Thread: what a DUMP!

With regard to the place I went the other day, they had 2 fairly new, pretty nice cars sitting in the driveway... so obviously it's not a huge economic issue... and besides, what does it cost to put your garbage out for pick-up? Let alone cans and copper pipe... when the guy came out to look at the job (without a shirt or shoes)... that's bad enough, but for him to spit on the ground in front of himself and then keep on walking... I'm sorry, but that's a bad one.

As far as sanitary issues go... I used to have another client, land mines ALL over the place from his 3 dogs. Go into that house, and the smell was terrible... the dogs would be in cages, and the cats would be eating off of the kitchen counter. Not the type of kitchen I'd want to be recieving a meal from.

Originally Posted by treeman82

With regard to the place I went the other day, they had 2 fairly new, pretty nice cars sitting in the driveway... so obviously it's not a huge economic issue... and besides, what does it cost to put your garbage out for pick-up? Let alone cans and copper pipe... when the guy came out to look at the job (without a shirt or shoes)... that's bad enough, but for him to spit on the ground in front of himself and then keep on walking... I'm sorry, but that's a bad one.

As far as sanitary issues go... I used to have another client, land mines ALL over the place from his 3 dogs. Go into that house, and the smell was terrible... the dogs would be in cages, and the cats would be eating off of the kitchen counter. Not the type of kitchen I'd want to be recieving a meal from.

Nor me.

Generally I avoid being in areas that exhibit several yards like that.

But I learned something interesting about 14 years ago.

I was passing out brochures, and the next yard was a dump. Junk everywhere - a pure mess.

So I just passed the entry walk and was continuing. That instant, a truck slows right next to me, and a man asks what I'm doing, and I tell him. He says he owns that house, and asks "how much to prune that tree there?".

Then how much for the "the entire front?" and then "all of the yard?".

Don't recall the bid now, but I remember it was the highest profit job of the entire year. The man accepted within 10 minutes of driving up next to me. In addition, he's the one who told me of the FREE place to dump woody debris, which I used for the next 10 years at a savings of about $3000 per year. So aside from the on-site job, that home was worth $30,000 to me in the long run.

I ended up having lunch of a drink with them at their home, and found out that their daughter had been extremely ill for over a year, and that it zapped them of any time and resources to do anything around their home, except getting their daughter medical care visits and attention at the house. And that's why the yard went to the pits.

So that situation was a surprise to me.

There is a millionaire nearby here who lives in a shack, literally. Some people have different priorities.
I never eat or drink food from strangers.

I just have a hard time saying no to people. Especially after he took the time to make us all breakfast. It may have only been scrambled eggs and toast w/ jam, but i know from experience that when moneys tight, you skimp where you can to get by. I'd feel like sh!t if he used his last couple eggs and pieces of bread to make us breakfast and we said no, and he didn't have to money to go to the grocery store. Besides, i made enough money off the job that if i got sick for a day or two i'd still be smiling.

I have a customer that has 60 rent houses and probally about 75% of them are just like the properties you are describing. We just do the work and try not to mind all the dog ish bombs and recieve a cash payment on the spot after the job is done. I love it.

I sell houses for a living and one day this old man pulls in with a piece of crap car, he gets walks up to the sales center and the other sales man says " you can have this up". The old man all dirty and stinky sits down and my office and says " I have land, how much house can i get for $150,000 cash" One of the easiest sales i have ever made! Dont judge a book by it's cover, i have found over the years that the ones that look like they have less actually have more. I think it has to do with if they cant afford it they wait till they can rather than putting it on plastic and waiting for the day of reconing

Originally Posted by TDunk

I just have a hard time saying no to people. Especially after he took the time to make us all breakfast. It may have only been scrambled eggs and toast w/ jam, but i know from experience that when moneys tight, you skimp where you can to get by. I'd feel like sh!t if he used his last couple eggs and pieces of bread to make us breakfast and we said no, and he didn't have to money to go to the grocery store. Besides, i made enough money off the job that if i got sick for a day or two i'd still be smiling.

Nicely put, man, nicely put!

