The hoarder

There are some alarming aspects of this job that will catch you off guard.  It doesn’t matter if you pull up to a 1-million-dollar home or a home in a low-income area, you will find the same things such as the hoarder.  You really have to put on your game face when the customer opens the door and you step into the residence.  I have been in a few homes where the contents of the residence covered every square inch of the floor and in some cases, stacked to the ceiling and the only way to get from room to room in the residence is a trail leading from room to room. You think to yourself, how in the hell did they accumulate so much stuff? It's not that the house was gross or dirty it was just stuff everywhere like a warehouse.

So, the customer guides you to the area where repair is needed and all you can think of is, how in the hell are we going to get to this repair?  In your mind you ask yourself, how in the hell are we going to be able to get to the wall, or the ceiling to make the repair.  Then you inform the customer that they need to move the “stuff” so that you can access the repair and they look at you like your insane.  What you really want to say is I can’t help you.  Then you run the risk of pissing off the customer.  So do yourself a favor and write the estimate so high that they will hopefully decline it and select another contractor.