TheNiche Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 My lesson of the day: if "I'm not a heroin addict" is among the first things he says to you after he gets in the car to go to the job site, he's a heroin addict. White supremecy tatoos are also a bad sign, apparently.Anybody else have any pearls of wisdom to share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 where did you pick him up? montrose and westheimer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted January 14, 2008 Author Share Posted January 14, 2008 where did you pick him up? montrose and westheimer?A bad nabe in the east end. He thought I was someone else that he'd talked to and tried to get work from (who I know), then told me about how down on his luck he was and that he'd work for not much money that he needed so as to pay off his old landlord so he could retrieve his stuff. I had a difficult job that needed doing and that wouldn't take him but a few hours, so it seemed like a situation where we could both come out ahead.Wrong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 If you thought you could get even mediocre day labor out of a white guy, you are less skilled in the rules of life than I thought.EDIT: For future reference, do not contract with people that bring up their Christian faith unprompted, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted January 14, 2008 Author Share Posted January 14, 2008 If you thought you could get even mediocre day labor out of a white guy, you are less skilled in the rules of life than I thought. He was not very bright, that much was obvious. But this was a job that required only some muscle and that some debris then be hauled away. Seemed straightforward enough. Gave him half for his labor up front and enough for him to pay a friend to bring in a truck for the debris. He ended up getting two Mexicans to actually do the work while he threw up on the lawn. The irony of the situation only became apparent after I eventually figured out what the tatoos were all about. The job half-done as of yesterday, and with a pile of debris on the lawn, he bailed. The Mexicans will finish the job next weekend, but there will be no truck; that money is long gone. And Red, I've only very rarely had to deal with this element; thus far I've done the bits of day labor myself and with big projects have had contractors mediating between myself and the lowlifes. Of course I'm unskilled in dealing with them. But I'm more skilled today than I was yesterday, and though it may be a costly education, the important thing is that I'm getting it. ...besides, Red, you're a DWI lawyer. When it comes to dealing with (or being) the lowlife scum of society, you'll probably always have an edge on me. EDIT: For future reference, do not contract with people that bring up their Christian faith unprompted, either. That would've been another strike against him...and more than half of contractors I've ever gotten bids from, including a few good ones that I've ended up using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Ok girls, go to your corners and settle down. I will have to agree with Red on this Niche. Day labor and white guys over the age of 17 just don't mix. Most high school kids who are actually willing to do the work are usually afraid of their father's disapproval if they don't do a good job. I understand that the guy played your heartstrings though. Most heroin addicts are very good manipulaters.Rule of thumb: when dealing with a methhead or crackhead DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, give them enough money to go get a "Fix", because that will be the last you see of them, until they spot you and flag you down AGAIN ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Gave him half upfront, eh? Boy, you're attempt to explain yourself makes you sound worse... ...and yes, I am proud of my ability to separate the wheat from the chafe. It is, frankly, a lost art. I read on this forum daily about people who overpay for work simply because they cannot or will not talk to anyone without a corporate van and a uniform. I was tempted to feel sorry for them, but many of the same people routinely denigrate the working class as somehow beneath them, so now I figure they get what they deserve. You however, I figured to be a bit more pragmatic about how to deal with people who get their hands dirty. Guess not. BTW, your comments that DWI defendants are lowlife scum of society amuses me. Must have been thinking of GW Bush (1 dwi) and Dick Cheney (2 dwi's) when you wrote that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipper Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 We really need a new sub-forum. "RedScare vs. TheNiche"I'd subscribe!flipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted January 14, 2008 Author Share Posted January 14, 2008 Ok girls, go to your corners and settle down. I will have to agree with Red on this Niche.I agree with Red, too. Still, when it comes to scumbags, anyone with too little or too much experience is worthy of taking some flak.Rule of thumb: when dealing with a methhead or crackhead DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, give them enough money to go get a "Fix", because that will be the last you see of them, until they spot you and flag you down AGAIN !If I'd known he was a hardcore addict, I would've brushed him off in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 I agree with Red, too. Still, when it comes to scumbags, anyone with too little or too much experience is worthy of taking some flak. Gotta be able to identify them before you can decide not to do business with them, true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Something tells me it was a lot worse than a simple upchuck in the yard.I don't know why, yo, but I do ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted January 14, 2008 Author Share Posted January 14, 2008 Gave