Hackety Hacks
 

Is it just me or is there just an unreal amount of hacks on this planet? Where has the pride and craftsmanship gone? Along with integrity and ethics all seems to have gone out the window. It’s not just in the car biz either. I’m doing a pretty hefty remodel on my house and feel like I’ve found every single hack in a 50 mile radius. While discussing with customers, friends and family it seems that it is the rule versus the exception. I’m venting because In addition to 5 out of 6 subcontractors that I am using being total POSs I have been cheated or ripped off on the last several parts deals that I’ve done with the Porsche community. Thanks for listening lol.

Oh good, looks like we have the beginnings of another saga here !

It's called pride and passion. Unfortunately many give it up for a fast buck. Sadly it happens in all service areas.

I feel you nathan.

It's frustrating and why i end up doing nearly everything myself.

I took a flywheel to a well respected machine shop to get turned last year and it came back with a gorgeous finish and .006 inch run out. I took it back and he re-trued his flywheel grinder and this time it was .0035 run out, still out of spec. "That's the best i can do"

I bought another new flywheel because i didn't want it ground a third time. I did find a machine shop with my kind of work ethic in the process though, so thats nice.

my buddy is on his second pool contractor and the project has been going on since oct 2018.. the second guy is as bad as the 1st, but the project is limping to the finish,,,, maybe cause it ain't full of water yet..

we are in a rural area so not many guys wanted to come this far to finish what the 1st guy started so my buddy had to hire another less than up n up guy to finish it.. he found guy two was bad about 3 months in and he's been at it for 7 in total. some of the delays were due to weather, but the guy is still a bum.

Be sure to thank and appreciate the "Good Guys" that you do find. My rule is that I can't ***** about the "Bums" if I don't tell the craftsmen that I meet how much I appreciate their dedication and skills.

I get heavily involved with every project i have done or do it myself and have a hard time dealing with 90% of the "professionals' out there. It is sad when I know more about others line of work than they do. Years ago i used to say the difference between your average pro and an amature is the pro takes money. Today it seems even worse.

I have a few friends who are passionate about their work and take extreme pride in it. But unlike the world I grew up in the all mighty $$ and cutting corners has become today's norm. It is amazing how bad it is becoming and with the attitude of today's youth which has little care or interest in anything but their smartphone I have no doubt things will just get worse as time goes on.

BTW Contractors are bad but pool guys are the worst. if I wasn't on top of my pool guy every step of the way who knows what would have happened. I had to intervene and correct a dozen potentially huge mistakes and even then Some things weren't done properly. I had to push hard to get a simple pool finished in 3 months. I know others who contracted the same pool guy and have been waiting over 3 years to see it completed. Ironically they considered him for one of these reality Pool TV shows but figured out he was a hack like the rest.

I feel for you. It is frustrating to spend your hard earned money on someone who doesn't care enough to do the job properly or overpay to have it done correctly.

With my house it all went sideways when I needed to hire a structural engineer. First guy seemed up to par and did his part in a somewhat timely manner but apparently he tried the old rope-a-dope with the city and they called him out on everything that he did erroneously. Once I provided him with the corrections, he ghosted me. I complained to the board of engineers after I couldn’t reach him for several weeks. They straightened him out real quick. I had already hired a second guy who not only took 6 times longer than he said and after maybe three tough rounds with the city he essentially over engineered my house to appease the plan checker. I caught on to what he had done And realized the cost to construct what he had drawn was insane. Lastly I finally found a great engineer and he “value” engineered my house and saved the day and hardly charged me anything. All-in-all probably a 6-8 month delay. This was just the first of literally a dozen (possibly more) poor choices of poor persons that I hired.

Yeah for sure. I’m a 1 Star or a 5 star kind of guy. My wife and I definitely go out of our way to praise good people even if it’s literally the person helping us in the drive-thru window

People are ten times more likely to complain than compliment. I’m with you. I make sure to thank everyone.

It’s a real challenge on my business. All these mechanics think because they can do a brake job or rebuild a cylinder head they can automatically do gearboxes too. I vet new dealers (whom I call installers) and close 2-3 shops a year for being hacks.

