeman, and Jerry and all their families a very Blessed and Merry Christmas and a very Happy and Safe New Year.
You gentlemen are so spot on with this topic, and the points you made. I also charge a nuisance fee with those problematic customers. I prepared a valuation of acreage for dividing an acreage estate property among 5 siblings. It wasn’t divided the way they wanted, nor was it financially punishing one family member. They hired another Realtor for a second opinion, they knocked me and my process and waited for his opinion. They got upset because they were very close in dollars and division of tracts. They then accused us of colluding. Both of us have great respect for the others work. But never dreamed we would be within $2000 on 100 acres and two houses.
Mike, you're spot on! I know I feel like I'm part of your day. For me, it makes me feel like I'm part of the crew. And, yes, it is your secret sauce! I love your channel and the banter that goes with it and the things I've learned by watching! Thanks Mike & Chris! Lee
You guys are both right and that way you are the ones that can sit at that table and mic and say what you want. No body is 100% perfect but be smart enough to know it and keep up this podcast it is great you could help a lot of people just being honest. Guys have a great holiday and God bless you
What I always did (with residential work anyways) with jobs that lasted 1-2 weeks was 1/3 at the start, 1/3 at a designated middle point of the job, and 1/3 at the end when the inspections were final. And the other point about advertising...85% + of my work was all referral work. They rarely shopped and was told by family, friends, coworkers, etc to just get Todd and he'll take care of you. I did almost NO advertising...word of mouth can't be beat
You are spot on with all of this. I work in an automotive salvage yard and the amount of stupidity is unreal. Some people just want a good part and a couple answers on how to change that part. Then others want to nickle and dime you to death on that part and tell you how to do your job and have no clue how to raise the hood. I appreciate you talking about this and sharing your side with us.
Ethics and common sense. I agree with all that has been said. I own ground and appreciate my farmer. I'm 35 year contractor that has seen about everything you described. Good show gentlemen. Merry Christmas all.
You two Men nailed it there in general there’s always something or someone that will buck the system DP and Farmer Chris you guys are as real as it gets nicely done 👍😎🇺🇸 NY
This applies to so much business. I fight this in my industry everyday too i have them hidden fees 💯 for all the BS they put me through. Then the next one i do little cheaper cause its so smooth without any BS
I really enjoyed the inside of how business works with respect to customer/contractor relationships. Thank both of you for taking your time, very educational.
Wishing the DP family, Matt and family, Aaron and family, Farmer Chris and family, Captain Kleeman and family along with all their subscribers a safe and Merry Christmas. Also wishing Americans Unity against a tyrannical government who is pushing division and hate.
History Channel LOL, Mike you do what works best for you and just keep going, your videos are very well done with a great variety of content, Tku . Merry Christmas to you and your Family & Crew. 🇨🇦
This same premise applies to my job working in a warehouse for a large corporation. They have started so many new initiatives to force socializing that i constantly have to call them out on it. The reason i gave to corporate when they finally listened to my complaints, was that i consider all extra socializing to be unpaid overtime.
Mike, I enjoyed the conversation about contractors and customers. As a retired project manager, every one of your red flags rings true. Have had many of your shared experiences. I watch your all videos and have just started listening to your podcast. Keep up the good work.
I just enjoy watching for various reasons. Mainly the integrity of the players. I admire any man who, by the seat of his pants, can and will tackle problems head on.
The most important thing is to be honest with the customer, good, bad, or in between. People don’t like surprises! Don’t make a big deal about what you find wrong, just give options on moving forward.
I put addition on my house three years ago. I was working with one contractor to put the shell up and inclose the addition. I gave him the blue prints that I hand draw up myself. He wanted me have the have my print computer draw up and print off. I got the old garage off the house and the contractor backed out on me last-minute. He called a guy that used to work for him to do the job. He started my project as he was waiting for materials on the house he is working on. He would show up at 9 am and leave at 3 pm. I worked on my project in the evenings after I worked all day. I finished different things and did more work on my own project then what my contractor did on my own . I see what you guys are talking about.
