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...relating to #1. I hate to drive up and see a driveway full of $50K+ vehicles. I just did an estimate where in the drive there was a new Vette, new ragtop BMW and a new custom Winnebago... in front of a $250K house with crappy landscaping they've had for 10 years. Where are their priorities?
And on #4. Let's just say I've learned the hard way. Now I screen out these people on the phone. When I hear that accent I double my consultation fee. And if I give them an estimate, I tack on an extra $1,000, so when they want to haggle and get my "best price" I knock off $500 and they think they've outsmarted me. And don't do any extras unless its written and signed. They won't pay for them otherwise.
Bill's right, it's a culture clash. In some cultures this haggling is the norm, even expected. To me it's obnoxious and insulting. It also shows a lack of respect for people that make a living by using their hands, as well as their brains. But again, their native culture breeds a real separation between those with callouses on their hands and those without. It's reinforced generation after generation. Wereas, in America, few of us are very far removed, if at all, from family and friends that make a living from turning wrenches, plowing the fields, working the assembly line, driving trucks or house cleaning. So, IN GENERAL, there's more respect for what we do.... Of course, I still live in the same small town I grew up in. So my perspective may be a little distorted...
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