what grinds your gears

[melted welly]

Wife said she was going to take up spinning, I’m thinking……..

turns out it’s this kind…..

and now she’s got some fleece so the house smells of sheep.

 

[Pan mixer]

Finding a socket set on the side of the road.

Finding that the 10mm socket is missing

 

[Nearly]

Finding a socket set on the side of the road.

Finding that the 10mm socket is missing

View attachment 996474

@Hfd Cattle will have it.

 

[Paddington]

Finding a socket set on the side of the road.

Finding that the 10mm socket is missing

View attachment 996474

Owner is probably walking about with a 10mm socket thinking where on earth did I put the box ?

 

[Paddington]

Two hours on the phone to BT about reducing our broadband/phone monthly payment. Just before lunch the price had come down to nearly half of what we'd been paying, I said we'd think about it (didn't want to sound too keen) and rang them again after lunch. For a company that records calls etc, they had no record of the reduced offer and we had to go through the whole palaver again, apparently they use the Las Vegas quote system, every time they request a price for monthly payment, it comes up with a different amount !

 

[Cowmansam]

Two hours on the phone to BT about reducing our broadband/phone monthly payment. Just before lunch the price had come down to nearly half of what we'd been paying, I said we'd think about it (didn't want to sound too keen) and rang them again after lunch. For a company that records calls etc, they had no record of the reduced offer and we had to go through the whole palaver again, apparently they use the Las Vegas quote system, every time they request a price for monthly payment, it comes up with a different amount !

Two hours on the phone to BT about reducing our broadband/phone monthly payment. Just before lunch the price had come down to nearly half of what we'd been paying, I said we'd think about it (didn't want to sound too keen) and rang them again after lunch. For a company that records calls etc, they had no record of the reduced offer and we had to go through the whole palaver again, apparently they use the Las Vegas quote system, every time they request a price for monthly payment, it comes up with a different amount !

There’s certain times you call and you get a better deal

 

[nick...]

Had a plumber lined up for ages to do a few jobs in my home.should have come last week but had a medical emergency day before so did not come.so arranged for end of this week and today got a txt saying call wymondham plumbing to pay for your stuff,2 rads and a sink.called and asked if he did not trust me to pay as first time I’ve ever had this And it was never mentioned months ago when he first looked.had electricians here recently and got £1500 plus bill after couple months of starting.which I paid by return.this don’t stand well with me so someone else will do the work now.is this standard procedure now days.all my digger work is invoiced end of month after completion and payed 28 days after that.plumber is well established and I understand hellishly expensive too at £300 day.
nick…

 

[Hfd Cattle]

Got five trees need falling ...not difficult ,all inside field and can be felled the way they lean . Have had 3 promise to come and do it since April ,the third being today and he nor the others have turned up .....neither will he answer phone . I don't want them cut up the milling boys will do that I just want them felled !
If they don't want the work why on earth do they take it on .

 

[Hfd Cattle]

It's a day for moaning ......
We recently put up an extension and extended the underfloor heating .....all good until.....
We couldn't get it working properly and the plumber came up with all sorts of ideas as to why but to no avail and getting him to come back to the job is a nightmare .
It's 2 rooms and I spent a bit of time last night having a look at it myself only to spot that the pipes are connected to the wrong controls which means the heating for the FIL room is controlled by the controls and thermostat in the utility room and vice versa ....guess what ...plumber not answering his phone either !!

I need to go and find some bales to move so I can wind down !!!

 

[nick...]

The world seems full of useless tossers nowadays,or so it seems.glad it’s not only me encountering them.
nick...

 

[Pan mixer]

The world seems full of useless tossers nowadays,or so it seems.glad it’s not only me encountering them.
nick...

It is amazing how many of them are 'plumbers' though. Waiting for one at the moment.

 

[Highland Mule]

It's a day for moaning ......
We recently put up an extension and extended the underfloor heating .....all good until.....
We couldn't get it working properly and the plumber came up with all sorts of ideas as to why but to no avail and getting him to come back to the job is a nightmare .
It's 2 rooms and I spent a bit of time last night having a look at it myself only to spot that the pipes are connected to the wrong controls which means the heating for the FIL room is controlled by the controls and thermostat in the utility room and vice versa ....guess what ...plumber not answering his phone either !!

I need to go and find some bales to move so I can wind down !!!

You presumably have a manifold with valves. If it’s like any I’ve seen, you can pop off the actuators and swap them around.

