Undercutting

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user_removed

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Last year I did a few houses for a landlord, I don't do any stud work so the landlord got this kid in, he was **** and got the sack after 3 days for being unreliable and slow. Took 2 days to build a small bulkhead and board it for me to pull in.

After I did that I put an add up on a forum asking for some help on a job, and I get an email from this kid, not knowing its him I ask for quals/certs and what experience he'd had.

He tells me he's not qualified and then tells me he was working for said landlord, not knowing who I was obviously. Then tells me he did a few months with them and got laid off because lack of work. Which was untrue, he got sack cos he was crap, I was there when he was told to **** off.

He also tells me in this email he can, dryline, cove, plaster everything apart from render. He was recently still emailing me asking about contacts and work. I just ignore him.

I didn't bother with him because I realised who it was, full of shite and left it at that.

I lost a job just before Xmas (not big) I priced about £400 I think, and was told I was undercut by this said kid, he is now advertising as being fully qualified plasterer, dryliner. When I'm pretty sure he's not.

Did a staircase over Xmas, got the job but talked to the owner who said this kid priced up and went in dirt cheap, but he thought I looked bit more professional so decided to go with me.

Another job I ask the owner about how he went about getting quotes and he tells me this kid quoted asked about other quotes and then undercut me by £30. I got it but only because the owner thought it was a bit cheeky asking who else had quoted and what there price was.

Amazing how this kid was emailing me wanting work, now he is blatantly undercutting me. Must be going in at £80.00 a day.

I know a lot about him and he doesn't know much about me, the cheeky little lying bar steward.
 
nothing to worry about mac, sooner or later it will catch up with him, he can not keep going like that,
 
i think we all have come across or know a "tradesman" like that. but your case sounds a bit personel mate i'd be temped to kick his head in but thats more hassle than its worth cos a mongrel like that would be after compo. at least you can sleep at night knowing you have made the world a better place and it just a matter of time before he fucks the wrong persons house up. don't let the t**t get to you, i bet before long you get a call to put one of his jobs right
 
Just a bit off a ball ache, when you try and do things right and some little mug does this with no insurance/quals/Cscs, fook all.

Drives a old P reg golf for folks sake. Lol.
 
Let me guess, only owns one bucket and all his tools are in it? :rolleyes)
 
plenty of them come and go mac. The young lad that works with me has been helping his mate who he went to college with out over xmas cos i had 2 weeks off. Anyway he's been telling me today how his mate has loads of work on working for some "property developer", he dot and dabbed a full room without removing the coving....WTF, doesnt clean off around architrave/skirting etc and doesnt brush his angles in...........I was pissing me self... asked him what he charges a day, £75 a day.........no wonder he's knee deep in graft..........this proprty geezeer is some asian gentlemen who has loads of student lets in Newcastle and clearly isnt arsed about the finish.............its a crazy world......his mates mixer is just a normally drill and paddle but it only goes backwards...........PMSL.........I know its not funny..........but FFS its happening everywhere
 
No Flynn he doesn't post on forum.

If he carries on ill out the gobshite for what here really is.

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And then **** on his doorstep
 
plenty of them come and go mac. The young lad that works with me has been helping his mate who he went to college with out over xmas cos i had 2 weeks off. Anyway he's been telling me today how his mate has loads of work on working for some "property developer", he dot and dabbed a full room without removing the coving....WTF, doesnt clean off around architrave/skirting etc and doesnt brush his angles in...........I was pissing me self... asked him what he charges a day, £75 a day.........no wonder he's knee deep in graft..........this proprty geezeer is some asian gentlemen who has loads of student lets in Newcastle and clearly isnt arsed about the finish.............its a crazy world......his mates mixer is just a normally drill and paddle but it only goes backwards...........PMSL.........I know its not funny..........but FFS its happening everywhere

I have a mate who is working for an asian who is buying old pubs and making them into flats. Good spread but getting a bit slow now he is 60. He gets £75 a day in cash and this Asian has kept him going almost for 2 years with more to come and off his friends.

Now you might think screw that but this asian gets up late and never turns up on site before 10am. 8.30 arrival and a cuppa & chat with the others then 1 wall at a time. 3 walls skimmed in a day and away for 4pm latest. Quite a toss off really and at his age £375 a week in cash almost all year round is a blessing. He is to old to go back onto sites and spread like a 25 year old. So good for him and as for the Asian, he thinks he is getting a bargain at 3 walls skimmed a day for £75 cash with no receipt against tax.

If I was on my own and not employing and would be grateful.

As for this idiot undercutting you I have been there. 18 months later and he will be shelf stacking at Tesco's.
 