I mow lawns on the side. I used an app for getting the clients I done the work for his neighbors and got the job. Mowed them all the same. The red flag for me was he told me how long it took the other two guys. I didn’t even bid on it. It came back up on the app 2 or 3 times asked me to mow it. I finally done it and I charged him way more because the grass was over a foot high. He told me how it should be done. Namely he had tall fescue but wanted his lawn mowed at an inch so he could chip. I said one this is the wrong grass, two this doesn’t have irrigation, three I don’t have a reel mower and don’t know a mowing outfit that does to give you a fairway quality. I told him it would be cheaper for him to go to the driving range and practice than to maintain a lawn. When he realized I knew more about turf management. Than he did. He asked me what height I recommended and how much. Guess what it was the same as the other customers. I knew he liked a neat lawn. Priced weekly edging instead of biweekly.
Hi Mike, don’t comment as much as a should but I can’t pass on this one. I am a 45 year old high end residential remodeling contractor over here in Evansville. It’s all I have ever known as my father was already a contractor when I was born. I have the privilege of only getting the cream of the crop jobs for the cream of the crop customers. I am on the job doing the hands on work everyday along with all the office work. I have never agreed with anyone more than I did with everything you said in this video. I have dealt with and experienced all those examples you gave and you’re 100% correct on it all. Especially the engineer part.
I am a landlord of residential properties (one of the good ones who take care of their customers and properties). Everything that you discussed is spot on and apply equally in my business. Only additions/expansions I can add are: Check that the contractors license is valid and their insurance is valid and in effect when the job is being done. Cash only - Don’t walk RUN! It’s shady and what are they hiding? Trust your gut. Again Trust your gut! Don’t reason /convince yourself into why you should use this person. I so agree if they complain about the current or last landlord(s) (contractors). It could very well be (is) them!
Chris y’all are right but I’ve seen where people have said I’ve been doing this for 25 years and they still ain’t worth a shit at it the good guys or companies are the ones that takes pride in there work
Great chat Mike and Chris. Made a lot of sense. Just ticked over to Christmas day over here in Australia so have a Merry Christmas and a safe new year.
Hey ,I just like to say ,thanks to you guys for talking to logger Wade, he is a great fella and I will tell you, he made my day better every time he posted a vidio ,love all you folks and have a merry Christmas and a happy new year
Thanks for the chat video Mike, Farmer Chris is a nice guy like so many Derby folks. You we're pretty darn close on your opinion of some engineers, like my Brother in law. He came up one summer to design an 80 foot retaining wall and the next spring the whole wall fell over. My Wife asked me to go look at it (Stone Mason) and I told them what I'd have to do and what materials I'd need to do it and they asked me to do it and I did put it in but my Mother in-law was calling her engineer Son describing how I was building an upside down cantilever foundation in and was complaining about unnecessary cost. I took them half way down the proposed wall and asked them to look up the hill at the 4 large houses up there and explained I was building their wall to hold those 4 houses from sliding further down the hill. They shut up after that.
listen to me, because I'm an engineer, 🤣, love it, I know exactly what you meen, it also drives me nuts when people google how to do something and think it's the end all be all, sometimes it's written by people who went to school, got a degree, and never or rarely been out in the field to see how things actually work or don't work. it seems now a days, customers are harder to deal with, most of them seem to know everything, they always try and nitpick the cost, this is where the internet becomes a double edge sword. this is why I enjoy channels like yours, so I can learn different approaches so we can continue to improve and become better contractors and even customers. thanks for the podcast guys, don't work too hard over the holidays!
Had a friend years ago who was a lawyer. His wife and I were friends too. Anyway, his brother wanted his bathroom remodeled and I submitted a bid but lost out to a contractor who could (you’ll never guess). START RIGHT AWAY! Yeah, his brother was also an attorney. Anyway, this contractor jumps in, makes a huge mess, damages the house dragging stuff in and out - then just ups and quits. Lawsuit to follow. So I heard about this mess from a disinterested third party. I shrug and say “Eh -he should have gone with me, but what the heck”. Anyway, I ran into the wife at the grocery store and as soon as she saw me I just shrugged and she immediately knew that I knew what had happened. She went on and on about how she tried to talk her brother in law out of going with Mister “Start right away” but I told her it was no skin off of my... well, you know. And another time I gave a bid on rebuilding the whole roof of a small garage. It had no real roof on it and had obviously leaked for 10-15 years. Next time I saw the guy at softball practice he informed me that his wife (who turned out to be a REAL piece of work) said that I absolutely had to START RIGHT AWAY! I told him that the roof could leak for another three weeks - or they could get a different contractor. I ended up doing the roof and some other minor stuff but she was too much and I just said “No mas”. Life’s too short.
