what have you learnt today !

[brokenflipflop]

I assume that you think that 'firm = good, firmer = better?' Not necessarily so!

I had a great uncle in Scotland who used to try and crush the hand of any post-adolescent male he came into contact with. He squeezed my hand so hard once that he had me on my knees begging him to let go - I was only 13 years old! He tried it on my dad another time and was bluntly told that he would be severely beaten if he tried that little trick again. (My dad was a handy boxer when he was young - he came a close second in the GB National Championships when he was a teenager. He then did 6 years in the army and spent 30 years working as a carpenter on building sites so he was a strong, tough man and you wouldn't want to get into a fist fight with him ...)

I remember when my biology teacher hit me over the head - I went home and told my dad......who did precisely nothing....other than to tell me to stop telling tales and it's character building. (My dad wasn't handy when he was young - he came a poor last in a model airplane making competition. He fell off his moped once and fell off a ladder at work so he was a weak weak man and you would have wanted to get into a fist fight with him because he gave the aura out that anyone could take him down. Lovely bloke though.

 

[BluesDave]

I have learnt that no matter how cheap I make my prices somec*** will undercut me so there really is no point in lowering them at all and I learnt that this morning having quoted a job at the very bottom line possible including materials and having the agent phone up saying someone else had quoted slightly cheaper, I didn't even bother to ask where they were from as I'm getting tired of the answer.

 

[brokenflipflop]

Stick with it Dave. Once all the Poles think they've got rid of all the English competition, they'll hike their prices up and then you can ride with it again. Years ago when I worked in an office for BT, we weren't allowed to reduce our prices apparently, because it was regarded as uncompetitive i.e. it would put pay to the competition.

I think in the end, with all this cheap labour and youth unemployment and off shore call centre ethos, we'll end up like the Yanks - working 4 crap paid part time jobs, 23 hours every day and an hours sleep.

 

[ColinJ]

I have learnt that no matter how cheap I make my prices somec*** will undercut me so there really is no point in lowering them at all and I learnt that this morning having quoted a job at the very bottom line possible including materials and having the agent phone up saying someone else had quoted slightly cheaper, I didn't even bother to ask where they were from as I'm getting tired of the answer.

You will just have to go upmarket and compete on quality then ... Of course, if the other lot do top quality work for those low prices then you are stuffed, which is what you've been saying really, isn't it!

 

[BluesDave]

You will just have to go upmarket and compete on quality then ... Of course, if the other lot do top quality work for those low prices then you are stuffed, which is what you've been saying really, isn't it!

In a nutshell mate in a bloody nutshell.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Stick with it Dave. Once all the Poles think they've got rid of all the English competition, they'll hike their prices up and then you can ride with it again. Years ago when I worked in an office for BT, we weren't allowed to reduce our prices apparently, because it was regarded as uncompetitive i.e. it would put pay to the competition.

I think in the end, with all this cheap labour and youth unemployment and off shore call centre ethos, we'll end up like the Yanks - working 4 crap paid part time jobs, 23 hours every day and an hours sleep.

Yeah, I have to do 2 crappy paid jobs to make ends meet - last year it was 4, but the rececession hit me too .... AND I'm an immigrant, although not Polish what a life!
David should change from decorator to plummer/builder/roofer, there are none to be found when you need them, money no object.
If you are so lucky to get one they do the job in a hurry to go to the next one and you have to fix what they left undone. that goes for bike engineers too!
Google, you tube and B&Q, rescue me

Forgot: what I've learned today is that winter is not over yet!

 

[TVC]

I learnt a terrible secret about Janet Ellis.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I learnt a terrible secret about Janet Ellis.

Have you only just found out then?

 

[GetAGrip]

I've learnt that Crystal Reports converts all imported graphics to bitmaps, which causes the file size to increase out of all proportion to the original imported file.
Although compressing the graphics and converting them to 8-bit greyscale, then importing as an OLE object results in a much more realistic file size, there is no guarantee the graphics will render on Windows Server 2003 in the Crystal Reports Runtime.
Further research is required.

I think I need a hug...

Yep, I know just what you mean . But here you go

 

[TVC]

Have you only just found out then?

Yep, at least I now know why her daughter looks like a cat

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Yep, at least I now know why her daughter looks like a cat

I didn't actually know and now I wish I hadn't bothered.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I discovered that Windows 7 is so different from Windows XP that I'm back to square one and all at sea Aargh! How long will it take me to get to grips with it?

7 is ok - get Vista, then you can moan!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

...stuff that I used to do in thirty seconds is taking me half an hour

Well that's just an age thing!

 

[Terry Kay]

That no matter how close I am to the centre of the road, there's always one numpty who'll overtake you approaching a mini roundabout!

And stick with Windows 7.. Upgraded my laptop from Vista and it was so much smoother.. And there are so many hidden features!

 

[slowmotion]

I learned that changing five foot long flourescent tubes on top of a step ladder is not quite a simple as it should be. They seem to be welded in place.