Business Ethics. What?

I’ve had several companies come out lately to give me an estimate on a new roof. What a bunch of crooks. I guess roofers aren’t interested in their reputation as a bunch of ambulance chasers? I can’t tell you what a pain in the butt it’s been. Everyone wants to know how much the insurance company will pay, and that is what the estimate is. Amazing! I’ve started telling them I’m paying out of my pocket, and they start in with, “let me talk to you insurance company and I bet we can get them to pay for it.” People wonder why insurance premiums are going up. I had one guy come on in, pull the old, “let me call my manager” and ask me for a beer. I gave him one so he would stop shaking so bad while he was writing the estimate. I told him if he said the word “insurance” one time I would throw him out. He called me back the next day to tell me he’ll beat any price I’ve gotten so far, just let him know. He’d have to pay for it out of his own pocket, but I guess since he liked me so much (even though he just met me) he was willing to do it for me. What a great guy! If I had another beer, I’d give it to him. I had a friend of a friend come give me a bid as well. This is a guy who works for a roofing company, but he and someone else are going to start their own roofing business. I would be their initial client. Now I’m not opposed to that. I’m a businessman too. I know everyone starts somewhere. BUT….if I’m your first client, you better not be my highest bid. Mutt and Jeff came out next. These guys had a hard time with the ladder. If you can’t work the ladder, chances are the roof’s gonna give you some trouble. At least they were able to break one of my gutters too. The only thing these guys had going for them is they were both fat and bald. Who doesn’t love that?!!! One guy told me he was coming out that afternoon when he got off of his real job. At this point, I was kinda interested. He wasn’t able to that afternoon because of thunderstorms. He called to say he’d be there in the morning between 7 & 7:30. “Sure,” I said. In the morning he called to let me know he was stuck in traffic but would be there soon. About 8 he calls to tell me he’s outside my house but doesn’t have a ladder big enough to get on my roof. What? I still haven’t seen this guy, but really want to because this is the kind of Einstein that you have to see to believe. I’m picturing a heavy fella with bad teeth, smoker stench and a vocabulary only comparable to a rock. I’ll let you know.
I’ve also looked for engagement rings this week. Again, a bunch of crooks. I talked to a diamond broker who swore he had a terrific diamond for me with papers. I met him at a neutral location. What he had looked real nice so I suggested we go to a jeweler so they could give me an appraisal. I told him if the diamond was everything he said it was I was going to take it. Here’s the deal….if you’re selling a piece of shit, why follow the guy to the appraiser? Especially since it was so far away. The funny thing is, the appraiser (who I know) told me when they guy walked in the door he’s a crook and told me what I can expect to see in that diamond. That’s exactly what he had. Told me the guy had been there before. Of course you can’t hardly walk into a diamond store and expect customer service. I don’t really care to ever do this again. It’s a shame something as wonderful as getting married has to be spoiled by the greed and dishonesty you have to go through to get a diamond. IJS

What I want to know is, what happened to people who tell you they’re going to do something and actually do it? Or tell you they’ll be somewhere at a certain time and are actually punctual? I work with someone who has never been on time for a meeting (when he shows). What I really like is when he throws all the blame on me. “Sorry I can’t make it. Buddy didn’t send me the email.” Let me go on record as saying if we have a 2 pm appointment, I will be there at 1:45pm. I would like to quote one of my old bosses and probably the biggest influence on my adult and professional life. Gene Seaton once said, “We work from 7am to 3 pm. That doesn’t mean we come in the door at 7, that means when I come to the back at 7, you better already be working.” I’m gonna go ahead and quote him again just because it was the best line a boss ever said to me. “We don’t call in sick because we don’t feel good. I haven’t felt good since 1967 and I’ve never missed a day of work.” I also like to throw this in because his youngest son was born shortly before 1967. I now know why he stopped feeling good. Mean Gene (this is said with the most respect) told you what was on his mind. If you didn’t like it, that was too bad. He took care of business and he worked you hard. At times you may have thought he was just plain evil, but he would NEVER ask you to do something he wasn’t willing to do. And if anyone got in your way while you were doing his bidding, well, God help that person! (Reminded me of my brothers growing up. They beat me daily. But nobody else better not look at me wrong. I remember two of my brothers playing hacky sack with a bully who was quite a bit older than me once on the bus). Gene was all business, all the time. This is the refreshing kind of punctuality and honesty that I miss. IJS.
Roofer starts on Monday. I’ll let you know if he shows.