Spot on. Be respectful of both people time and you be fine. Don't try to tell people how to do there job. There nothing wrong with checking in with the contractor daily or looking at the job to make sure it is going the right way. When I was doing woodworking and selling things I always sent picture the the people ordering it so they new what was going on. All go back to open line of communications. I'm also the landlord for a farmer. The same family has been farming it for 40 years. No problems so far. Could a get a few more dollars out of it yes but what the farmer does on top of the rent is important to. He fixes all the filed tiles, plows snow give us a cheaper price on limestone for the driveway and actually will spread it for the landlords as well. So all that is worth something in the long run as well.
DP’s love for engineers must be from a childhood memory…maybe his 1st bike fell apart on the test ride or something lol All jokes aside, y’all are spot on. I’ve been on all sides of this conversation and agree 100%
Gotta love ya some logger wade.he's a treat.never met n engineer i liked.they rent my land n i clear trees that fall pick up big stones n have never bitched about rent money.i have the best ground per acre n they pay me less than others.
One of the things that annoy me is when the customer tells me about how others screwed up and they are going to make sure that I do right. Usually I forget a few things I normally do
My Uncle worked Civil Service on Tinker AFB, OK. He got into a dispute with an electrical engineer about a faulty electrical board. The electrical engineer was using electrical theory to determine the fault. My Uncle uses common sense based on the parts of the electrical board to figure out the fault, but the engineer said my uncle didn't know what he was talking about. After a week of the electrical engineer being unsuccessful at finding the fault, my uncle took it and found the fault within 10 seconds. It was a bad one-way diode. The electrical engineer was so pissed off. He cussed at my uncle and told him he never wanted to see him in his area again. An hour later, the guy showed up at my uncle's workstation and apologized for his disrespect. My Uncle later found out the guy had been fired. Not just for the guy's disrespect to my uncle, but the guy had a long list of things stacked up against him. My Uncle doesn't like dealing with engineers, and I've had my bad experiences with them as well. Not all are bad, but it seems that the majority of them have that "I'm right and you are wrong" mentality.
I hope you and Farmer Chris and all the teams in Derby county or what ever it is I am Scottish but you get the idea, have a very Merry Christmas and one heck of a Hogmanay to one and all, lets hope next year gets things back to normal. Thank you both for the good advice, that works no matter where you are in the world.
Haven't listened to this one yet. But I would totally watch a video of you and man behind the scenes building a podcast room for better audio lol (and the video can help pay for it lol) still going to listen either way but 🤷
Wonderful podcast. Merry Christmas to the Perry County family! Topics for consideration: Material costs and availability since the pandemic...are you seeing prices come down, or what is the state of materials. Where do you see construction and farming going with the push for EV equipment?
Another point is if a customer never does any complaining then that customer usually gets a better job. If he says hey I need this tree removed. If he is a customer that never complains most likely that tree will disappear without a extra charge
Change orders suck! I work as a goods reseller, and there was a time we attempted contracting; the extra odds and sods cost us far too much after the initial quote.
Mr. Dirt perfect loved this pod cast everything you said was spot on but idk if I missed this but what about if a paying customer stays in the shadows and watches you work as you know you can do a lot with your equipment and experience in a very short time. As I personally have done this not to micro manage but to one watch the equipment in motion because I love the dirt work but also to be there if a question comes up.
I started swinging a hammer in 1965 as an apprentice and one rule of thumb I always took to heart was get three bids and throw out the low bid. That was a general rule. It does not work if they are all real close. And on occasion I would ask them why that happened. If they had a good explanation for it like they have found a valid method that saves a lot of time and can show the reason then think about it and research it. Generally though the low ball price will cost you more in the end with change order abuse. Never be afraid to ask "why" at any point before signing a contract. If there is something you do not understand or any question in your mind do not assume. Clear it up and get it in writing.
I wish you and your entire crew a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year... As far as Contractor red flags.. You sound like a Holmes on Holmes episode. That part of customers... and I'm an engineer... Oh I've seen that in my job... and my first thought always is.. if you're so smart why are you not doing this yourself.... some are still OK to work with.. but often, HARD PASS...