him half upfront, eh? Boy, you're attempt to explain yourself makes you sound worse......and yes, I am proud of my ability to separate the wheat from the chafe. It is, frankly, a lost art. I read on this forum daily about people who overpay for work simply because they cannot or will not talk to anyone without a corporate van and a uniform. I was tempted to feel sorry for them, but many of the same people routinely denigrate the working class as somehow beneath them, so now I figure they get what they deserve. You however, I figured to be a bit more pragmatic about how to deal with people who get their hands dirty. Guess not. I'm not excusing myself, here. This event is clearly the product of my inexperience. You're probably about twice my age and have probably been working as a professional in the real world for eight or more times as long as I, so frankly if I were on par with you--even if you weren't a DWI lawyer--I'd probably either have been manipulative scum myself, or you would've been socially retarded. Next weekend I'll have to do it all over again, this time with only the Mexicans, and hopefully with better results. Gotta be able to identify them before you can decide not to do business with them, true? True enough. Chalk another one up to inexperience; I don't hang around a lot of hardcore addicts. Ditto on the white supremecy tatoos. It just didn't register what was right in front of me for a good long time because I just don't see lots of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 I'm not excusing myself, here. This event is clearly the product of my inexperience.You're probably about twice my age and have probably been working as a professional in the real world for eight or more times as long as I, so frankly if I were on par with you--even if you weren't a DWI lawyer--I'd probably either have been manipulative scum myself, or you would've been socially retarded. Next weekend I'll have to do it all over again, this time with only the Mexicans, and hopefully with better results.True enough. You'll again have to excuse my inexperience; I don't hang around a lot of hardcore addicts.I'm just funnin' with ya, Niche. To be honest, I got burned by a couple before I formed my general opinion that whites are useless for manual labor. As you might guess from my remarks, I've been burned by the dope fiends, as well as the born again Christians. Don't have much use for either. I separate political rhetoric from hiring practices. This allows me to understand that Mexicans provide the best value for semi-skilled and unskilled labor. They are generally also better painters. Electricians, plumbers and craftsmen, meanwhile, the division is not so clear.BTW, I have also learned this lesson in deciding who to trust with a payment plan in my criminal practice. I won't confess to how many times I have been burned by the phrase, "I'm good for it", but at least the last guy that used it on me got laughed at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 EDIT: For future reference, do not contract with people that bring up their Christian faith unprompted, either.LOL. at the gulfgate home depot i noticed that the day laborers are now being preached to in the parking lot. your labor supply may be dwindling red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Next weekend I'll have to do it all over again, this time with only the Mexicans, and hopefully with better results. It's a miracle no one has yet attacked you for calling them Mexican's! A true blue spectacle miracle... toot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted January 14, 2008 Author Share Posted January 14, 2008 It's a miracle no one has yet attacked you for calling them Mexican's! A true blue spectacle miracle... toot! The guys that actually did the work were Mexicans, and they very proudly called attention to that, all in front of the big tough white supremecist heroin addict. It's when you call an El Salvadorian a Mexican that they might be put off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 It's when you call an El Salvadorian a Mexican that they might be put off.or any other non-mexican. i know the cubans and hondurans get irate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 I won't confess to how many times I have been burned by the phrase, "I'm good for it", but at least the last guy that used it on me got laughed at.Ditto. When I started my business I assumed that people would pay their bills. Nope! Every industry has its stereotypes that you have to be wary of. In my case it's New York law firms and Canadian book publishers. Now all new customers must pay by credit card up front. Repeat clients can pay half up front and half on delivery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 The guys that actually did the work were Mexicans, and they very proudly called attention to that, all in front of the big tough white supremecist heroin addict.It's when you call an El Salvadorian a Mexican that they might be put off. I'm sorry now its amusing...lol Now it's a real miracle the dope addict didn't end up missing for days only to be found dismembered and scattered around the outskirts of the city. Head on a stick etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgriff Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 There are plenty of white guys that do manual labor. They're just not on the street waiting to be picked up by a stranger to get a job. They have legal jobs doing things more important than moving a bunch of trash around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Ditto. When I started my business I assumed that people would pay their bills. Nope! Every industry has its stereotypes that you have to be wary of. In my case it's New York law firms and Canadian book publishers. Now all new customers must pay by credit card up front. Repeat clients can pay half up front and half on delivery.I don't know of anyone