I got a call from a woman yesterday that is family friends with a surveyor from the county next to me. This surveyor was in business years ago but the recession put him out of business. So....anyway this woman had hired this fella to survey her property, paid him a deposit and he was working on it and he up and died, just recently, on my birthday to be precise.
Now there were 2 stories being told.
When my wife was talking to the woman she was told that this surveyor was working for another company and he was not allowed to stamp any surveys on his own and she wanted to know if I could review the info and stamp it.
However; when I got on the call she told a different story and said that the surveyors widow had thrown all the records away and she was apparently desperate to know if I was would have to start from scratch. To make a long story very short I told her that I would have to start from scratch. Well she wants me to work up a price to survey her property but that is not the point of this.
I do not want to say anything ill of the dead and I will try my best not to. This surveyor had a decent reputation, but he was extremely cheap, so cheap that he would routinely be under the other low price leaders in the area. Well he went out of business because they weren??t making money.
Now I am getting to the point??.this woman who was a family friend of the late surveyor told me that before the funeral and at the funeral the family was collecting donations to pay for the burial.
Come on people there is no bloody reason why any surveyor should be working for wages and leave their survivors to pass around a collection plate to plant you in the ground.
This is sad. If you cannot bring yourself to charge more maybe consider a line item to pay for your burial expenses.
Amen. How surveying ever got into this "pass the hat" situation is beyond me. I was at the local stereo/auto trim store the other day inquiring about a truck cap. Sign says "shop rate, $115/hr." Sounds reasonable to me--and these are 19 year old kids mounting brush guards and hooking up subwoofers. Why many solo surveyors value their time at so much less is infuriating.
I think that's a great idea...
As the last item on my bill:
Addnl fee for burial expenses, $ 100.00
Great ideas here...
I think that's a great idea...
As the last item on my bill:
Addnl fee for burial expenses, $ 100.00
Great ideas here...
Sad. ?ÿTerribly sad.
Every surveyor I worked for was an older person on the verge of retirement and I did most of the work in field and office and they did the cipherin', check botome line and decision making and put their signature and seal.
It was very difficult to get them to understand the need to raise their prices so they could make a profit and still give everyone raises and bonus at end of the year and buy equipment and supplies.
They had other irons in the fire and other companies and jobs to keep them more than busy and were stubborn as could be about their surveying fees, usually?ÿ $20+ and hour behind others way back in the 1980s plus the equipment situation was not modern at all.
They never got a data collector. Was the first tool I purchased going solo in 1993, HP48GX & SMI v5 data collection with cogo.
One local surveyor retired a couple years ago and he was still using transit and tape and only surveyed small acreage and put out pencil drawings.
I have helped a couple of times to finish up what a deceased surveyor had started and each time made very little money.
Did it to close the chapter on a friend and mentor and not let their last survey be remembered as a disaster.
0.02
Call it a disposal fee like when you buy a new mattress, they collect the fee up front.
Well, the tire shop charges 5.00 or so as disposal fee.
"Aging surveyor disposal fee, to help with final expenses... $10.00" (this, as the rest of it, is an attempt to lowball it!)
?ÿ
That's a disgrace.
I'm about to turn 56.?ÿ Is it to early to start taking donations for my funeral??ÿ
On a side note:?ÿ
Not too long back we had a local police officer that died in the line of duty.?ÿ The local news reported there had been a "Give Me Free Money" page set up for the family to handle expenses.?ÿ
I was a little unsettled.?ÿ Since the officer died in the line of duty his?ÿexpenses?ÿwere to be taken care of by his employer and the FOP (I checked).?ÿ I believe he had also been on the force long enough (17 years) to have some sort of pension.?ÿ
I'm sympathetic for the family and their loss.?ÿ But I'm hesitant to throw money at some situation just because someone says they're "taking donations".
I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for anyone who can pass a technical examination, hang up a shingle, and go into business, often without the faintest clue of what business is. Some work there entire careers (or lives!) and never do anything but collect taxes for the government. They have no clue what they are doing by charging the lowest possible fees - it is a despicable behavior that harms everyone involved.
?ÿ
I'm sympathetic for the family and their loss.?ÿ But I'm hesitant to throw money at some situation just because someone says they're "taking donations".
I still am puzzled by why people send thousands of dollars to these "TV evangelists" which will promise you that not only when they "heal" and "pray" for you, but they will also insure you are "High Priority" in St. Peters line. (whoever he is)
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That's a disgrace.
I agree, the disposal fee should be at least $25.00
Well, the tire shop charges 5.00 or so as disposal fee.
"Aging surveyor disposal fee, to help with final expenses... $10.00" (this, as the rest of it, is an attempt to lowball it!)
?ÿ
My truck doesn't leave the driveway until I collect at least a $25.00 disposal fee.
?ÿ
I'm sympathetic for the family and their loss.?ÿ But I'm hesitant to throw money at some situation just because someone says they're "taking donations".
I still am puzzled by why people send thousands of dollars to these "TV evangelists" which will promise you that not only when they "heal" and "pray" for you, but they will also insure you are "High Priority" in St. Peters line. (whoever he is)
?
I know...they say the money is for God...but yet they want you to send it to their address.
I know...they say the money is for God...but yet they want you to send it to their address.
Similar to "they say they're non-denominational, but their eyes sure light up at any denomination larger than a $20"
Friends, Last night I was looking at the Church of Dave International Ministry accounts and I don't know how we are going to make it through this month. But if you send your spare change, preferably 20s and 50s in care of Church of Dave, Sacramento, California, we might just squeak by.
Better yet, make those donations to the Church of Dave in Pasadena.