I had a guy come up to me and ask about firewood. I said I didn't have time to get it, but he kept pushing. I had someone else get the order ready for me , so I picked it up and went to deliver it and he told me the price was too high. (2 cord of wood for 550$) . I took it to my house and dumped it out. That's just less I have to cut and split.
Good Customer-Bad Customer, the more I think about it and listen to podcast, I was talking as if my customer is the landowner in reality I’m probably the customer. A customer is the one paying for a service or an asset, and I pay my contractors “ landowners” to use their ground so does that make me the customer? It was a littler harder for me to speak on this topic, if it’s a good or needy landowner I still need to rent their land and still have our first landowner today after 28 years, it’s hard for me to say I wouldn’t work for them again and go on down the road I guess, I find a way to make it work for both of us. With renting land from 85 different landowners I don’t think any 2 contracts are the same.
I have found the difference between a engineer and you DP is they don't admit when they make a mistake worked as a welder fabricator for 25 years and had to embarrass many a engineer
you talk about working for engineers remind me when i worked in a garage a customer came in said we didn't fix his problem we said we know because we fixed what you said what was wrong
Good pod cast more ppl need to be like you guys but it’s the other way around every one is out to screw you out of money whole world gone to shi? Hell my 23 year old me and wife taught cursive writing not the damn school
Hi, great discussion, I think your observations are very rural/regional focused (which you discuss), and are not possible in less rural, or technical environments. So good insights, but far from universal.
Mike, how do you feel about working for labor and materials? I prefer to hire that way because I feel that a contract cost has to have padding for unknowns..
i hired a guy that was a close neighbor to build my house and i asked him if he had any other jobs inline other than mine he said not anything quick i said ok im ready to start he said about 4 months and you can move in he got the house about half built and just left never said anything and then i found out he left mine to go start other jobs i said hey what about me he says i didnt know you were in a hurry and i was living in a camper long story short i fired him and hired another guy he finished the house so i lived in the camper for a year and to top it off he was what i considered a real good friend but no longer
Here's a red flag. if the contractor show up in your driveway uninvited saying he's working down the road and wants to do work for you., absolutely send them packing.
Always enjoy talking with farmer Chris 😊
Farmer Chris is a good guest, smart dude, likeable; ya just gotta fill him up with coffee and get him talking.
Good conversation. You guys in Derby, and Chris letsdig18 and a few others are better than real tv. I never miss a video. Retired farmer, so you are good entertainment.
Thanks
It's always good seeing farmer Chris. Enjoyed all the stories..Great topic. Thanks for another great year of videos Mike.. 👋
Mike, you are spot on about engineers. It gets even better when their family members tell you, I know how it's done my so, and so is an engineer.
you also forgot the best of all, a customers who watched a UA-cam video. And says that's not how the other guy did it.
wishing Mike, Matt, Aaron, Farmer Chris, Captin Kleeman, and Jerry and all their families a very Blessed and Merry Christmas and a very Happy and Safe New Year.
You gentlemen are so spot on with this topic, and the points you made. I also charge a nuisance fee with those problematic customers.
I prepared a valuation of acreage for dividing an acreage estate property among 5 siblings. It wasn’t divided the way they wanted, nor was it financially punishing one family member.
They hired another Realtor for a second opinion, they knocked me and my process and waited for his opinion. They got upset because they were very close in dollars and division of tracts. They then accused us of colluding. Both of us have great respect for the others work. But never dreamed we would be within $2000 on 100 acres and two houses.
Mike, you're spot on! I know I feel like I'm part of your day. For me, it makes me feel like I'm part of the crew. And, yes, it is your secret sauce! I love your channel and the banter that goes with it and the things I've learned by watching! Thanks Mike & Chris! Lee
You guys are both right and that way you are the ones that can sit at that table and mic and say what you want. No body is 100% perfect but be smart enough to know it and keep up this podcast it is great you could help a lot of people just being honest. Guys have a great holiday and God bless you
What I always did (with residential work anyways) with jobs that lasted 1-2 weeks was 1/3 at the start, 1/3 at a designated middle point of the job, and 1/3 at the end when the inspections were final. And the other point about advertising...85% + of my work was all referral work. They rarely shopped and was told by family, friends, coworkers, etc to just get Todd and he'll take care of you. I did almost NO advertising...word of mouth can't be beat
You are spot on with all of this. I work in an automotive salvage yard and the amount of stupidity is unreal. Some people just want a good part and a couple answers on how to change that part. Then others want to nickle and dime you to death on that part and tell you how to do your job and have no clue how to raise the hood. I appreciate you talking about this and sharing your side with us.
