"Ed" wrote in message
...

"chester" wrote

I called the contractor, who wanted $100 to come out. That seemed fair,
although for 10-15 minutes of work, nevertheless expensive.

The problem is that the consumer, you in this case, doesn't allow for the
travel, cost of fuel, vehicle, inventory, insurance, etc., anything that
you
can't see.

To you it's 15-20 minutes at your home, to the servicer it could be an
hour
to your home, 20 minutes inside, then the other expenses listed above.
Trust
me when I tell you that most of the time the servicer is not parked in
your
driveway waiting for you to call. Then, after all of the expenses he has
to
cover he should come out with some form of profit that will be taxed like
most employee's don't get taxed. The poor guy might be left with a few
bucks
if the check doesn't bounce.

So most contractors sit home and drink beer because they can't be bothered
pick up the phone and tell you that they aren't coming, let alone actually
want to do any work.