Bravo.....Sears?

IDK if contracting is the only way this company can make money anymore.

They gave a neighbor a quote....along with a stern warning that nobody else can do your roof correctly.

Oh wow.

Anyway a pretty ez roof. $17,000 for Sears to do it correctly. I Did not know I lived in a neighborhood of $17,000 roofs.

the correct price is prolly about $12,000. Insurance will want to pay $8500. Roofers will be lining up around the block to do it for $8,000.

I hope to get it for $10,500...... Maybe Viirt will get the job for $6500

It's Greek to me....... B) :) :) B) Deep Down In Florida Where The Sun Shines Damn Near Every Day

There's another five-letter word that is custom-made to replace the "smile" in "evil little smile. It starts out the same way, with an "s," an "m," and an "i," but instead of finishing with an "l" and an "e" it finishes with an "r" and a "k." Reading your account of that guy made my hair stand up on end. Actually, now that I think about it more, an Evil Grin is different from a smirk and substantially more unsettling. William Cullen Bryant wrote a bunch of poetry in the 1800's (I think) and we had to memorize some of that poetry way back in high school. The only line I can remember now was from a piece he titled, "Thanatopsis" and it would be a very suitable epitaph for a guy like that: "...The oak shall send its roots abroad to pierce thy mold..."

egg said "no granules left at the edge from a thousand gutter cleanings"

Reminds me of a job I did years ago. Drive up to do the estimate and notice the bottom 4 feet of the Cedartone square butt roof has a dark shading to it. Go up and notice that most of the granules are wore off. Bring the issue up with the owner and he says he cleans the gutters every weekend. Somewhat OCD I believe. I bring up the issue of the laminate shingles being softer than the old organics and the warranty won't cover this type of damage. Suggested using a carpet piece to work off and don't go up on a sunny day. Can see the panic in his eyes as he says "what if it's sunny all weekend and I have to clean the gutters?" I suggest installing gutter guards and he goes for that option.

Well ...... we do the job and answer a thousand questions about the gutter guards and get paid and leave. A week later I receive the first of dozens of calls regarding the gutter guards. It had not rained as of yet and he said there was some tree needles resting on the guards and could I come out and take a look. Only a 20 mile drive out in the country for me. I arrive to see a few random needles on top of the screens and assure him that the wind will blow them away. He asks if he could use his leaf blower and blow them off. I tell him do as you want and remind him about the wear on the shingles.

First rain comes and I get a call. Some needles are stuck on the screen after the rain can I come out to look. I go on a drive and see a few random needles on the screen and tell him the gutters are clean and they are doing their job. I see doubt in his eyes.

Sun comes out a few days later and I get a call that the needles have dried and are now stuck on the screen and he can't blow them off. I need to come out and "discuss this issue immediately". Go on another drive to assure him the next rain will wash them away.

Rains again and I receive an angry call that the screens were causing his gutters to leak. Another drive and I see all these pieces of masking tape hanging off the bottom of his gutters. He said water drops have come down the front of his gutters and have dropped off the bottoms. What am I going to do about this? I tell Mr. Nutbar that the rain drops always come down the face of aluminum gutters and that is what causes the streaking on the finish. He tells me I need to call the manufacturer and talk to them. I tell him that I will give him the contact info and he can call and inform him that this will be my last trip out over the gutter screens.

Three months later I get a call from the manufacturer requesting that I remove the screens and send them back to them. They refunded the man his money and would pay me to remove them. Another drive out and I watch Mr. Angry Eyes stare me down as I do my work. Load the screens in my truck and go and get my ladder and return to see the screens gone out of the truck box. I ask what's up as the manufacturer wants them retuned. He has this evil little smile on his face as he says "They're mine. Get off my property"

Go home and phone the manufacturer and let them know the scoop and tell them I'm finished with the guy. He was a retired school principal. I wonder if he used the Evil Grin while strapping the kids?