Ethics and common sense. I agree with all that has been said. I own ground and appreciate my farmer. I'm 35 year contractor that has seen about everything you described. Good show gentlemen. Merry Christmas all.
You two Men nailed it there in general there’s always something or someone that will buck the system DP and Farmer Chris you guys are as real as it gets nicely done 👍😎🇺🇸 NY
This applies to so much business. I fight this in my industry everyday too i have them hidden fees 💯 for all the BS they put me through. Then the next one i do little cheaper cause its so smooth without any BS
A great watch Iam retired have had business of my worked for the man you know I sure learned a lot seen a lot heard a lot you have great advice 👍👋🇨🇦
I really enjoyed the inside of how business works with respect to customer/contractor relationships. Thank both of you for taking your time, very educational.
Thanks
Merry Christmas to all. Enjoy the day.
Wishing the DP family, Matt and family, Aaron and family, Farmer Chris and family, Captain Kleeman and family along with all their subscribers a safe and Merry Christmas. Also wishing Americans Unity against a tyrannical government who is pushing division and hate.
History Channel LOL, Mike you do what works best for you and just keep going, your videos are very well done with a great variety of content, Tku . Merry Christmas to you and your Family & Crew. 🇨🇦
This same premise applies to my job working in a warehouse for a large corporation. They have started so many new initiatives to force socializing that i constantly have to call them out on it. The reason i gave to corporate when they finally listened to my complaints, was that i consider all extra socializing to be unpaid overtime.
Love you insightful video keep them coming please
Mike, I enjoyed the conversation about contractors and customers. As a retired project manager, every one of your red flags rings true. Have had many of your shared experiences. I watch your all videos and have just started listening to your podcast. Keep up the good work.
I just enjoy watching for various reasons. Mainly the integrity of the players. I admire any man who, by the seat of his pants, can and will tackle problems head on.
The most important thing is to be honest with the customer, good, bad, or in between. People don’t like surprises!
Don’t make a big deal about what you find wrong, just give options on moving forward.
Very true
I put addition on my house three years ago. I was working with one contractor to put the shell up and inclose the addition. I gave him the blue prints that I hand draw up myself. He wanted me have the have my print computer draw up and print off. I got the old garage off the house and the contractor backed out on me last-minute. He called a guy that used to work for him to do the job. He started my project as he was waiting for materials on the house he is working on. He would show up at 9 am and leave at 3 pm. I worked on my project in the evenings after I worked all day. I finished different things and did more work on my own project then what my contractor did on my own . I see what you guys are talking about.
DP showed up on the job with a new 210! - lol And he needed it!
I was in business for myself for about 35 years everybody needs to deal with the public at least once in their life
I agree
I mow lawns on the side. I used an app for getting the clients I done the work for his neighbors and got the job. Mowed them all the same. The red flag for me was he told me how long it took the other two guys. I didn’t even bid on it. It came back up on the app 2 or 3 times asked me to mow it. I finally done it and I charged him way more because the grass was over a foot high. He told me how it should be done. Namely he had tall fescue but wanted his lawn mowed at an inch so he could chip. I said one this is the wrong grass, two this doesn’t have irrigation, three I don’t have a reel mower and don’t know a mowing outfit that does to give you a fairway quality. I told him it would be cheaper for him to go to the driving range and practice than to maintain a lawn. When he realized I knew more about turf management. Than he did. He asked me what height I recommended and how much. Guess what it was the same as the other customers. I knew he liked a neat lawn. Priced weekly edging instead of biweekly.
Another great Podcast, keep them coming guys!
Merry Christmas from NJ.! You guys are awesome.
FYI I call it a nuisance tax…
Great podcast!
Hit every nail on the head, guys. Nice job.
