I CAN'T SPEND MY MONEY IN IRELAND

Cicero

ok..
Over the last few weeks, I needed a few things- let me be clear, I didn't WANT to spend my money....I NEEDED to...
so I was looking for the following:

1: A side gate for my house
2: A wedding present
3: my house painted
4:A few tons of soil moved

1: side gate

The width of the side gate is about double the average so takes a bit of measuring out and costing - so far I have phoned a number of gate specialists and 1 carpenter- the interest was minimal and blazzee, even though the total job is worth approx 1200 EUR (minimum quote)- even though promised twice, I have yet to get a quote from the carpenter. (still waiting, but now I'm more determined to get a good deal and from someone more focused and determined for my business)

2: Wedding present: I e-mailed a gift shop in Galway looking for availability of certain Waterford Crystal pieces- this is after phoning the shop and being told to e-mail them as they have most of what I am looking for- over two weeks have passed and no -reply (while I found a v.helpful shop quoting X, i found a cheaper shop who were willing to bargain with me so I did the deal with them- a well known Dublin department store spun me a line that this particular piece of Waterford could NEVER be reduced in price!)

3: While i got a quote for painting my house, no-one has actually followed up on the quote, asking ...am I ready to go ahead? (I'm still waiting- while I can't afford the time, I'm seriously considering doing it myself!)

4: A few tons of soil moved:
I asked a landscaper who was doing a job for a neighbour for a quote on taking away some soil and doing some planting/concreting- he appeared to be eager and was willing to meet up the following week after an initial assessment, but again, I have heard nothing - (i eventually got some people to do it who charged 10 EUR per hour and did a superb job)



can I ask.. for simple requests like the above, it appears that everyone is either busy or not interested- are people who are selling or providing services actually doing well or just don't really know how to do business in a downturn?

smelltheglove

I suppose it depends on who you are contacting. I know if I needed any of the above besides thed crystal I would be looking at smal ads on the like sof gumtree where there are people desperate for the work, not to get it cheap but give the business to someone who needs it, i.e. I know a painter who is dying tog et some work at the moment but there just isnt a lot out there.

I cant understand how people could just ignore work these days, arrogance maybe, I dont know.

PCPhoto

with the painter and landscaper I would guess that they were waiting on you to contact them.

I know if I dont hear anything back from a potential employer I dont call them (as I wouldnt want to be told I was annoying them with calls asking if I got the job...most potential employers will usually respond with they havent made a decision yet) - I just assume they have choosen someone else.

Cicero

PCPhoto wrote: »

with the painter and landscaper I would guess that they were waiting on you to contact them.
- I just assume they have choosen someone else.

PCPhoto/Smelltheglove- I'm not sure exactly what point I am making here tonight- it's more a gut feeling than anything- I just happened to need certain products/services..all at the same time..and I found myself in this position- it just feels strange that I was let down on all 4 requests at the same time- PC..your quote suggests re-activity....maybe what the consumer wants is a little more pro-activity...like I said, maybe people don't know how to 'sell'..and as long as the consumer takes proper pre-cautions (i.e. check out previous work, ask for references, stage payments etc etc) there is nothing wrong with selling- especially if you are quality (i,e, if you're good, put yourself forward a bit more please)..I just found it a strange juxta-position between ESRI/Press reports of unemployment and general bleakness, and my own personal experience of lack of interest in my business.. so maybe my message tonight to people with good skills is this:
Put yourself forward and don't be shy about selling yourself- there are people out there who value experience, knowledge and skills- but you need to let them know that- now, more so than ever...maybe the price has changed, but respect for quality remains the same.
PS: I called and texted the carpenter twice...recieved 'promises' and nothing else...what more can I do as a consumer?

rubadub

Cicero wrote: »

3: While i got a quote for painting my house, no-one has actually followed up on the quote, asking ...am I ready to go ahead? (I'm still waiting- while I can't afford the time, I'm seriously considering doing it myself!)

This is not surprising, they gave you the quote and expect you to get back to them, and let you decide when you are ready.

PCPhoto wrote: »

as I wouldnt want to be told I was annoying them with calls asking if I got the job.

Exactly.

Cicero

The painter was contacted after the quote- nothing since.

rameire

Cicero wrote: »

1: side gate

The width of the side gate is about double the average so takes a bit of measuring out and costing - the total job is worth approx 1200 EUR (minimum quote)-

if anything as you are in the rip off section of consumer, this is a rip off.
1200.00 euro is it gold plated?

i know everyone is not able or willing to make their own, i made my own bought wood and some tools ( incl circular saw and total cost was 150.00 ) and my side gate is slightly larger than normal, but prob not as big as your gate.
maybe stick it up on adverts for carpenter wanted.

Cicero

rameire wrote: »

if anything as you are in the rip off section of consumer, this is a rip off.
1200.00 euro is it gold plated?

maybe stick it up on adverts for carpenter wanted.

believe it or not, this is not the cheapest quote I got from the gatemakers- some went up to 1600-1800 for hard wood- 1200 was for pine!

newtogame

I,too was loking for gates in Kildare 2 years ago and some of the quotes for wood glued together and put into a metal frame were ludicrous.I found a guy in the Open Door magazine who did a competent job for 700euro.If you want I will try and see if I can locate his name and number for you.I also know a painter in the area who did some inside work for me and again a reasonable job-its unbelievable what quotes you get for these jobs.I would love the number of the garden guys.good luck.

Cicero

newtogame wrote: »

I,too was loking for gates in Kildare 2 years ago and some of the quotes for wood glued together and put into a metal frame were ludicrous.I found a guy in the Open Door magazine who did a competent job for 700euro.If you want I will try and see if I can locate his name and number for you.I also know a painter in the area who did some inside work for me and again a reasonable job-its unbelievable what quotes you get for these jobs.I would love the number of the garden guys.good luck.

Ta, N2G- if you PM me with ure contact details, I can put u in contact with the 'garden guys' - thanks for the support, I thought I was the only one with a screw loose when presented with those gate quotations....nice to see others think the quotes are totally ludicious also

newtogame

Have pmd u info on gates.The reason we have all been ripped off over the last 10 years is we allowed ourselves to be.When I got the quotes for the gates I really thought I was being screwed but people were obviously willing to pay what was about 120 euro worth of wood etc plus labour cost of maximum 3 hours at shall we say 350 euro per hour??????I bet they wish they hadnt now.Enough ranting!!

mossfort

if youre getting timber gates you want to have them pressure treated with preservative or they wont last very long.

RayCon

I recently wanted to get the exterior of my house painted ... only side and back cos it's a semi-D with a red brick front ... the first 2 quotes I got where absolutely laughable ... the first guy estimated the job would take 100ltrs of paint and 3 days / 2 men to complete !! I asked him did that include me paying for the paint for his next 3 jobs too !! Overall Quote - him supplying paint - €1800 ...

The next guy didn't state how much paint he thought it would take but quoted me €1600 - paint supplied.

10ltrs of white masonary paint in most DYI's (Woodies / B&Q) retail at the moment for as little as €17.99 ....

I eventually got the job down by 2 young fella's looking for handy work - one of which was painting as they had invested in a paint sprayer ... they did the job in 1.5 days , paint supplied , for €200 ... happy days.

Aly9

I know what you guys mean with regards to some painting quotes - I too had some OTT quotes when looking to get my house painted. I eventually found this guy who does painting/gardening and a bit of handywork, not sure though if he can help with the gate but he was very reasonable and even sorted out my blocked gutters. I would pass on his company name but not sure if i can say it on threads - maybe PM me and I will give you his details.