November 2, 2011 AsktheBuilder Newsletter And Tips
What's in This Newsletter?
Latest News
Drywall Plug Video
Kitchen Ripoff
Tool Survey
Builders Speak Up
SquareNTape
Facebook
I'm pretty stoked. CAPS below for emphasis, not screaming.An hour ago, I finished the 2011 AsktheBuilder Christmas Gift Guide. It's being formatted now. I'll give you the link to it next week.
As I was creating the Gift Guide, I ran into something that drives me crazy. Pay attention if you or the company you work for sells ANYTHING and want more sales of your product.
Ten days ago, I got a really great tool from the Sears PR team. It's a simple tool that holds one of their Nextec lithium-ion batteries.
This tool is a remote power source for your cell phone, iPod, or any other device that you would recharge using a 120-volt transformer or cigarette lighter plug in your car or truck.
The tool has one socket for a cigarette lighter and two standard-sized USB sockets. Can see how convenient this would be when you're on the move and can't let your device sit still next to a wall plug? It's a GREAT tool to have while traveling, camping, hiking, stuck on the tarmac for 8 hours in a plane, etc.
But this great tool is NOWHERE to be found on the Sears website much less on Amazon.com. It's AWOL.
They're not alone. Ryobi has a similar remote power supply that accepts their Tek4 batteries. You can find other Ryobi tools on Amazon.com, but not this one.
Think about it. What products does YOUR company sell that hundreds or thousands are actively LOOKING for on Amazon.com? I'll bet more than you'd ever imagine.
A year ago we put Stain Solver on Amazon.com. The first month it sold so much that Amazon thought we were a fraud. They locked down our account and would not transfer money to us until they were confident that customers would be happy with it. I was not angry, but I was amazed at how much we sold!
If you have products you sell, for goodness sake get them on Amazon right now. Here's a handy link for you.
Drywall Plug Video
You know that saying, "Be careful what you wish for?"
Well, I heard you loud and clear. You want to see me create my own drywall plug using a scrap piece of drywall. I promise you that video will be done by next issue. Wow - thousands of requests for that video!
Canadian Kitchen RIP OFF Autopsy
Anita from Cambridge, Ontario Canada emailed me. Oh, it was hard to stomach:
I hired a company to re-do my kitchen. It was to be a three-week project. It began in July and now it's the end of October. The job is still not complete.
They took the old set of cupboards out. I hired another company to re-do the floor. Cabinets arrived weeks later. The workmanship is awful.
Nothing but bad cuts in and around the cupboards, doors not fitting, wrong holes made, poor spray jobs, sagging shelves, etc.
The latest was a granite company that they suggested. The granite is not level and a joint has lifted.
The most recent disaster happened when they put my wall oven next to the patio doors. I could not open the oven because it hit the door trim.
They have since re-located the oven, only to move the cupboards down 1 foot and they cracked the granite while doing this job.
I just don't know what to do. This kitchen has cost me $35,000. I'm a quality inspector at a food factory. So of course, I noticed a lot of problems. Please give me your advice on what my rights are as a consumer. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
Thanks, Anita
Anita, oh my goodness. You've suffered enough.
Do you watch the CSI shown on TV if they're up in Canada? They basically do an autopsy on a crime to explain all the details.
Let's do an autopsy on your kitchen job.
The obvious thing is the fact the contractor is not a professional. You've supplied all the facts to prove that.
DO NOT pay him another penny until all problems are fixed.
Money is the only real lever you have once a job starts. Payments of money should always be fixed to distinct points in the job.
You never want to give more money to the contractor than he deserves for work completed in a satisfactory manner.
You do have to sometimes put deposits down on custom items, but realize that you can bypass the contractor and give the money directly to the supplier - so the contractor doesn't give it to someone else.
Schedule a meeting with the contractor now. Discuss your dissatisfaction. Ask him when he'll fix the mistakes and complete the job. Take notes of the talk. Have him sign the notes at the end of the talk.
If he fails to satisfy or meet the deadline, contact your local TV stations to see if they have a Consumer Reporter. See if you can get on the news.
I could go on and on.
The sad thing is that all of your pain and suffering could have been avoided. I'm absolutely certain I could find a real pro kitchen remodeling contractor in about four hours if I was anywhere near Hamilton, Brampton or Mississauga. Those are all nearby towns that undoubtedly have pros.
All you needed to do was use my Kitchen Remodel Checklist to discover the professional in your area.
Anita, you can have the checklist for free because of what you went through. It will help you on other similar jobs.
If you don't want to suffer like Anita, I just DROPPED the price of this checklist to $7. That's nearly a 60 percent discount. I'll hold it at that price until midnight on Sunday in case you're going to remodel your kitchen soon.
Quick 3-Question Tool Survey
How do you feel about tools and their quality?
Can you please take this 30-second three question survey?
I'll publish the results for you next week so you can see how you stack up with those who take it.
Builders and Remodelers Speak Up!
Are you a builder or remodeler? Can you help me? Do you find my columns, videos and/or my newsletters helpful? Would you be kind enough to write me and tell me what you like and what I can do to improve your experience at AsktheBuilder.com? Please Reply and change the Subject Line to: Builder Feedback
Sneak Peek Gift - SquareNTape
Here's a gift idea that didn't make it into my Christmas Gift Guide. I wanted to share it with you early so you can get an idea of some of the COOL things in the guide.
I can tell you that I would have died to have this cool tape measure back when I was building! Talk about a time saver.
This is like three or four tools in one!
The best part is that you can get just the plastic frame if you want to adapt a tape measure you already use. Brilliant!
Facebook News
This past week I answered questions on my Facebook AsktheBuilder Fan Page about:
Work Bench Plans
Ice Dams
DeWALT Router
and more. BECOME a FAN now!