Hi Mike, don’t comment as much as a should but I can’t pass on this one. I am a 45 year old high end residential remodeling contractor over here in Evansville. It’s all I have ever known as my father was already a contractor when I was born. I have the privilege of only getting the cream of the crop jobs for the cream of the crop customers. I am on the job doing the hands on work everyday along with all the office work. I have never agreed with anyone more than I did with everything you said in this video. I have dealt with and experienced all those examples you gave and you’re 100% correct on it all. Especially the engineer part.
Thanks
Great information. Watching you and Chris how you treat each other and your employees, I know that you are no nonsense people but enjoy what you do.
I am a landlord of residential properties (one of the good ones who take care of their customers and properties). Everything that you discussed is spot on and apply equally in my business. Only additions/expansions I can add are:
Check that the contractors license is valid and their insurance is valid and in effect when the job is being done.
Cash only - Don’t walk RUN! It’s shady and what are they hiding?
Trust your gut. Again Trust your gut! Don’t reason /convince yourself into why you should use this person.
I so agree if they complain about the current or last landlord(s) (contractors). It could very well be (is) them!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year DP, Farmer Chris, MBTS, Mr Millennial!! Good topic on the podcast today guys.
You are spot on 👍
Chris y’all are right but I’ve seen where people have said I’ve been doing this for 25 years and they still ain’t worth a shit at it the good guys or companies are the ones that takes pride in there work
You guys are awesome keep up the great pod cast
Great chat Mike and Chris. Made a lot of sense. Just ticked over to Christmas day over here in Australia so have a Merry Christmas and a safe new year.
Hey ,I just like to say ,thanks to you guys for talking to logger Wade, he is a great fella and I will tell you, he made my day better every time he posted a vidio ,love all you folks and have a merry Christmas and a happy new year
Thanks for the chat video Mike, Farmer Chris is a nice guy like so many Derby folks. You we're pretty darn close on your opinion of some engineers, like my Brother in law. He came up one summer to design an 80 foot retaining wall and the next spring the whole wall fell over. My Wife asked me to go look at it (Stone Mason) and I told them what I'd have to do and what materials I'd need to do it and they asked me to do it and I did put it in but my Mother in-law was calling her engineer Son describing how I was building an upside down cantilever foundation in and was complaining about unnecessary cost. I took them half way down the proposed wall and asked them to look up the hill at the 4 large houses up there and explained I was building their wall to hold those 4 houses from sliding further down the hill. They shut up after that.
Farmer Chris is the same background as me, wish he would show us more hog processing! Grew up with it and miss it!
You both are absolutely correct. I was a concrete contractor, and the amount of nonsense you run into is amazing.
listen to me, because I'm an engineer, 🤣, love it, I know exactly what you meen, it also drives me nuts when people google how to do something and think it's the end all be all, sometimes it's written by people who went to school, got a degree, and never or rarely been out in the field to see how things actually work or don't work. it seems now a days, customers are harder to deal with, most of them seem to know everything, they always try and nitpick the cost, this is where the internet becomes a double edge sword. this is why I enjoy channels like yours, so I can learn different approaches so we can continue to improve and become better contractors and even customers. thanks for the podcast guys, don't work too hard over the holidays!
Mike and Chris great pod cast, honestly and hard work is the way to go! Thanks for sharing! Kevin
Had a friend years ago who was a lawyer. His wife and I were friends too. Anyway, his brother wanted his bathroom remodeled and I submitted a bid but lost out to a contractor who could (you’ll never guess). START RIGHT AWAY! Yeah, his brother was also an attorney. Anyway, this contractor jumps in, makes a huge mess, damages the house dragging stuff in and out - then just ups and quits. Lawsuit to follow. So I heard about this mess from a disinterested third party. I shrug and say “Eh -he should have gone with me, but what the heck”. Anyway, I ran into the wife at the grocery store and as soon as she saw me I just shrugged and she immediately knew that I knew what had happened. She went on and on about how she tried to talk her brother in law out of going with Mister “Start right away” but I told her it was no skin off of my... well, you know.
And another time I gave a bid on rebuilding the whole roof of a small garage. It had no real roof on it and had obviously leaked for 10-15 years. Next time I saw the guy at softball practice he informed me that his wife (who turned out to be a REAL piece of work) said that I absolutely had to START RIGHT AWAY! I told him that the roof could leak for another three weeks - or they could get a different contractor. I ended up doing the roof and some other minor stuff but she was too much and I just said “No mas”. Life’s too short.