I don't know about all these warrantee issues. They bother me. I gave a guy a twenty year warrantee on a hot roof once. It went 25 years without a leak, and we sqeezed another five out of it for them with some perimeter repairs. About five years after I had offered that warrantee I changed my mind about it all. I'm not looking for volume. I give what they want in writing if it's within reason. Otherwise, I make it clear that we have a gentleman's agreement that I will come back for free as long as they are in the house and if it's my thing I'll fix it for free and if it's not, we'll discuss how they want to handle it. I've seen too many factors impact a roof covering to be interested in committing blanket guarantees in writing. Like the time a redwood branch harpooned a guy's roof and he called me up to tell me my roof was leaking. He had carefully removed the branch and smoothed out the shingle and scattered leaf debris over the wound. I found the damaged shingle, took it out, found the torn paper, cut it out, found the two-inch diameter hole with the ragged plywood splinters pressed down towards the attic, and told him in no uncertain terms what I thought he had done. I gave him that repair for free. My payment was his guilty look. What do I care? No granules left at the edge from a thousand gutter cleanings, skylights installed that weren't there when it was roofed, too many variables. Hold your head up and don't be afraid to give a little, but warrantees can be very wierd.

I've lost a few jobs to Sears over the years where the deciding factor was that the people could get Sears Points on the purchase. Didn't quite get the economics on that deal with them earning a hundred dollars in points but paying three thousand more. My Sister went with Sears to get the points for Christmas gifts even though I could have roofed her townhouse for $1500. less than Sears. Was kind of a bitter pill to swallow at the time.

Our goal should be Sears pricing. We could then offer a $500. pre-paid Visa and a night at the spa with every roof. Offer financing for 84 months, with the option of getting an extra 10K to pay off there credit card bills like the car lots do around here.

Chuck, I don't remember saying that about Lefty, but then age is impacting my memory . . . and not in a good way. :lol:

I do appreciate Lefty's perspective though . . . and agree that if the only thing the customer wants to focus on is price, then it's probably best to find a different customer.

Age, loss of hair, and the graying of what hair is left seems to bring a modicum of wisdom, it would seem. Experience is a great teacher, still.

natty Said:

Back in 82, I was selling a roof to a guy who also got a bid from Sears. I dont know the price difference, but I reminded him that Sears just subs out the work and you wont know anything about the quality of the install. On follow up, he said he chose Sears. I asked why. He said he knows Sears will be around longer than I.

Times have changed. Now you can walk up to their house un announced, tell them that Last week you were a pimp, a terrorist and an IRS agent, but as long as the roof is "free", It don't matter what you'll be doing next week, next year or 20 years from now.

Just hook me up :(

I must say this is one of the better topics and replies I've read on this site in a while. Lefty your focus and thought process on price point is that of a winner. Awesome. Lefty your view point on this subject is appreciated. Glad you've come out of your shell. I believe it was Andy who said you've gotten wordy. Don't stop. B) :) :) B) Deep Down In Florida Where The Sun Shines Damn Near Every Day

You got that right woody. That's why at the beginning of the thread, I asked if contracting was the only way this company can make money anymore.

Eddie the head honcho of Sears has been selling assets to pay the bills for a few years

A warranty from Sears today is worth about as much as a Radio Shack warranty from 2 years ago. Sears, Kmart, all of SHLD, will be gone within 5 years. Anyone paying extra to them for warranty security hasn't been paying attention. It's well known in the financial community that it's only a matter of time.

I bid one for a guy the other day who heard a dandy:

Decent sized contractor puts on this guys roof about five years ago. Leaks. About a year ago the contractor looks in the attic, says he sees a bunch of mouse poop. Claims the ceiling is all wet because of mouse pee.

I'm betting the attorney general got a great laugh out of that.

Salesman also told her the mold on the aluminum trim is caused by roof leaking..... :laugh:

Only a two year warranty? They don't have to be around long to warrant that.

We are thinking about putting ours back up to 10 years now that shingles don't prorate until the ten year mark...again.

I have always given a workmanship warranty for the life of the shingle. I don't think I have seen anyone else who warrants their work for more than 1, 2, at most 5 yrs. I believe Sears warrants their work for 2 yrs. The reality is that warranty is only good for as long as I am still around. So far, I have never had an unsatisfied customer over workmanship issues. I always thought my best selling point was that I do my own work (as if anyone really cares). Back in '82, I was selling a roof to a guy who also got a bid from Sears. I don't know the price difference, but I reminded him that Sears just subs out the work and you won't know anything about the quality of the install. On follow up, he said he chose Sears. I asked why. He said he knows Sears will be around longer than I.

yes Lefty. Yes OS (2.5 min, but who's counting at this point.....)