I strongly doubt that folks with yards that are trashy, or even homes that might be run-down inside, are out to poison anyone or serve them crappy food. When it comes to breaking bread with a guest, any host will try like heck to serve them something good to eat. That is a tradition that cuts across ethnic and cultural lines and has, almost, since the beginning of our species. I've been all over the world and been a guest in thatch huts in Kenya, sod-roof homes in the Arctic Circle, tin shacks in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, and other abodes of local folks. I've broken bread with people I only knew a short while and would never see again. I have NEVER gotten ill after eating any home-prepared meal. I wish I could say the same about some of the restaurant meals I've had here in the US and abroad.

You never judge a person on what they look like or where they live.you judge them on who they are and how they treat you.I have been burned by more upper class people then by anyone.matter of fact I have never been burned by middle class or blue collar people.They have the right to live the way they want and how they want .some of my best customers live in these type of conditions because of certian circumstances never judge a book by the cover your missing out.these are the type of people that a hand shake is there word and contract.

I prefer to work for people of modest income as a lot of our fithy rich customers are a pain the a**. They disregard the danger and the work and concentrate on the woodchips in their flower beds. Never mind the big broken maple we brought down without destroying either their house or ourselves, all they see is dust on the lawn that they think makes them look unclean, hence poor.

I`ll always remember the old lady living in a very modest house who told us what a great job we did and then apologized for only having $5 for a tip for me and my climber. I told her that $5 was going to buy each of us a cold premium beer to have with our dinner and that we appreaciated the work she gave us as well as the extra couple of bucks. I like people like her. That was two or three years ago and if we ever get called back we`ll be sure to do a first class job for her, again.

Originally Posted by fireman

(snip)I have been burned by more upper class people then by anyone.(snip)

I learned a lesson about the upper class when I was 18 and driving a cab in Chicago, to pay for college. This lesson has stayed with me for all of my life.

I used to pick up fares at the high-rise buildings along Lake Shore Drive, home to the richest of the rich, back in the 70's. These people, lawyers, stock brokers, MD's, etc., typically had me drive them to the business district in The Loop, Chicago's downtown. The fare, back then, was .80-.90. One day I picked up this woman at the ritziest high-rise right at Oak and The Drive. Her fare was .80 and she gave me a dollar. I thanked her and waited for her to get out of my cab. She then said, "Driver I'm waiting for my change. I need a dime for the phone." Yeah, right! I was so amazed and disgusted that I gave her the .20 back and told her, "Here's your change. I'm sure you need this more than I do!" To this day I know, and have seen it over and over again, that some of the wealthiest people are some of the stingiest #$%^& in the world. They still disgust me. I always said that when I made it big, I would never be like them. Now I'm pretty well off and I always try to tip well and not disrespect people who may have less than me.

Originally Posted by Sunrise Guy

I learned a lesson about the upper class when I was 18 and driving a cab in Chicago, to pay for college. This lesson has stayed with me for all of my life.

I used to pick up fares at the high-rise buildings along Lake Shore Drive, home to the richest of the rich, back in the 70's. These people, lawyers, stock brokers, MD's, etc., typically had me drive them to the business district in The Loop, Chicago's downtown. The fare, back then, was .80-.90. One day I picked up this woman at the ritziest high-rise right at Oak and The Drive. Her fare was .80 and she gave me a dollar. I thanked her and waited for her to get out of my cab. She then said, "Driver I'm waiting for my change. I need a dime for the phone." Yeah, right! I was so amazed and disgusted that I gave her the .20 back and told her, "Here's your change. I'm sure you need this more than I do!" To this day I know, and have seen it over and over again, that some of the wealthiest people are some of the stingiest #$%^& in the world. They still disgust me. I always said that when I made it big, I would never be like them. Now I'm pretty well off and I always try to tip well and not disrespect people who may have less than me.

That's how the rich stay so rich, they'll stretch a dollar bill until G.W. screams. I know a waitress at a upper class resteraunt that me and my wife go to sometimes. She said she makes almost as much money in tips from the blue-collar working family that visits occationally than the rich people that go there 3-4 times a week.