G’day boys n girls, sending an Aussie Merry Christmas over from my family to yours.. enjoy the time!
Merry Christmas
Good talk 😊
Merry Christmas to the Derby crew from the Owensboro crew!
Christmas Eve here in Australia, enjoy your podcasts. Merry Christmas to you and Chris and all the best for the New Year.
Spot on. Be respectful of both people time and you be fine. Don't try to tell people how to do there job. There nothing wrong with checking in with the contractor daily or looking at the job to make sure it is going the right way. When I was doing woodworking and selling things I always sent picture the the people ordering it so they new what was going on. All go back to open line of communications. I'm also the landlord for a farmer. The same family has been farming it for 40 years. No problems so far. Could a get a few more dollars out of it yes but what the farmer does on top of the rent is important to. He fixes all the filed tiles, plows snow give us a cheaper price on limestone for the driveway and actually will spread it for the landlords as well. So all that is worth something in the long run as well.
DP’s love for engineers must be from a childhood memory…maybe his 1st bike fell apart on the test ride or something lol
All jokes aside, y’all are spot on. I’ve been on all sides of this conversation and agree 100%
They have cost me a lot of money over the years
Another great podcast and spot on with it all!
I agree, that’s the easy way saying, been there
Merry Christmas guys you're spot on with it there is people you love to work with and others not going to happen.
Gotta love ya some logger wade.he's a treat.never met n engineer i liked.they rent my land n i clear trees that fall pick up big stones n have never bitched about rent money.i have the best ground per acre n they pay me less than others.
Merry Christmas!!
One of the things that annoy me is when the customer tells me about how others screwed up and they are going to make sure that I do right. Usually I forget a few things I normally do
Yup
Use a lot of subs. When you get a good one you take care of them and keep them in the bad ones you just don’t call back. Enjoy this as always.
My Uncle worked Civil Service on Tinker AFB, OK. He got into a dispute with an electrical engineer about a faulty electrical board. The electrical engineer was using electrical theory to determine the fault. My Uncle uses common sense based on the parts of the electrical board to figure out the fault, but the engineer said my uncle didn't know what he was talking about. After a week of the electrical engineer being unsuccessful at finding the fault, my uncle took it and found the fault within 10 seconds. It was a bad one-way diode. The electrical engineer was so pissed off. He cussed at my uncle and told him he never wanted to see him in his area again. An hour later, the guy showed up at my uncle's workstation and apologized for his disrespect. My Uncle later found out the guy had been fired. Not just for the guy's disrespect to my uncle, but the guy had a long list of things stacked up against him. My Uncle doesn't like dealing with engineers, and I've had my bad experiences with them as well. Not all are bad, but it seems that the majority of them have that "I'm right and you are wrong" mentality.
Amen on the "I am an engineer"!!
As far as I’m concerned, they only engineer I trust is the one that is in control running down the tracks
I hope you and Farmer Chris and all the teams in Derby county or what ever it is I am Scottish but you get the idea, have a very Merry Christmas and one heck of a Hogmanay to one and all, lets hope next year gets things back to normal. Thank you both for the good advice, that works no matter where you are in the world.
Excellent! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Haven't listened to this one yet. But I would totally watch a video of you and man behind the scenes building a podcast room for better audio lol (and the video can help pay for it lol) still going to listen either way but 🤷
Wonderful podcast. Merry Christmas to the Perry County family! Topics for consideration: Material costs and availability since the pandemic...are you seeing prices come down, or what is the state of materials. Where do you see construction and farming going with the push for EV equipment?
Thanks
Appreciate this podcast... it was very educational..
