In this country their are ONLY 2 classifications. Employee or contractor. Self employed, which means contractor, is supposed to mean you are like a company. You set your own hours, you determine how the work is to be performed etc..... So if you call yourself a contractor you should be comparing yourself to companies and not the employees that work for them.
This industry is full of guys who call themselves contractors and are in reality employees. You are not a contractor just because the company you get work from says youre one and gives ya a 1099. You are not a contractor just because you think its a cool thing to be. The ONLY thing that makes you a contractor is the relationship between you and the other party. Even if you supply your own tools it does not make you a contractor.
The reality of it all is most companies could not meet the needs of MSO's and satellite providers if they had a TRUE contractor-subcontractor relationship. Naturally Im talking on the install side of things, not construction. These bogus contractor-subcontractor relationships now in place allow companies to be able to survive while accepting low rates. This is why work is able to be subbed 3 or 4 times down.
I know Im not the only installer who has come to an install to find a new construction home. You see this and began to think this ones gonna be easy. Youve worked in 3 of these homes in the same subdivision and you know the builder has pulled 5 lines to the basement. You knock on the door greet the customer and ask them to show you what rooms they want the irds. They begin to show you and you notice there are no jacks. You mention this to the customer and they tell you they had no lines pulled because it saved them money because they knew they could get lines pulled free if they got satellite. You explain to them about what a free basic install consists of, they dont want it. They want the 3 lines on the 2nd wall fished and brought down to the basement FREE. My price of 75 per drop is half of what the builders electrician or any other electrician would charge. But paying me is just not an option. They get on the phone, dealer begs me to do the free work. I refuse. Leave the job. Receive little or no work from that dealer again. Is this common?
Re: Trey... What do you do for a living?
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