Friday, December 27, 2013

Con Men

Not the right title, but I did not want to say BS Artists in the title.
It has taken me many years to realize that the ‘mouth’ is not what gets the job done. I think my daddy described it as “some folks talk a good game.”
confidence_men_ron_suskind
(I know nothing about this book, I just picked it because of the title)

In every profession there is the quiet person, who never rings their own bell, or toots their own horn, they just DO THE JOB. Then there is the guy/gal who will tell you in a minute they are the best for the task. I have found out that there is a good possibility that the person who talks a good game cannot always play well.
In the building industry I saw both sorts. I had a Heating A/C man for awhile who was good at installation. He was good and if all was well when he hit the switch, I could count on the system running without a hitch for a long time.
confidence-men-painted-women
Once one of his units gave out, (just out of warranty). I called him to come look at it, I knew I would pay for the call. He came and after a couple hours he announced I needed a new unit, cost about $2,000.  I told him I would think about it and paid for his time. 
ThinkStock-Peacock-724x481
This amount of money, called for a second opinion by someone I could trust, so I called an old friend whom I no longer used (mutual agreement), he came over and after about ten minutes, he said. I can fix it for $70, as good as new.  He told me all it needed was a good cleaning, he showed the core fins that do the cooling and they were stopped up with cat hair.
RayErrolLyrics
He said I haven’t looked inside the house, but I bet if you look, you will find you do not have a filter, or the one you have is caved in allowing unfiltered air to pass.  He was right, the one inside was caked with cat hair also and had caved in. I bought a case of filters and informed the renter she needed to change the filter monthly, as stated in her rental agreement.
wolf-in-sheeps-clothing
Why this story? Every profession is the same, just because the person is educated or trained in a field does not mean they are good at it.  That also includes the trades: auto mech, plumbers, electricians, dry cleaners, doctors, tree surgeons, nurses, teachers, jockeys, handy men, builders, ditch diggers  and professors.2
We neophytes need some way to check the ability and history of the folks we pay our hard earned money to.  I do not always check.  My A/C man was good at installation and He was not a crook, he was just terrible at trouble shooting. There is a big difference.
Some people are confident they can do the job, and can’t.
Some people are confident they can do the job and CAN!
Nite Shipslog
PS:
A great personality sure helps in bedside manner, but it does not get the job done. Conversely,  some folks can back up their words with action.
Then there are the few who are out and out crooks.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
31StBoa
I love this car. I have it listed as a ‘31 Boat tail (?)

7 comments:

Paula said...

I hate to have to hire people to do jobs around the house since I am inexperienced with that. I never had to worry about those things when Mel was alive. One time a man told me he would have to knock the whole living room wall out to correct the bathtub faucets. Thank goodness I didn't hire him. My son-in-law changed both of them in about fifteen minutes with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers but he doesn't live close.

Mevely317 said...

Great share, Jack!
My hubby's made his living for a number of years now as a handyman. Still, he'll be the first to say if a job's "BT" (beyond Tom) and they need to call in an expert. Tho' his work's dwindled down a LOT, everyone who calls has been referred by another on account of his being honest.
If ever one's not sure, or has a nigglin' feeling ... get that 2nd (or 3rd!) opinion!

Hugs from Phoenix,
Myra

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

Thankfully I have some sons and a nephew that do great work and never con me. You are right, it would be nice to know who we can trust. I've found that out the hard way a time or two.

Chatty Crone said...

Jack I totally agree - you have any suggestions? I would love to find good honest people who want to repair and fix and not gouge my pocketbook.
sandie

TARYTERRE said...

We just had a similar experience with an auto mechanic. Hard to know who to trust.

betty said...

Know what you are saying here, Jack. We loved our car mechanic when we lived north of where we are living now. He was honest, didn't over charge, delivered when promised and you knew he wasn't conning you in any way. Certainly worth his weight in gold. Haven't quite found that yet down here. I would like to think if I was in such a profession, I would not want to gouge but would treat people fairly and honestly.

betty

Louis la Vache said...

«Louis» is thankful to have found an honest mechanic to work on the Vachemobile. A rare find these days. «Louis» recalls reading about dishonest car dealers in the 1930s packing bad differentials with sawdust to hide the grinding noise...

«Louis» can't identify that boat tail speedster. He thinks it may be a Duesenberg. The 3 chrome bars on the front of the rear fenders is a typical Duesenberg styling cue. The grille doesn't look quite right to be a "Duesy". A Google search didn't come up with the answer...