Big bum list

[Freetime]

Was interested in a in your experience and rating of builders, real estate people, commercial and residential-(people that own the home)? It will be interesting to see who is the best overall.
Slow pay/ no pay/ best pay? Worst, good, best.
What you do or did for them? Maintenance/mowing, landscape install, cleanup.

[John Allin]

Worst paying landscape maintenance customers, in order....1,2,3
Doctors
Lawyers
Realtors

That's why (in maintenance) we do commercial only.

[grassyfras]

MY dad


and u shouldnt sterotype people i demand this post be deleted

[Charles]

Car Sales managers
Lawyers
Realtors
Doctors

[Scott H]

I have always had much more problems with businesses paying on time compared to homeowners

[grassyfras]

people i dont cut for hahaha

[Getmow]

Let me add a new #1
PREACHERS
Doctors
Builders

[cos]

We had this post before. Alot of people posted preachers. I think doctors was #1.

Doctors are #1 for defaulting on loans. Big businesses are the slowest to pay, but eventually pay.

[Evan528]

charles, your right! definitly car salesman!!! I Just sued one in small claims courts.... his balance is 6 motnhs over due!

[steve's lawn care]

Doctors and lawyers are #1 with out any questions !!!
But he best paying are other's in residental who also own there own business. They know what it is like to be held out for 30 60 90 days.

[KirbysLawn]

Realtors, every one I have dealt with was a RPITA.

[Eric ELM]

Right now our worst payer is a business man, but he always pays. He is just the last one to send it in and he has such an easy lawn and we also plow his driveway.

Doctors fit in there at the top too. We have dropped a couple that were very late, but still have one that comes in next to late each month.

Even Vets and Dentists can be slow. :(

Steve's Lawn Care:

Could you put in your location in your profile? If you don't know how, email it to me and I'll put it in.
Eric

[Edited by Eric ELM on 04-14-2001 at 11:08 PM]

[lawnboy82]

BUILDERS!!! most evil people on the face of the earth. i work for builders and hate it. one guy who i work for is good about paying. however they are all small bills. but overall builders are the worst to work for. then you got your lawyers and doctors. then after that you got religious people then homeowners. going from worst to best. then you got your commercials and hoa's in there too. commercials are good. hoa's from what i hear are no good.

[lawnman_scott]

Worst are national fast food chains, all and any. 2nd are apt complexes, and one more vote for doctors

[65hoss]

government

[Charles]

I was sitting in this builders office one day when in walked this huge guy. Must have been 7 ft tall 450lbs at least. He had to duck down so his head wouldnt hit the top of the door joist. And he was mad as hail. He started screaming at the short stocky building contractor behind the desk. I felt a bit unconfortable but i was too close to the action lol. The big dude wanted his money and wanted it now for dozing job he had done for the contractor on leveling a lot. He had been to the office before it seems. Well this contractor had nerves of steele as the big guy put his hand on the deck and bent over and got into the contractors face. But I guess he looked down and saw that the contractor had opened his desk drawer and in the drawer he had an arsenel of handguns. Holy crapola!! LOL. I best get the f out of there.. Any The BG stood back up and said whne he came back and was not paid he would take it out of the contractors azz. Sure he would......

[GroundKprs]

I have had three residential accounts who are doctors (one with 2 doctors in household) pay me in advance for the year. This was unsolicited, they all indicated that they did not want the constant paperwork. These people are buried with paperwork at the office, and are often in stressful work environments. When they are home, the paperwork is a reminder of the office stress. A number of doctors and businessmen ask that their bills be sent to the office, where they or a staff member handle the personal accounting.

I now bill several doctors after the first three months of work. They pay double the billing amount, effectively paying for the next 4 months also, then I send a final bill after the season ends. This way they write only 2 checks, instead of 8 to 10. Dr. C still just writes a check when he gets the proposal - asks if signature on check is as good as signature on proposal - LOL.

So ask the client if there is some other billing procedure that could expedite the process from his perspective. Why send bill to home, if he has to remember to take it to office? Or offer to accept quarterly payments in advance, even with some small discount (1%, 2%?).

[Diamond Cut]

WIFE

[lakegastonla]

Best paying customer I have is a realtor. Very easy to get along with and they give LOTS of respect to me. Gotta stick up for them. Also, if I say they need something that will cost extra(mulching, seeding, aeration, fertilization, topdressing, etc.....they never question, but say "go ahead". Love em' and I wish I had 50 more like them!

