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"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
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Yes, you called ?
Wha's up ?
nothing to be thankful for today ? perhaps you could be more specific ?
b Keep your powder dry and lets treat everyone the way we'd like to be treated !
*Not that I'm aware of.
*When I was a sub-contractor I was screwed a couple of times by a GC. Now I 'm a GC and I find that some of my subs in the past have screwed me. It's more a matter of who you associate and work with. I treat everyone I work with as I would want to be treated (read fairly, but firm in quality) and I would bet that most of the contractors on this board feel the same way. The readers of FHB don't tend to be the lowlife of the industry, maybe you're posting on the wrong board? I'f you want to gain useful information, then post particulars. Bill Swales
*"You can't cheat an honest man".
*First thing my dad taught me was to take care of your men and your subs. I have never "screwed" a sub. I dont ask that they reduce theri price because I underbid a job. If there is a problem I try to work with them. I have been working with some of my subs for 20 years. And yes I pay on time.Rick Tuk
*You've got to be kidding! Please explain what it is you're talking about. When you're done, and we're done responding, mail it all to the people you really want to accuse. Most of us who have a good business going certainly didn't get here by screwing the customer (prev. topic), employees, or subs. You can do any or all of those for just so long. Hope you get a better deal by the next holiday. Best of luck.
*Funny how who's getting screwed and who's doing the screwing is all a matter of which side of the fence you're on. When you take this site altogether, you see people post at various time how GC's screw subs, subs screw GC's and customers screw everyone and get screwed by everyone.What's great about the people here is that even though you would think everybody would side with their own, most of us have a surprisingly open mind about what's going on (even though no one ever admits that he's done it). I think the problem (?) with subs is that they don't have an overview of a job. They look at their little piece of turf and think that it's the only important part of the job. They don't see where it fits with the whole job, and so the can't see the relationship between their good and bad work on the whole. When the sub tries to short change something, he can't understand why it's a problem. When the sub doesn't show one day because of his problems, he doesn't see how it impacts on the guy who was supposed to come in the next day. The GC is responsible for the whole and the sub is a part of the team. When the sub has or creates an adversary relationship with the GC, then he's not part of the team. Of course, the GC can be the cause of the problem as well, but no one here is that kind of GC.SHG
*You bet they do.They go to college for 4 years, taking courses like "Screwing Your Best Subs So They Don't Ever Come Back - 101", "How to Make Your Subs Hate You - 101", "How To Go Out of Business Because You No Longer Have any Subs - 101", etc...After 4 years of college, they now must take post graduate courses to learn how to screw you so you really don't know you got screwed, and then they have to do a Master's Thesis on "How I screwed My Subs, Lost my Business, and am Financially Successful".They must take more college courses on this than a Doctor or Lawyer takes to get their license.Are you nuts? Do you think a good Contractor really sets out to screw anybody? I think maybe you either got hold of a bad contractor, or you are bitter because you screwed up, it cost you money, and now you need someone to blame. I admit there are probably some pretty bad contractors out there, but as a sub you gotta either be new to the construction game, or you are lousy at choosing the GC you work for. Take Ed for example. He has been in business for a long, long time. You think he managed to stay in business, and stay as busy as he does by getting screwed by the GC? I don't think so. He built long lasting relationships with GC's in his area. He does great work, works hard to make the job run as smoothly on his end as possible, and works out any problems that arise WHEN they arise (not later, or after the job).Stand back, take a long, hard look at the situation, and see if maybe there isn't a little blame to spread around on this thing.I wish you luck in choosing your GC next time around.Just a thought...James DuHamel
*I wish...I'm one of those easy marks that pay my subs even when they screw up....I am an idiot. But don't call me....I'm trying very hard to get out of this not for profit business. (tongue firmly in cheek). Where can I enroll in your course mr Middleman???L
*I think SHG brings up a good point, one which I didn't learn for many years in the truss business. It's easy to assume that the contractor (or homeowner) has spent a lot of time thinking about what you're selling, and knows everything they need to know about it. But they have a ton of things going, and can't possibly think of everything, even though they need to. For instance - I couldn't figure out for years why framing contractors didn't know how to install piggyback trusses. Or how to install pre-fabricated corner sets. I've since learned that they have thousands of other things to worry about, and can't remember every detail that pertains to trusses. I wonder how many disagreements between subs and GCs are caused by this ?
*Few people stay in this business without being straight forward and honest. If You find someone who isn't, gather up Your tools and move on. A word of advice, when dealing with a new associate leave as little as practical to the imagination. Find out what is expected of You and let the other party know what You propose to do. This avoids misunderstandings. Do You provide written proposals and do you sign contracts? A suprising number of subs don't and this puts them in a poor position when questions about the size and scope of the job come up. Skip
*Skip: Exactly ! After I went on my own, it took me a couple of years (I'm a real slow learner) to figure out that I was a Contractor first and a builder second. We execute contracts, if you don't , you leave yourself wide open .
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