Hearthlist Digest #587 - Thursday, April 5, 2001 thoughts on the show by "Noel Gilmore" <[email protected]> bathroom use by "Noel Gilmore" <[email protected]> Mini Trade Show by "Craig Issod" <[email protected]>
(back) Subject: thoughts on the show From: "Noel Gilmore" <[email protected]> Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 20:39:40 -0400 Okay, so I'm in south FL and my interests are probably much different than most of you all. New and interesting to me was the "Fire on Ice" gas fire. I can hear my customers now..."How kule!" Unhappily, a) we have very few natural gas customers, and b) our state requires safety pilots even for natural gas...which, I understand, they're working on, as well as an LP version. I'm ready when they are. I also got a kick out of that pressed log grate w/ its own "logs" from Portland-W. Most of my wood-burning fp customers use those grocery store logs (firewood is a tough commodity down here), and since most of the grates which come with the builder-model fireplaces are so chintzy that a standard-size pressed log isn't long enough to span the bars, many folks come to me to buy a more accomodating grate, so I imagine they'll love the faux gas log look they'll get with this item. We didn't do education seminars this year, so I can't comment on that, but we did shell out a lot of $ in HPA educational materials since they were a better deal during the show. I'm sure they will be well worth the investment. We forewent our manufacturer's gala evening in favor of a romantic dinner at Log Haven up at Millcreek Canyon...well worth the trip. Saturday night we drove to Park City and the following night we partook in something called the Viking Yurt dinner. From The Canyons resort they take you up into the mountains in a sleigh (powered by one of those Snow Cat things...diesel instead of horse manure) complete with cozy blankets, and you arrive at this structure in the middle of proverbial nowhere...inside it's the cold-weather equivalent of an oasis in the desert where you are greeted with a mug of mulled cider and then served a six-course meal. It was unique, delicious, and good fun. We were supposed to be able to stop = at a certain point on the way up and switch to snowshoes or x-country skis = for the rest of the way, but the snow conditions were too poor. My disappointment about that melted at meal's end when I realized how much nicer it was going to be to just hop in the sleigh for the ride home = rather than trudge down to it full of wine and good food. If you're ever back in that area, you must try it: www.parkcityYURTS.com Next year Anaheim? Oh well, airfares to L.A. should be reasonable, at = least. Noel, again.
(back) Subject: bathroom use From: "Noel Gilmore" <[email protected]> Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 20:40:42 -0400 >From: "John Bassemier" <[email protected]> >I always have a cup to pee in Good advice. Where do its contents wind up? >or use or note the business (usually a restaurant with a >restroom) on my way to the customers home (castle)to use the facilities. So it's okay for you to use a restaurant's facilities as a public = restroom. Wonder what their take would be on that? >I would forget about charging my customers for a place for me and my >employees to take a dump.Instead I would concentrate on taking care of >the job at hand Which, you gotta admit, is not so easy to do when your morning coffee = comes a callin'. >and try to notice other opportunities for more work >in the neighborhood or sell the customer on myself >and my services an suggest the possibility of referrals Well, John, I guess I'll never get rich, 'cause I wouldn't refuse a dog a place to relieve itself, let alone put my employee or sub in such a situation. And since I've been in business, I've tried to put the almighty dollar before being decent to my employees and my fellow man, but I just haven't been successful in doing so...even when my employee or fellow man doesn't give a hoot about my decency. It's just that I can't help = believing that if we were all a bit more decent to one another, the world would be a bit better place. That such theory is considered naive in today's business climate...well, I admit it: I'm naive. Then CRAIG said: >However, let's take a long job...a day or more. In this case the >first thing to do is to suss out the house. For instance, if there is >a powder room right on the way out to the garage or similar location, >you can probably just go ahead and use it. However, if no bath is in >view, you'll have to ask. OF COURSE you're gonna ask! This is like, common courtesy in our society, no? And likewise, the homeowner's providing the anticipated response is also common courtesy, even if it needs to be accompanied by a caveat or = two such as reminding the worker to walk on the plastic or be sure he doesn't track anything onto the "castle" floor. >Worse case, you always have mid-morning coffee break and lunch, etc. >assuming the customer is not in the middle of nowhere. In my neck of the woods, most every development is in the middle of nowhere, and my people don't take mid-morning coffee or lunch breaks for that reason, and they start early in the a.m. and aim to get as much as possible finished in a working day, which IS what my customers are paying for. >some people are funny and if they are paying customers they > have a right to be. I disagree. If they are so "funny" that they can't extend common courtesy, then they need to pay a little more for giving a little less. > As another example, they don't >have to give you water or drinks, which is also a call of >nature...you must provide this yourself. One is ABLE to provide this for oneself which is not the case for = bathrooms. So I say again, in 13 years this has never come up, and the subs we employ (one carpenter and one mason) who have been working in this area for much longer than that were as astonished as I when it happened. And again I = say, these are not hordes of dirty guys, and these are not multi-million $ = homes with servants' entrances. I'll hope that most of the folks who see the clause in the contract (that they pay for a port-a-potty rental if my workers cannot use their = bathroom) will wonder why it's even an issue, but let those to whom it speaks know that if they're going to be that prissy, they have to pay for the privilege. Bet it results in our never having to rent one. Noel Gilmore (who has a real tough time peeing in a cup) Autumn Moon Fireplaces (that's AUTUMN Moom...not crescent moon) Port St. Lucie, FL
(back) Subject: Mini Trade Show From: "Craig Issod" <[email protected]> Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 12:51:28 -0400 I've posted a picture review of the HPA Expo in SLC at http://www.hearth.com/hpa/ Included are some products which I think are interesting and represent important trends in the industry. Enjoy!