[plowking35]

AS a builder I take offense to the comment that we are bad payers. As with anything know the builder you are working for.There are good and bad in any line of industry or profession. I sub for 3 builders and they all pay very well, and very fast. But they want the job done right and on time, many times its the sub that doesnt fulfill his end, but he crys anyway.
Dino

[lawnboy82]

with builders i think we are saying that the job gets done right but then "oh we will pay you when we sell the house or something" you must know what i am talking about. however i have a good friend who does a lot of land clearing and stone work for builders and he says that sometimes they dont pay.

[bdemir]

I am not a builder but they do have a bad rap on them from what i hear. I do have one realtor who still owes me. I must say it has a lot to do with where and who you deal with. Do it on paper. I know a mason who has written in his contract that he can legally take back his blocks if not paid by a certian time. He does not show them that in the contract till they decide not to pay or delay. I guess thats a little too much for basic lawn care but if you do a big landscape job it would be smart to have a good contract that saves you from not getting paid. I am a drywall contrator also and i havent had a problem with any builders yet. knock wood.





Bedros

[cos]

Sorry plowking,

They have a bad rep. I had one that would act like it was my fault for coming at a bad time to collect on a bill. He would tell me just leave the bill in the site mail box. He would continue to tell me that he never receives the bills and when he does, he would still not pay.

Lets face it, its his job to trim the fat. When it comes to selling houses, he knows what he is getting and whatever he can skim off the top, he pockets.

[cut-rite]

Yes SOME builders are bad not all, last year I had one try to screw me after several calls I went to the site after hours (house framed no doors) and left a note inside detailing all the promises he made about paying and saying I realy needed to talk to him. I dont know how many other subs or the owner saw it but I got paid in a hurry

[Twotoros]

most builders pay late
most divorcees pay late
all preachers pay late
all retirees pay on time
most small biz owners pay on time
all doctors wives pay on time

This is my experience.

[Stinger]

There are good and bad people in all aspects of life. For me the little old lady that is on a budget and want's it cheap will pay like clockwork! The big high dollar accounts allways wait till the last minute to pay. Man that can really hurt the cash flow! The doctors, lawyers, and indian chiefs I will steer clear of if and when possible.

[eslawns]

most builders pay late

All the builders I've dealt with paid late. Some needed a letter from a lawyer to send a check.

most divorcees pay late

Had one of these who was chronic also. I went up on her $5 a cut until she started to get the idea. She'd already fired every other LMO in the book, and every kid in the neighborhood knew the deal.

all preachers pay late

Only worked for 2 of these guys, both Navy Chaplains, and they both paid well, never complained, and recommended me to others. Can't complain about that.

all retirees pay on time

I agree, some of mine pay in advance when they travel (a lot) :)

most small biz owners pay on time

True. Maybe it's empathy :) .

all doctors wives pay on time

Most of them tip well, and aren't too hard on the eyes either.

This is my experience.

What are you doing, cutting my yards? ;)

[Freetime]

Looks like builders are winning.

[awm]

just sounds to me like it depends on the individual.
most mentioned are small buisinesses and are balancing the books themselves. not making excuses just facts.
a builder is constantly stretching to make it between drafts on a job. as small buisiness men ourselves
some times the winter months would put us on the bad list.
but if you are strait up it usually get taken care of.
this is not to say there are no deadbeats.always will be

[Freetime]

No sir, not trying to cast stones just getting a line of how most people on this site feel about the above folks. I understand some of the builders problems: 1 Builder constructs a home and the person intending to buy it “fluffs” his/her credit line when two months later loan goes bad and the builder is stuck with the house and $100’000 plus on the line and property tax appraisers crawling up your backside. 2 builder constructs a home and the buyer nickel and dimes him/her for small crap all the way to finish then wants to know if they get a discount for “having to tell you what to do” this would make anyone take a hammer and smack someone back to the real world. 3 builder half through with the house and buyer backs out totally what else can he/she do but finish the house and try to recover out of pocket cost. Lots of builders are good and some are bad, it goes for anyone lawn care included.

Yes sir, it is a rough game.

Billy bob to his builder “ifin I doos de paintn miy sef do you give a descaunt, wall-mert gat some kralon fer .25 cents a caen in majenti bluue I figure teen caens per room”

[dfor]

Dentists who don't believe that Jesus is our savior.

[awm]

freetime sounds like you spend a little time in cajun country lol

[bob]

Ther worst, divorcee's and Indians.