Let's not forget paying people on time. When I was in business, I paid my vendors, especially those I might need in an emergency, right away. No 30 days, 60 days, 90 days. No, as soon as I got the bill, or even in cash.

When the breaker box exploded, the exhaust fan broke on Memorial Day, the ice machine went down on a Sunday, the sewer backed up into the bathrooms, all of which actually happened, my subs showed up. Know why? Because I treated them well, paid them on time and used them during non-emergencies as well. These guys get stiffed and drawn out all the time, more often than not, but never by me.

The home improvement stuff is another kettle of fish, and you have to vet those guys multiple ways. I usually get recommendations from my other subs that I've been using for years. I've only been burned once, and that guy wishes he never took my job. Hello BBB and State Comptroller!

My electrician was totally re-wiring my cottage when he took a phone call. As I listened in, the guy on the other end needed him right away, an emergency. The electrician put him off, told him he was really, really busy and probably couldn't get to him for two weeks, sorry. As he hung up, he said to the cell phone; "maybe if you paid me what you owed me, I'd stop by".

my buddy made two mistakes from jump. he did not do any research on the 1st guy what's so ever, and did not have complete contract docs. meaning no plans, except a few sketches that the county much to my surprise approved and issued a permit.

I believe had he had a better plan set, with a good contract that included a schedule and milestones for payment and look into who he was hiring more closely we'd both be swimming by now. in the end he will likely pay 1.5x the cost of what the pool should have cost. fortunately he has the money.

I was just telling my wife this. I told her “imagine if we didn’t pay promptly how bad it would be if this is what we get when we pay on time.”

And don’t pay them off too early or pay too much of a deposit. Having $10K in my pocket was very useful in getting the roofers back when they screwed up my gutters and skylight install. I don’t care if the inspectors signed off on it. If I didn’t I’m not paying or signing off on the job complete.

Exactly. Contracts and progress payments are one thing. Making the final payment is another. My idiot A/C installer didn't install filter compartments, exterior pipe and wire conduit or finish off the floor vents. Wouldn't return my calls. I knew he was on the golf course, because I knew where he played. I owed him $10G's but he didn't care. He was ripping people off left and right.

I sent him a certified letter, signature required. They refused it. I sent a Certified letter to the BBB and the NY State Comptroller and Division of Licensing and went to his office to deliver copies. The secretary told me he wasn't in and didn't know when he was returning. I sat down and told her I'll wait. She said he may not come back. I said that's fine, I'll sleep here. She was aghast. The only way I was leaving is if they brought in the cops.

Sure enough, dumb-sh@t shows up, only because I wasn't leaving. We had it out and he sent his guys to finish the job. They hated him too. Figures.

Best way to thank them besides telling them is to refer them to friends and family.

Whenever I find a good electrician, plumber, carpenter etc.etc. I make sure to take care of them with a little extra. This way if and when an emergency arises, they show up.

Pay materials. Then pay cash - dollar bill cash not a check - when the job is done. Give them a due date - you are done by x And it’s done properly or you don’t get paid.

Tell them to bid the job that way.

Bids are a bit higher up front, but it gets done right and on time.

Too many people go with lowest bidder and are surprised contractor sucks. Also, retainage.

Public bids have the same problems, I got a pretty big utility job, and missed getting the whole $3mm project with a combination bid by $7k. I've already got 10x that in COs to fix the low bidders problems or flat out finish their work. This is not an uncommon thing for us, but he was the low bidder and its bond work so there is "no wiggle room" for most CMs.

You get what you pay for.
The cheap guy is the most expensive guy in the end.
Sound familiar?

I once ended a dispute with a roofer by putting a stop payment on a check, he arrived the next day with a giant of a man, a real knuckle dragger. He started poking me in the chest, telling me I was going to pay. I pointed at the roof and when I did my sweatshirt road up, the sun glinted off the S&W 38, nickle plated. The big guy took a big step back and started mumbling, "gun, gun". The roofer also stepped back, started calling me sir, and was gone shortly after. I got a letter from him the next day that said since I didn't pay, his warranty is null and void. Ok by me.
I had a permit so had I needed the gun it would have been legal, this was GA, not NY, much easier to get a carry permit.
We did the roof ourselves, it was weird, but it worked.

---Adam


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