Another point is if a customer never does any complaining then that customer usually gets a better job. If he says hey I need this tree removed. If he is a customer that never complains most likely that tree will disappear without a extra charge
THANKS FOR THE INSIGHT GREAT TOPIC LOVE THE RED FLAGS BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
Thanks
Thanks for sharing y’all have a Merry Christmas
1/3,1/3,1/3 is proper way for any excavation, protects u, protects them. Just my opinion
Change orders suck! I work as a goods reseller, and there was a time we attempted contracting; the extra odds and sods cost us far too much after the initial quote.
merry christmas and a happy new year boys and all your families be lucky 👍👍👍
Merry Christmas to you all 🎄🎄🎄and have a good new year 🥳🎉 from Victoria Australia 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
Mr. Dirt perfect loved this pod cast everything you said was spot on but idk if I missed this but what about if a paying customer stays in the shadows and watches you work as you know you can do a lot with your equipment and experience in a very short time. As I personally have done this not to micro manage but to one watch the equipment in motion because I love the dirt work but also to be there if a question comes up.
Cant see the forest for the trees .
DFF has got to be my new favorite Mike just DFE I'm with you on the engineers 😂😂
I like OAF.
The amount of holding back is hilarious.
I started swinging a hammer in 1965 as an apprentice and one rule of thumb I always took to heart was get three bids and throw out the low bid. That was a general rule. It does not work if they are all real close. And on occasion I would ask them why that happened. If they had a good explanation for it like they have found a valid method that saves a lot of time and can show the reason then think about it and research it. Generally though the low ball price will cost you more in the end with change order abuse. Never be afraid to ask "why" at any point before signing a contract. If there is something you do not understand or any question in your mind do not assume. Clear it up and get it in writing.
I wish you and your entire crew a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year... As far as Contractor red flags.. You sound like a Holmes on Holmes episode. That part of customers... and I'm an engineer... Oh I've seen that in my job... and my first thought always is.. if you're so smart why are you not doing this yourself.... some are still OK to work with.. but often, HARD PASS...
Always go with my gut. It never lies. Shopping my customers as much as they are shopping me. $100 bills even out the pain in the ass customers.
I had a guy come up to me and ask about firewood. I said I didn't have time to get it, but he kept pushing. I had someone else get the order ready for me , so I picked it up and went to deliver it and he told me the price was too high. (2 cord of wood for 550$) . I took it to my house and dumped it out. That's just less I have to cut and split.
Just another great podcast. Thanks for all the points. I personally know if I'm working for a client in less than 10 minutes. Stay safe
My buddy always told me good news travels Fast. But bad news travels faster.
Good Customer-Bad Customer, the more I think about it and listen to podcast, I was talking as if my
customer is the landowner in reality I’m probably the customer. A customer is the one paying for a service or an asset, and I pay my contractors “ landowners” to use their ground so does that make me the customer? It was a littler harder for me to speak on this topic, if it’s a good or needy landowner I still need to rent their land and still have our first landowner today after 28 years, it’s hard for me to say I wouldn’t work for them again and go on down the road I guess, I find a way to make it work for both of us. With renting land from 85 different landowners I don’t think any 2 contracts are the same.
I have found the difference between a engineer and you DP is they don't admit when they make a mistake worked as a welder fabricator for 25 years and had to embarrass many a engineer
Merry Christmas everyone
👍👍👍🇺🇸
I hire contractors to do what I can not do anymore or do not want to do at my age. I leave them alone when the job is done I write the check
you talk about working for engineers remind me when i worked in a garage a customer came in said we didn't fix his problem we said we know because we fixed what you said what was wrong
Pending on how big the job I'll require deposit on materials. Most times it's delivered before I get there
Cheap, Fast, Good…Pick any two
Good pod cast more ppl need to be like you guys but it’s the other way around every one is out to screw you out of money whole world gone to shi? Hell my 23 year old me and wife taught cursive writing not the damn school
Hi, great discussion, I think your observations are very rural/regional focused (which you discuss), and are not possible in less rural, or technical environments. So good insights, but far from universal.
It’s the old saying with all engineers , It all looks good on paper, but it usually doesn’t work
Mike, how do you feel about working for labor and materials? I prefer to hire that way because I feel that a contract cost has to have padding for unknowns..
Depends on the job and customer but we do that sometimes as well
i hired a guy that was a close neighbor to build my house and i asked him if he had any other jobs inline other than mine he said not anything quick i said ok im ready to start he said about 4 months and you can move in he got the house about half built and just left never said anything and then i found out he left mine to go start other jobs i said hey what about me he says i didnt know you were in a hurry and i was living in a camper long story short i fired him and hired another guy he finished the house so i lived in the camper for a year and to top it off he was what i considered a real good friend but no longer