Homeowner tip

"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
02/08/2018 at 15:10 • Filed to: None

If you hire someone to do work for you, try to check beforehand that you actually need that work done.

Also, shop around a bit. You see those clean gutters up top? That’s how they looked when I arrived for the scheduled gutter job. Not a thing in them but a few rust spots. The first company she had come out to give a gutter cleaning estimate? $600. That’s right, someone came to the house, got up on ladders and looked over these gutters and told the lady that she would have to pay $600 for her spotless gutters to be cleaned.

So... She called her window washer for a second bid (that’s me) and I gave her an estimate over the phone. And now here I am, having spent ten minutes hosing out one gutter section to make sure the downspout wasn’t clogged. And.... I’m done. Completely finished. Ten minutes for *potentially* $600. Suffice to say, I did not charge her anywhere near that because I’m only a dick OUTSIDE of work.

Gaaaaah. Business owners: have some decency. I know you have to make a living, but that doesn’t require ditching your morals by the wayside. And homeowners: don’t be stupid. If you’re easy prey this kind of behavior will not stop. You could have climbed two step up the step ladder in your garage and seen the perfectly clean gutters. Or... You could have looked out the second floor window.

DISCUSSION (13)

TheRevanchist > AestheticsInMotion
02/08/2018 at 15:16

So, how much do you charge to not only clear out the gutters, but also to dispose of the grass that is half a foot high right now?

OPPOsaurus WRX > AestheticsInMotion
02/08/2018 at 15:22

i’m going to give them a break and say they never got on a ladder and assumed the gutters were full. maybe they would have given her a break when they saw what it actually looked like, or maybe they would have jumped on the chance to walk away with easy cash

AestheticsInMotion > TheRevanchist
02/08/2018 at 15:24

Currently only accepting Miata parts and TGI Friday’s gift cards as payment.

Is that grass in the gutters?? That’s one thing I haven’t seen around here yet

AestheticsInMotion > OPPOsaurus WRX
02/08/2018 at 15:28

Oh, the dude who came out apparently inspected just about every inch of the house. He knew exactly how much work this was going to take.

Yeah, It’s possible neither of the homeowners were comfortable on step ladders and just assumed that the upper gutters at least were full... But good god. I see that mindset so often and it can have such a huge monetary impact. Someday I’ll tell the story of the electrician that did “$10,000 worth of work” to replace a few ballasts

My citroen won't start > AestheticsInMotion
02/08/2018 at 15:32

I guess they didn’t check the gutters, just how much guttering there was to clean. Like if you hire someone to clean your castle over the phone but only the sex dungeon needs cleaning, the estimate is going to be high.

shop-teacher > AestheticsInMotion
02/08/2018 at 15:39

This is a lesson in building a clientele of repeat customers, vs. fleecing everybody for all their worth once. In the long run, people like you come out way ahead.