I could literally go on story after story of bad experiences with "professional" contractors. But, I know the value of an honest company or tradesman.
Jeff, I can feel your pain. A good thing about forums is that you can educate yourself before calling a “professional”. When you educate yourself, you are less likely to get screwed.
However, I don’t know how much of this is because of dishonesty, and how much is because of a lack of education on the contractor’s part. I see a lot of contractors who act like they know what they are talking about, but really don’t have a clue. They can’t learn this stuff in school and they can’t find it in any books. They either have to learn everything the hard way, by trial and error, or have a mentor that will teach them everything they have learned in their life experiences.
Many people are retiring long before they should, and most are no longer passing on their skills to the younger generation. I have the same problem in my business. The younger generation seems to focus on their phones or “digital communication devices”, and have very little interest in learning about pumps, motors, valves, HVAC, car engines, or anything mechanical. Very few young people stay at one job long enough to actually learn anything. If they aren’t made CEO within a few months, they loose interest and move on to something else. They don’t realize it takes years to gain the experience needed to be useful.
This also makes older persons reluctant to train the younger generation, as they feel they are wasting their time when many younger people just walk away. The few younger people who do hang around long enough to gain some knowledge will also walk away from you. As soon as they become knowledgeable, other companies will hire them out from under you, or they will start their own company and compete against you.
There are a bunch of pump companies in my area who are owned by someone who worked a few years with me. There are countless others who have gone on to work at supply houses or manufacturers. Many of them are using what I taught them to sell products that compete against me.
Although I think the biggest problem is that most of a contractors education comes from classes at trade shows, seminars at manufacturers, and listening to the guy behind the counter at the supply houses. State continuing education classes and classes at trade shows are nothing more than infomercials. They are taught how to install the most profitable items, which are rarely the best product for the end users. They are taught how to “replace” equipment, not to repair anything. Basically contractors are being taught how to make the most money, which conflicts with repairing or making things last longer.
I use to believe that it took so long to gain the experience needed in the pump and well business that this was not a job for DIY. I now believe because of the Internet that many people have educated themselves more than most of the so-called “professionals”. And even if they don’t end up doing it themselves, they can at least defend themselves from contractors who try to pull the wool over their eyes.
I also ended up installing my own heat pump when after asking the right questions, the contractor I bought it from admitted he didn’t know what he was doing. I repair my own appliances instead of getting a tech out that will always recommend a replacement instead of repair. I built most of my own house when the contractors didn’t show up like they were suppose to, or after I ripped out the stuff they did wrong.
Sorry to rant with you but it is maddening. If people spent as much time working and trying to learn their profession as they spend trying to get out of work, the world would be a much better place. I take pride in having done the same job for 40+ years. But most of the younger generation thinks I am foolish for not having figured out how to scam the system enough to be able to retire years ago. But I sleep really well at night, and that is what is most important to me.
Last edited: