On Sun, 1 May 2011 16:49:09 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:


What's to gain by having an "easy mark" agree to your price but then
not show up to take his money?

Heh.
Last summer I had my floors sanded.
Couple of Polish guys recommended by my son.
I don't know if they're legal, but they've been around for a few
years.
When the boss man came out to look he said $450.
I said do it. The guy's English was so-so.
They did an excellent sanding job and put down a coat of poly.
Floors looked beautiful and both the wife and me were shocked.
I didn't think to ask about coats, and I think the price he gave me
was for one coat. Still not sure about that.
My wife speaks Polish and talked the guy when they finished.
She wanted to know what's best, and he told her 3 coats.
But I got the impression the deal was one coat.
I told her to tell him to do 3 coats and I'll pay him $550.
She told him that.
He can't say when he'll show up the next day.
I told him to call me when he's on the way over to do the next coat.
I'm sure he understood me.
Dogs wake me up early the next day, and they're ringing the bell.
They go over the first coat with the sander, vacuum and lay down a
second coat.
He can't say when he'll come the next day.
I tell the guy again to call me when he's on the way to do the third
coat.
Again the dogs and doorbell wake me up.
They vacuum and lay down the last coat in about 15 minutes.
The boss shouts down to the basement that they're done and I go around
the house to the front with my checkbook.
I'm still groggy and haven't had my coffee.
I compliment them on the job and say I'm paying $600.
Then I write him a check for $500 and they leave.
After I had my coffee I realize what I did, and call the guy and
apologize, tell him to come back and get another hundred.
As far as I know, he understood, but after a couple days of no show
I call him again and tell him the same.
He never showed.
Beats the hell out of me why not. My wife said he seemed a little
goofy. I got nothing against goofy doing a smart job.
Besides me wanting to pay a fair price for their work, which I thought
he underbid, my wife had talked to the guy about putting up crown
molding and he said he would get back to us on that.
He never did, and I did the woodwork myself.

On up front money for some work, I expect that.
I paid the roofer for materials before he started, and I paid the guy
who replaced all my windows for his costs before he started.
Seems normal to me and I don't see a way around that.
You don't do that with a fly-by-night, and should have references.

--Vic