Last edited:
Mac

don't drop your rates though.... just going to his level and then very difficult to get your rates back up!

stick at it, hold your nerve and if possible advertise and find some other sources of work.... that may make your joint customers worried about loosing you (as long as they want to keep using you)

Good Luck mate!
 
had something similar a couple of years ago a fella who worked with me while i taught him had been out on his own for a while and rang me to ask if i would help him price a job and do it, i agreed (stupidly) gave the price and it was accepted, but it turns out when i left he went back and knocked 200 off the price so that i was priced out and he had more for himself.
it was all akward angles and i guess he didnt know how to price it and what have ya, but you will always get customers who do this aswell ive been to price a job before and had people practically force a previous spreads quote in my hands before ive got me boots off to get me to knock some off
 
I feel for you mac mate.

This has happened to me lately too, and I've lost out BIG time because of it.

My old lab who I gave at least three years to has gone 'on his own' and nicked all my builders.

They don't seem to see that its false economy. £60 a day FFS. He's skimming (that's all he can do) two walls a day.
I generally charge double that...but get MORE than double the work done.

All greedy builders seem to see is the day rate.

Poxy £30 silverline mixer and no van.

Whats annoying is hes just a young booze jockey. The type that has no money left come monday. No kids to feed or owt :RpS_cursing:

Many times I've wanted to smash his face.
 
I feel for you mac mate.

This has happened to me lately too, and I've lost out BIG time because of it.

My old lab who I gave at least three years to has gone 'on his own' and nicked all my builders.

They don't seem to see that its false economy. £60 a day FFS. He's skimming (that's all he can do) two walls a day.
I generally charge double that...but get MORE than double the work done.

All greedy builders seem to see is the day rate.

Poxy £30 silverline mixer and no van.

Whats annoying is hes just a young booze jockey. The type that has no money left come monday. No kids to feed or owt :RpS_cursing:

Many times I've wanted to smash his face.
Disgusting when they are hungry like that .. him and those employing him, hope karma gets him
 
I feel for you mac mate.

This has happened to me lately too, and I've lost out BIG time because of it.

My old lab who I gave at least three years to has gone 'on his own' and nicked all my builders.

They don't seem to see that its false economy. £60 a day FFS. He's skimming (that's all he can do) two walls a day.
I generally charge double that...but get MORE than double the work done.

All greedy builders seem to see is the day rate.

Poxy £30 silverline mixer and no van.

Whats annoying is hes just a young booze jockey. The type that has no money left come monday. No kids to feed or owt :RpS_cursing:

Many times I've wanted to smash his face.

What a loser, builders are the worst for over charging people, I bet he wouldn't be doing it for £60 a day when he realises the builders are probably charging in excess of £250 a day for what hes doing.. and not even having to lift a finger to earn the wedge! Well done to him, hes working his arse off so much so the builder can sit at home and do nothing, some peoples lack of insight is ******* beyond me.
 
Mac id avoid telling every customer you come across not to use him,that would make you look unprofessional and desperate for work.
When you go and quote just put yourself across better than he does. People don't always just go for the cheapest price, if you can justify why you've put that price in and you've built a rapport with the customer you'll get the work.

if you start slating other tradesmen and the quality of their work whilst quoting you'll look a nob yourself.
 
Yeah airborne, iv don't say anything. Just a tad annoying at times.

Quoting I hope I come across very professional, where a logo'd polo, take the truck, written quotes all time everything written out nice and clear.

But as always, and Ceevee will know this, price is no1 priority round s yorks at min on internals.
 
Yeah airborne, iv don't say anything. Just a tad annoying at times.

Quoting I hope I come across very professional, where a logo'd polo, take the truck, written quotes all time everything written out nice and clear.

But as always, and Ceevee will know this, price is no1 priority round s yorks at min on internals.

It certainly is. I challenge any of my competitors to say their specs on rendering are higher than ours. it can't be done. I am doing a job at the moment which a long established competitor priced for. He is good but knackered and his methods are 20 years out of date but his work looks ok. Just straight forward two coats and dash forming corners with a stick and still uni-bonding. Me, SBR, full German Mesh quality plastic beads not the flimsy cheap ones that fail below -10c. He was £100 cheaper than me but the customer gave me the job because I cover all the windows up in polythene and tape as this other guy said he can't see the point. The Sbr, polythene, tape and beads must make me at least £200 more than him in materials alone.

I asked the was that it bearing in mind the difference in materials and he said my work looked good enough and so did his, the fact that I used quality beads and sbr was immaterial, his work looked good enough.

Really annoys me, I go the extra mile for quality and peace of mind, (written quote and invoices, everything they need to sue me with) but so long as their cheaper work looks good enough and it's cheaper then the cheaper man gets it.
 
the average customer could not tell a good job from a bad one, but they all know what a fecking mess looks like. i would have taken your quote rigsby. as you are taking extra care
 
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