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Is it just me, or is the recent economic climate bringing the EW's out of the woodwork? I've already had some minor experiences with this, but these two ladies take the cake.
My boss and I were on a job site yesterday to measure for a cabinet estimate. The project is an old house in one of the older high-end golf communities around here. The development is mostly summer/weekend homes. The owners had come up from Florida for a weekend visit to check the progress of the remodel, and in less than 24 hours had completely frazzled the contractor. Now, with an older home, you never know what you're going to find when you start ripping into walls. This one was especially difficult, in that it needed a great deal of engineering work to make it level and shore up some sagging walls. All of this work costs money, and the women are now over budget.
This by no means makes them EW's. No, what makes them EW's is how they choose to handle the situation. I actually overheard them brow-beating the contractor in the other room and had to swallow a couple of snorts. Apparently, they feel that since the economy is so bad, vendors should be bending over backwards for their business. I heard them talking about how “nobody is doing anything right now” and how everyone should be cutting their prices to get more jobs. Their tone made it sound like they were doing us all a favor by bestowing us with an opportunity to work. Meanwhile, we should all be caving into their ridiculous pricing demands, no matter how much money we would be losing. As in, they wanted to be charged less for certain materials than what the contractor actually paid. The contractor took us aside later, and told us how these ladies even wanted him to cut his workers' wages so he could lower his prices. (To his credit, this contractor actually values his workers and is doing all he can to help them out in these tough times.)
Now, I was choking back some rude noises for two reasons: 1) We actually don't need this job. Most of the professionals in the construction trade around here are doing OK. We're usually busier, but most people are staying afloat because it's a resort area. Much of our economy caters to wealthy vacationers and part-time residents, and they haven't been hit hard enough economically to stop building or renovating vacation homes. 2) Their logic is a bit backwards. If we're supposedly so desperate for work, there's no way we can afford to offer deep discounts which would cause us to lose money. When the jobs are rolling in, sure we can lose a little on a job or two, but not when business is bad. We've got bills to pay, too. I can't just go to the grocery store or the gas station and say, “Hey, the economy is bad, so you should charge me less.” Yeah, I'd get laughed out of the store, and then be posted about on this site!
Maybe they should go take an econ course. Yeah, times are tough, and I feel it, too. But don't assume this means you have the right to get something for next to nothing!
My boss and I were on a job site yesterday to measure for a cabinet estimate. The project is an old house in one of the older high-end golf communities around here. The development is mostly summer/weekend homes. The owners had come up from Florida for a weekend visit to check the progress of the remodel, and in less than 24 hours had completely frazzled the contractor. Now, with an older home, you never know what you're going to find when you start ripping into walls. This one was especially difficult, in that it needed a great deal of engineering work to make it level and shore up some sagging walls. All of this work costs money, and the women are now over budget.
This by no means makes them EW's. No, what makes them EW's is how they choose to handle the situation. I actually overheard them brow-beating the contractor in the other room and had to swallow a couple of snorts. Apparently, they feel that since the economy is so bad, vendors should be bending over backwards for their business. I heard them talking about how “nobody is doing anything right now” and how everyone should be cutting their prices to get more jobs. Their tone made it sound like they were doing us all a favor by bestowing us with an opportunity to work. Meanwhile, we should all be caving into their ridiculous pricing demands, no matter how much money we would be losing. As in, they wanted to be charged less for certain materials than what the contractor actually paid. The contractor took us aside later, and told us how these ladies even wanted him to cut his workers' wages so he could lower his prices. (To his credit, this contractor actually values his workers and is doing all he can to help them out in these tough times.)
Now, I was choking back some rude noises for two reasons: 1) We actually don't need this job. Most of the professionals in the construction trade around here are doing OK. We're usually busier, but most people are staying afloat because it's a resort area. Much of our economy caters to wealthy vacationers and part-time residents, and they haven't been hit hard enough economically to stop building or renovating vacation homes. 2) Their logic is a bit backwards. If we're supposedly so desperate for work, there's no way we can afford to offer deep discounts which would cause us to lose money. When the jobs are rolling in, sure we can lose a little on a job or two, but not when business is bad. We've got bills to pay, too. I can't just go to the grocery store or the gas station and say, “Hey, the economy is bad, so you should charge me less.” Yeah, I'd get laughed out of the store, and then be posted about on this site!
Maybe they should go take an econ course. Yeah, times are tough, and I feel it, too. But don't assume this means you have the right to get something for next to nothing!
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