I can’t explain it but a trend has shown up for me in the
past couple of years. All too frequently I have contacted a company in order to
do business, but have been given such extremely poor service or crazy attitudes
that I have had to drop them and move on. You would think that in this tough
market that everyone that had any part in running a company would be on their
toes and doing their absolute best to gain new business like our company is
doing. My perspective on at least a few of the companies was that they just
seemed to be absolutely worn out or depleted or sort of hopeless. On other
occasions, I have had estimates for work to be done that were so out of site.
It felt as if I was their only source of income in the near future. They seemed
desperate. This made me fearful of doing business with them.  I’ve also heard stories within our company of
extremely poor workmanship and companies that just don’t show up for bids or
don’t turn in estimates.

My take on this is that some people really are tired,
hopeless and depleted from such a strain on the economy. As much as they would
like to be both feet into their companies, they are exhausted with worry and
despair. The old phrase, “if you want something done, give it to someone who is
busy” applies here. Sometimes the cheese gets moved. You have to find more.
Some people only think they have found the cheese. This is where the shoddy
workmanship comes in, from workers that have no business doing what they are
doing. I can only encourage people who need services to get references and use
someone that has been doing their craft for a long time….someone who has
clearly proven themselves over the years and shows from the get go how
professional and thorough they really are. Our guys have continued to perform
on a high level in the commercial painting industry. Burke Painting has done
well. We do have to deal though with the remnants and backlash of property
managers trying to cut corners and use cheap and sometimes illegal labor. There
is a fal-lout from this sometimes. Whatever the case, Burke Painting will
continue to perform well with our commercial painting and we are committed to
being competitive in this crazy market.