Received a phone call on Monday from a guy I do work on his cars for. He is a barman for an owner I have worked for as a singer/musician/entertainer. I quit the job because his attitude stinks. Anyway, this Bar Owner is Spanish. he has acquired an old Bar near to Ellie's work, and has been refurbishing it over the last 8 weeks. My friend tells me they need some welding work done, would I be interested. Sure I would...even for HIM .
So I turn up at the renovation site...no Boss. So my friend tells me they need a security cupboard made to house the butane bottles. No problem: made some before. Then he tells me that there is a new sign going up outside, and that the last welder just stopped turning up, and never completed the job of making and fitting the steel supports. I am shown the bits he has done, and the bits that need completing. I say sure, I can complete the job. Wait for the Boss to arrive. Give him a price for the two jobs. he then says ok...but 'I need something else done too...' It is a steel cabinet to cover the exhaust tubing from the kitchen extractors. he says 'If I give you the other jobs, you can do this one for free'. I said ' no I can't'. He looked at me and seemed to be gauging as to whether I was serious or not He should know me by now. So I turn up on thursday, after my hospital appointment, and finish the sign supports in about 30 minutes. I then phone the Boss, and say I need materials money. He then says the carpenter has complained about the sign supports, and I arrive today after my second hospital appointment, and find the carpenter is complaining about the supports the OTHER guy did, not mine. So I put the fault right in 5 minutes, and the carpenter is happy.
I then start to measure up for the tubing cover and the butane cabinet. The guy in charge of fitting the kitchen comes up and says ' leave that. I want you to make a table for the kitchen'. No please, no thank you...nothing. Puts my back up I say 'sorry, that is not on my agenda, OR in my quote. If you want it done, you had better ask the owner to speak to me about it'. he then storms off, and rings the owner, who then calls me.'Why wouldn't you make the kitchen table?' "Because I haven't priced it'.' Well, you are there...so DO it...and whilst we are talking, I have two or three other jobs I need doing too'. I said 'fine. I charge 100 euros for an 8 hour day, no breaks. Get all the jobs together, tell me about them, and I'll either give you a price, or you can pay me the daily rate'. 'Well, they are only bits and pieces: nothing big. I expect you to do them included in the other price'. he can 'expect' all day!! AFAIAC I said...'what? Odd jobs? get an oddjob man to do them! ' he replied ' the other guy did as he was told'. And I said 'yep...and that is why you need ME to finish up...you find an oddjob man, who can weld to my quality, and get paid 35 euros a day...good luck, cos I am NOT him! Now...I need some money up front for materials...200 euros. And because it is friday, and the steel stockists are shut tomorrow, I need it within the hour, if you want the jobs finished by Wednesday'. He turned up at 5:45PM...15 MINUTES BEFOE THE STEEL PLACE SHUT...AND IT IS 14 KILOMETRES AWAY. He gave me the money, and then I proceeded to show him the work the other guy had done
Just imagine this: EVERY bit of work he had done was only welded on the face side: NO welds at ALL around the other three sides. He had fitted an external rejilla over the kitchen entry door...and it wouldn't open more than halfway. I could pull the rejillas to PIECES with my bare hands. The fire escape was the same...welded on one side of EVERY joint. It shook and rattled every time you walked up it. I said 'Javier; this won't pass inspection, neither will half the steelwork in the kitchen, because it is STAINLESS Steel, and welded with ordinary mild steel weld'
Edit to add: I will take a few photos of the work for you all to enjoy .

The rejillas are so weak I can pull them off with one hand. Don't you ever inspect work done, or is it you really don't have a clue???'. He said 'Well, I am going to get him back here, and you can tell him what is wrong...and then I want my money back from him....' ? I said 'that is not my place to do that, you must do it yourself'. He THEN said 'How much to put it all right?' I said ' NO WAY am I going to repair HIS work. You want it done properly, I will start all over again, but I will NOT work on somebody else's c rap handiwork.
' How much then?' I said '500 euros, three days work, plus the original quotes for the jobs you want me to do'. Can you do it all by Wednesday?' 'Yes' I said. he shook his head, and said 'he took 5 WEEKS to do all this...you can do it in 4 days...and PROPERLY?. You got it'.
So. I got half up front, and steel money...and I can do this in 3 days..$1500 all told CLEAR money.
So...his 'cheap' work done suddenly became very expensive WHEN will they ever learn, these guys? And yet, they STILL make fortunes inspite of being idiots They just don't HAVE to learn
I am very grateful for the work
Nick

[This message has been edited by fierofetish (edited 05-20-2011).]