 

[Ukjay]

Had a plumber lined up for ages to do a few jobs in my home.should have come last week but had a medical emergency day before so did not come.so arranged for end of this week and today got a txt saying call wymondham plumbing to pay for your stuff,2 rads and a sink.called and asked if he did not trust me to pay as first time I’ve ever had this And it was never mentioned months ago when he first looked.had electricians here recently and got £1500 plus bill after couple months of starting.which I paid by return.this don’t stand well with me so someone else will do the work now.is this standard procedure now days.all my digger work is invoiced end of month after completion and payed 28 days after that.plumber is well established and I understand hellishly expensive too at £300 day.
nick…

£300 a day isnt in anyway hellishly expensive for a good trades person when you factor in all the insurances / Org Memberships / Re-certifications / CPD training for governing body requirements / copious amounts of kit and spares on hand. It all adds up, and the cheap rogues out there will more than likely not have the relevant insurances / training etc - hence they are cheap and you cannot get them to come back - or they just do not like how you deal with them.

As for getting the potential client to call the trade counter to pay for your goods - not heard that one before unless the customer wanted to pay for their own goods, but I do ask for different sums up front for jobs depending upon person and job in question.
Far too many people not paying bills currently and thinking it is acceptable and in the nutty season as you are in now with lots of breakdowns etc - it is easy to get one slip through.
You can cover your time losses although painful easier than the whole job and the kick in the nuts for falling for it is easier to accept when you have not fitted anything and then do not get paid, plus - it also gets people into the book less likely to cancel vs cancelling on you at last minute leaving you out of pocket for goods purchased and not able to fill the cancellation.

For me - there is nothing wrong with payment upon completion either, as you do not go to the supermarket and say Ill pay you later and leave with all the goods like you used to in bygone eras.

 

[Ukjay]

It is amazing how many of them are 'plumbers' though. Waiting for one at the moment.

And then people wonder why noone wishes to turn up to them.

 

[Highland Mule]

As for getting the potential client to call the trade counter to pay for your goods - not heard that one before unless the customer wanted to pay for their own goods

I know of one or two excellent tradesmen who do it as a way of keeping turnover below the VAT threshold. At the start of a large job they will set up an account for the client and then have arms length for all material costs. Also shelters them from raw material inflation too, I guess.

 

[nick...]

I know of one or two excellent tradesmen who do it as a way of keeping turnover below the VAT threshold. At the start of a large job they will set up an account for the client and then have arms length for all material costs. Also shelters them from raw material inflation too, I guess.

Being in the building game I know this goes on a lot along with all the cash taken.i know of one plumber who has worked all through furlough taking cash or cheques to his mrs,claimed all the furlough and grant money and bought a council house with a plot in the garden.i could write a book with what I know about people taking cash to stay below vat threshold.
nick...

 

[Ukjay]

I know of one or two excellent tradesmen who do it as a way of keeping turnover below the VAT threshold. At the start of a large job they will set up an account for the client and then have arms length for all material costs.

Yes, slightly different spin there though - as there was no new client account mentioned, just ring up the merchants to pay for the items you need, whereby you would have to state his business name to get the goods he had said you needed as the trade counter more than likely wouldnt know who you were from Adam - plus the tradie would't get the discounts for the sale if it wasn't linked to his account.
That kind of thing is also why the Tax man has been looking into notifiable works for years vs claimed turnover and investigating deeper making it more important for upfront businesses to have better accounts at significant cost to the business.

Far too many thinking they can beat the Tax man easily and getting greedy making it a pita for ones who do not operate in that manner.

 

[Ukjay]

Being in the building game I know this goes on a lot along with all the cash taken.i know of one plumber who has worked all through furlough taking cash or cheques to his mrs,claimed all the furlough and grant money and bought a council house with a plot in the garden.i could write a book with what I know about people taking cash to stay below vat threshold.
nick...

And yet with all this industry knowledge that you say you have gathered - you did not forsee a tradie in your area potentially asking you to pay up front as an option?

The tradie could have thought you may be high risk of cancellation / non payer as it appears you were a potential new client, and this was maybe a way to sound you out perhaps, as not all new clients are trustworthy Nick - as you will obviously know from your own dealings over the years?

 

[nick...]

And yet with all this industry knowledge that you say you have gathered - you did not forsee a tradie in your area potentially asking you to pay up front as an option?

The tradie could have thought you may be high risk of cancellation / non payer as it appears you were a potential new client, and this was maybe a way to sound you out perhaps, as not all new clients are trustworthy Nick - as you will obviously know from your own dealings over the years?

Yes I’d agree but he is best mates with a bricklayer I’ve worked with for 10 years who gave me glowing references when he was asked,which he was.if I’d been asked to pay for materials up front when I first met the chap 3/4 months ago I’d have had no issue indeed when he cancelled last weeK,the day before he should have come here there was no mention of it.was the tone of the txt I did not take kindly too.he should have called really.
nick...

 

[Hfd Cattle]

You presumably have a manifold with valves. If it’s like any I’ve seen, you can pop off the actuators and swap them around.

When I've paid a man to do a job I expect it to be done right .