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We got a bunch of sale flyers in the mail yesterday, among them was a local firm that offers a "Complete chimney cleaning and deodorizing (!!!) :confused2: for the bargain price of $79.95.

Lets see now, they will come to my house, go to the roof a story and a half up, and clean two flues of my huge chimney top and inside, for only eighty bucks...WOW.

They also advertise a special for "Dryer vent cleaning"...which means they will clean my deck level, four foot long dryer vent, for the bargain price of $89.95...

WOW...WHAT A DEAL !!!!:laughing::laughing:

JDgreen said:

... for the bargain price of $89.95...

WOW...WHAT A DEAL !!!!:laughing::laughing:

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:tongue:Sounds like a joke:confused2:! If I wanted to have my chimney or drier vent cleaned out I'd get at it and do it myself...and mind you it wouldn't cost me 90 dollars to do it...just a little time and elbow grease!:biggrin:

Wayne195 said:

:tongue:Sounds like a joke:confused2:! If I wanted to have my chimney or drier vent cleaned out I'd get at it and do it myself...and mind you it wouldn't cost me 90 dollars to do it...just a little time and elbow grease!:biggrin:

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Maybe my humor was too subtle...I clean my chimney and dryer vent too, but most homeowners would be happy to pay the $80 to have it done if they were in my situation...cold, high roof, big chimney etc.

And then Mr. Sweepy says to the homeowner, as long as we are here how about we clean your dryer vent too, only another ninety bucks...can you believe ANYBODY would be so gullible? Obviously there are some folks who take the deal...:thumbdown::frown:

JDgreen said:

Maybe my humor was too subtle...I clean my chimney and dryer vent too, but most homeowners would be happy to pay the $80 to have it done if they were in my situation...cold, high roof, big chimney etc.

And then Mr. Sweepy says to the homeowner, as long as we are here how about we clean your dryer vent too, only another ninety bucks...can you believe ANYBODY would be so gullible? Obviously there are some folks who take the deal...:thumbdown::frown:

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I didn't catch the humor in the original post but I did think that the $80 was a teaser to get in the door and sell more services.

Two-Stroke said:

I didn't catch the humor in the original post but I did think that the $80 was a teaser to get in the door and sell more services.

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THe humor was that the price to clean the chimney was reasonable considering the work and time involved, and they think people are dumb enough to pay ten bucks more than the chimney cleaning price to have a dryer vent cleaned...I have NEVER seen a dryer vent that would take more than ten minutes to clean at most. Only a complete idiot would expect to earn or pay $90 for that service.

JDgreen said:

Only a complete idiot would expect to earn or pay $90 for that service.

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JDgreen is right, BUT unfortunately there is more than one "complete idiot", that thinks he is a commercial 'business man'...

Many of those types have someone else working a real job, to keep them 'pretending' to have a business going.
They last around 3 to 5 years at most till their financial supporters get wise and then they disappear...

Seems to me that there are quite a few people out there that are igorant enough to pay someone that amount to have thier dryer vent cleaned out Some people simply are too lazy to take the time and get the job done! And others or uncapable to do it themselves and don't realize the ignorance of the price.:confused2:

And perhaps I should have mentioned the coupon for the dryer vent cleaning offer says "regular price $109.95". I'm trying to post this from my Blackberry, was able to log into LMF but have never tried to post from this before.

JDgreen said:

... I'm trying to post this from my Blackberry, was able to log into LMF but have never tried to post from this before.

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I have used my Android phone at times to post... phones today are just too handy... :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

I have used my Android phone at times to post... phones today are just too handy... :smile:KennyV

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:smile::smile: I've used a Ipad a few times, but I never tried posting on a forum with it.

Wayne195 said:

:tongue:Sounds like a joke:confused2:! If I wanted to have my chimney or drier vent cleaned out I'd get at it and do it myself...and mind you it wouldn't cost me 90 dollars to do it...just a little time and elbow grease!:biggrin:

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Its no driffent then people getting us to mow their lawns, they could do themself also

KennyV said:

I have used my Android phone at times to post... phones today are just too handy... :smile:KennyV

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I had one of the original Blackberries back in Y2K, it was basically just a glorified 2 way email pager, now I am using a Tour as my fourth generation model, the difference is staggering, I wonder what smartphones will be capable of in another ten years? Maybe we will be able to sit back and control robotic mowers with them....:laughing::laughing:

JDgreen said:

I had one of the original Blackberries back in Y2K, it was basically just a glorified 2 way email pager, now I am using a Tour as my fourth generation model, the difference is staggering, I wonder what smartphones will be capable of in another ten years? Maybe we will be able to sit back and control robotic mowers with them....:laughing::laughing:

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I'll bet that's possible today with a Wi-Fi capable handset.

I believe Tommy's multi-purpose bot, George*, can be controlled via Wi-Fi. So any Wi-Fi handset could, with the proper software (which might be fun to write:smile, could control George.

* There's a thread in "Build-it Yourself" where Tommy discusses his creation of "George".

Two-Stroke said:

I'll bet that's possible today with a Wi-Fi capable handset.

I believe Tommy's multi-purpose bot, George*, can be controlled via Wi-Fi. So any Wi-Fi handset could, with the proper software (which might be fun to write:smile, could control George.

* There's a thread in "Build-it Yourself" where Tommy discusses his creation of "George".

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Did anybody ever see that movie "Lawnmower Man" where the lead character hopped up and modified a commercial grade reel mower and operated it by remote control? That was MY idea of a practical gadget.

JDgreen said:

Did anybody ever see that movie "Lawnmower Man" where the lead character hopped up and modified a commercial grade reel mower and operated it by remote control? That was MY idea of a practical gadget.

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I know I saw the movie but it didn't make a very good impression. Maybe I need to see it again, given my enhanced appreciation of all things related to mowing.

I remember Lawn Dogs as a movie worth seeing.

$80 just doesn't go as far as it use to. :frown:

Here in southern California there isn't much you can get in the way of manual labor for $80. It's pretty crazy how expensive skilled trades are. We're currently remodeling our office and it seems like every little thing is another $200. :confused2:

Muhammad said:

Here in southern California there isn't much you can get in the way of manual labor for $80. It's pretty crazy how expensive skilled trades are. We're currently remodeling our office and it seems like every little thing is another $200. :confused2:

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Too bad you cannot hire me, I retired as the lead carpenter of a huge state agency, had 31 years in with experience in all phases of facilities management and building construction and troubleshooting, I charge my customers (as a retired guy) $25 an hour and 25 cents a mile and they tell me I'm a bargain. Yet, it takes a lot of overhead to operate a business these days, a one man operation can afford to work for a lot less. Thankfully I only have to work when I feel like it.

A good part of the $200 you speak of is the huge mark up on materials and hardware...every time materials get passed further down the supply chain they increase in cost. If your office could deal directly with a supplier the costs woiuld be less but you are not a contractor, so...can't win, I guess.