who deals with law firms that gets paid on time. My wife used to work for a company that provided litigation support services. They had one client, a major firm, say the bill would be paid when the law firm client paid. This was for services totalling half a million dolars. Hard to believe that a firm that grosses hundreds of millions per year doesn't want to pay bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I don't know of anyone who deals with law firms that gets paid on time. My wife used to work for a company that provided litigation support services. They had one client, a major firm, say the bill would be paid when the law firm client paid. This was for services totalling half a million dolars. Hard to believe that a firm that grosses hundreds of millions per year doesn't want to pay bills.This is stunningly common with some personal injury lawyers, so much so that the State Bar has gotten involved with it. The fear is that some non-paying lawyers could give the entire profession a bad name, causing problems for those lawyers (like me) who do pay on time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 The fear is that some non-paying lawyers could give the entire profession a bad name...A bad name? For lawyers? Say it isn't so.My experience is that all businesses avoid paying bills as long as possible. When I first started working as a programmer, I found out my employer was late on every debt he had. I asked and his explanation was, "Why not? You don't get brownie points for paying money early." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 True, no bennies for paying early. I do just because I get tired of the bills laying on my desk staring at me, but I know that no one thanks me for paying on time, they merely wait for the day they can screw me for being late.Oh, and it is not based on some sense of morality, either. There is absolutely no morality in American business. That is merely a shaming tactic that some consumers fall for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westguy Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I'm sorry now its amusing...lol Now it's a real miracle the dope addict didn't end up missing for days only to be found dismembered and scattered around the outskirts of the city. Head on a stick etc. What? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeebus Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Now it's a real miracle the dope addict didn't end up missing for days only to be found dismembered and scattered around the outskirts of the city. Head on a stick etc. Well.. You sure took this one out to left field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westguy Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Well.. You sure took this one out to left field.I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and not interpret his post as extremely racist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and not interpret his post as extremely racist. Depends on the reader or viewer as in any case. Now you know I meant in jest. Ok, explanation, if this drug addict was calling these laborers this (M) word to their face, I would say that they probably would have killed this guy or at least beat the crap out of him. Do you blame them? I can assure you that each dude would have prefered being called by their individual name. Wouldnt you? I have not erased any thing and when I read they were called Mexicans, it sounded really PI, but again some of you prefer to take out of context. Be sure to go to beginning of this topic and see who wrote what. Now you can give me the benefit of a doubt. I was actually sticking up for the laborers. They might be desperate and poor but have some shred of dignity. Call them by their names is all I meant. Peace & love and charity, etc! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 or any other non-mexican. i know the cubans and hondurans get irate.Had to think about before posting, most people from The America's ie; Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Chile etc all the way to Spain would not appreciate this very much at all either. Generalizing and presumptious indeed. Santo cielo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Depends on the reader or viewer as in any case. Now you know I meant in jest. Ok, explanation, if this drug addict was calling these laborers this (M) word to their face, I would say that they probably would have killed this guy or at least beat the crap out of him. Do you blame them? I can assure you that each dude would have prefered being called by their individual name. Wouldnt you? I have not erased any thing and when I read they were called Mexicans, it sounded really PI, but again some of you prefer to take out of context. Be sure to go to beginning of this topic and see who wrote what. Now you can give me the benefit of a doubt. I was actually sticking up for the laborers. They might be desperate and poor but have some shred of dignity. Call them by their names is all I meant. Peace & love and charity, etc! This probably comes as quite a shock to you, but "Mexican" is neither a dirty word, nor a slur. It is a nationality, one that its citizens are generally extremely proud of. Likewise, Hondurans, Guatemalans, and Salvadorans are generally proud of their country too, which would explain their irritation at being called Mexican, merely because an ignorant American cannot tell the difference. The generalization and presumptiousness in this case belongs to you for assuming that Mexicans are such violent men that they would dismember someone for correctly identifying them. So, I must ask, if you insist that we call Mexicans by their names, just what name might that be? EDIT: By the way, when did Mexico get left out of "the Americas", and how did Spain get let in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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