Ooooh...SNNNNNAAAPPP!!! Boonie
Nick

quote Originally posted by fierofetish: Ooooh...SNNNNNAAAPPP!!! Boonie Nick

Way to go Nick. I wouldn't fix other people's crap either! Glad you got the job

Doug

[This message has been edited by doug.s (edited 05-20-2011).]

Yep, you need to find the 1/2 ass handiman and shake his hand. If not for him, and his crap work ethic, you wouldn't have the other 3 days of work.

btw, I call those "basket jobs". A guy once asked if I would rebuild his manual 3 spd tractor transmission. "Sure--why not". He brought it to me--completely disassembled--in a produce basket. It was a pita--bolts missing--snap rings missing and/or distorted, shims missing, and all the other shims were just lumped together. Got it back together but Never again----Bring it to me in one piece, and I'LL dissassemble it. No more basket jobs for me--I don't care how good they offer to pay..

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 05-20-2011).]

quote Originally posted by fierofetish: "5 WEEKS to do all this...you can do it in 4 days...and PROPERLY?. You got it'. So. I got half up front, and steel money...and I can do this in 3 days..$1500 all told CLEAR money. So...his 'cheap' work done suddenly became very expensive WHEN will they ever learn, these guys? And yet, they STILL make fortunes inspite of being idiots They just don't HAVE to learn I am very grateful for the work Nick

With all due respect (and it's lot), when will YOU learn, Nick? You had this guy over a barrel, and you could've charged him twice that without him even blinking.

Nick Cann: great guy, brilliant musician, fabricator par excellence. Lousy businessman.

How much did the idiot welder charge him? Probably more than you. For lousy work. You're better than him, or, apparently, anybody else for kilometers around. Your rates should reflect that.

He shows up late, and still expects you to complete the job by Wednesday? "Sorry, can't get the steel until Monday. Told you. Be done Thursday." I KNOW you're a man of your word. Make other people stick to what you tell them. They know you'll stick to it. And now you'll kill yourself to get it done, because you said it will be done Wednesday. Regardless of when you get the steel money. At least you don't let him bully you into giving away your work. Now, make him pay what its really worth. Next time you price something, that kitchen table, for instance. Charge a little more. Not so much that he argues. But he agreed TOO quickly to your prices for the first jobs. He would've paid more. Charge just enough so he hesitates, grumbles, but agrees on the spot. He knew you were working cheap when he jumped on your first offer.

Don't make me do to you what I did to Boondawg. He believed one percent of what I told him, and >BLAMMO!< People come falling out of trees begging him to run the joint.

Oh, and that other guy you quoted a bunch of gratings, railings, gates, whatevers, for? He'd better get the order in, and get in line. You're gonna be busy all summer.

Nick, just follow the guy that did the original crap work and offer to fix his work after he is done screwing the job up. For twice the price he got for his crap work.

The last couple of jobs I did as a welder they called me the,
Master of Rework.
I always got stuck fixing other people screw-up. I got paid real well for that, and no one ever questioned my appraisal of the work. They left me alone unless I asked for a partner. So I got travel time, mileage reimbursement, free hotels when I needed to travel more than a 100 miles. One job was a staircase we had to cut out of a school because the idiot engineer decided to use two different riser heights on stairs in a little kids school. In the same stairway. We had to cut the complete staircase out and return it to the shop to rebuild it.

It can work out to your advantage.

Now get to work and fix the other guys screwed up work.


Steve

------------------
Technology is great when it works,
and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't.

Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.

Nick, Zeb and Steve are right. Make them pay what your time and skill is worth. You deserve it. Business is business, and you are worth every penny.

You rock Nick

Nick, just make sure that you get paid when the job is done. Javier sounds like a guy who wouldn't pay what he owes and maybe that is why the previous guy did a crappy job and didn't finish it. Be wary of slime like that! Your best bet would be to get a written contract with this guy in case he tries to welsh on you.

[This message has been edited by avengador1 (edited 05-21-2011).]

You'd be surprised how many "sucessful" people get that way because they screw people over along the way...


...and how many people don't understand the value of their work...

[This message has been edited by FieroRumor (edited 05-21-2011).]