Stair Steps ... obsessive

[Bobby Slack]

Soooooo .... my neighbor invited me to check out his son's new place and shows me his stair case and I just could not help myself (and my in voice never came out) to notice the terrible glue up the builder did for the stairs and how badly matched were the pieces ...

How often does that happen to you guys?

[Vermont Carpentry]

Bobby,

I try not to go there whether it's a friend or client. I'm a general contractor specializing in remodels and I've often said that I've made a living correcting mistakes by others. Sometimes by pointing out deficiencies to lay persons, it can scare the hell out of them. I've bit my tongue so many times that I've needed stitches. If it's a safety concern then rule #1 goes out the window and I tell them about it.

Mark

[Bobby Slack]

Hey Mark ... I did keep my mouth shut because did not want to piss off somebody very proud of their home. May be I was not clear.

[nateswoodworks]

I am always doing that, it is amazing how much bad furniture and trimwork there is but the bad thing is when you see a great piece of wood that you want to rip off the wall and back home with you! At the hospital where my wife works there is 2 pieces of beautiful maple that are used for chair railings that may disappear before too long

Nate

[dryhter]

Some people, homeowners just don't know, some just don't care, either way it is not a discussion you can get into and then out of . .. errrrr. .. ... gracefully, so it is better to just keep your mouth shut.

Bobby,

I kinda get the impression that like me you are a bit of a perfectionist and these types of people are the worst to talk to, just very frustrating. The real problem is actually trying to work for these people. The hard part is trying to dial back your skill level to meet their expectations and more times that I care to think about I have redone work the next day that I thought was acceptable the previous day only because I was not satisfied the homeowner or builder could have cared less.

[Bobby Slack]

We speak the same language. Actually for people like that I decided not to do any work because in their view, there is no value in doing things right and they are not willing to pay. So, I am better off honing skills to do better and better work than spinning my wheels.

My approach is a long term one. When I see customers who don't have the budget and have lots of parties (they do have the budget if they throw parties) and I am wanting to place product for people to see and they hang out with people with money ... and I will learn a new skill, I will make the sacrifice.

This is a tough time and is important to get references for when the market picks up again in 2014.

Some people, homeowners just don't know, some just don't care, either way it is not a discussion you can get into and then out of . .. errrrr. .. ... gracefully, so it is better to just keep your mouth shut.

Bobby,

I kinda get the impression that like me you are a bit of a perfectionist and these types of people are the worst to talk to, just very frustrating. The real problem is actually trying to work for these people. The hard part is trying to dial back your skill level to meet their expectations and more times that I care to think about I have redone work the next day that I thought was acceptable the previous day only because I was not satisfied the homeowner or builder could have cared less.