 So people that know me through YouTube it's because of this contract This is the contract that Eric convinced me to go to YouTube on so this was the first one that I got From my consultant client that was in Key West. It was given to us in June Yeah, in June and we didn't start the work till No, actually end of November after Thanksgiving and it's been a whirlwind to say the least Just because one I just wanted to share it because it's very very important that you guys know who you're working with and See some of the red flags that come up during the conversations before you take on a contract So the first thing was that when he was estimating the job for the project He was giving me numbers off the top of his head That was the first mistake Second mistake was when I was doing one of the projects with him in another area He went ahead and took what he saw at the site visit instead of reading the scope of work and ordered Seven and a half ton units that were existing instead of reading the scope of work This says replaced with a 10 ton unit So He bought all the units the wrong size blamed it on me told me he was gonna call his lawyer All called me every single name told me he was done with me everything. I Told him that's fine. The contract's not mine. So you could I don't care. I'll give it back Then afterwards he reordered the new units and we finally started the contract December We're supposed to start it after hurricane season. We started in December He thought it was going to be a week match. Oh, yeah, so I asked you what industry was the contract for? It is to replace the HVAC system at the National Hurricane Center in Key West, Florida it was four 10 ton units And outside and then two Liburds with two 20 ton Liburds Okay, and to refurbish the the unit's inside. All right. All right, okay And the last task is the one that I'm that they want their money that they're not gonna pay for which is replace refurbished 13 VA V boxes. So a VA V box. I've learned a lot about HVAC guys I didn't know HVAC was an AC unit when I started It's that bad I can tell you everything so a VA V box is basically a box that has these elements all these little Boards that they have heaters. So it in a big place like this that runs 24 hours It doesn't allow it to get to any other temperature But that the units don't go off or don't go on it's just dampers open and it heats the building while it's cooling it To keep it at that exact temperature So we got down there. It was obviously more than a week It was a lot more work that they saw it was going to be and They try to keep refurbishing these units when I first heard about them trying to fix these boxes They started they Saw that they couldn't replace the parts They could only buy the whole box the parts or a hundred bucks versus the box That's 1300 per box times 13 boxes. He only as you see only fit in like $9,000 of it. We went back and forth With him saying you have to do it because it's in your scope of work We said well, we can't do it. We keep replacing them that when we go back in two days, they're burned away They're burnt off. So this one week project turned into Three months If you know Key West Key West the places to stay are about 400 bucks a night. There's no hotels down there It's four hours away from Miami and it's a one-way street up one way street up down if there's an accident You're stuck there for another good two hours So it's not a place where you want to have a job that goes past the number of days you calculate it estimated So they go back and forth back and forth. I went in for 90 day inspection I went back for the hundred day inspection again as a consultant You're not supposed to go and do the work by the way I was there because I always put Myself in situations just because I need to make sure it's done. So I went back and forth with a person and I'm like, did you guys call? So I Called train myself. I called the manufacturer myself. They said that they don't make it only train makes it I called them and they're like after I finally got through they told us because the units are so old They don't make replacement parts anymore. They don't miss me anymore Okay, let's we fix something if we can't replace it Okay, let's go let's go back and so why wasn't this done before they estimated the job? Be exact and that's where I said my first mistake was the fact that he gave me numbers up top of his head And he was not the one that went to the site visit The technician that went to the site visit was not even there to tell me what was needed to be done Like I had to take the owner of the company by the hand Sit him down in front of me and read the scope will work line by line by line by line And he just started throwing numbers at me and I'm like, are you sure that's a red flag and And then he in between all that it's a story that I tell Eric in between all that some but one of his tech calls And he got mad at him the office is divided by two all of a sudden I hear something being thrown across and it goes all the way to the front door And he's like throwing a Calling this every single name then he goes into his office and then the office He has bottles of rum and all kinds and he takes a shot I Again another red flag, you know No, anyone if he does that to employee he'll do it to anybody he doesn't The girl that was helping me has been with him since she was 16 and she's like you got to meet yourself here cracking up It's stories for days trust me and when we were trying to fix it after I went to the 90 day inspection And I was telling them like look we can't fix these things because we can't get replacement parts your scope of work says Refurbished do and it's strictly says do not replace You are stuck within the roofs and the ceilings were places that you really can't get to and I told them another reason that even though We replaced one they're burning out because your control system is from 1990 So the way the government did it's like they wanted to replace the actual thing But the controls that control it We're out, but they won't do the controls until after we do our job instead of doing the controls to go ahead and think everything up Man, it's a government contract. So it's complete effort. So I'm telling this to the contracting officer and to the inspector guy And they're like Maria. What can we do? I might I do not know we'll ask the person on site He goes they can't replace them. They're fixing them. They're burning out He's but the owner of course wanted to be on this conference call this time And goes, oh, we could do it Dude, I'm here trying to save you ten please another three months of work. Yes. Oh, it's fine. We got it I'm professional So it went on and on and at that point I'm not They went under We were supposed to do it for a hundred and thirty-three thousand. We're already past the budget We're at negative profits now. Let's okay Now part of the issue again, let's go back and I know you said a lot of stuff in one breath But the first thing that happened was he bid the project for what he saw at the site Not what the scope of work said He did the project not seeing anything because he didn't go to the site. Okay, so But the original order was different from the scope of work. Why? The original order said the order he ordered different types of size units because the technician that went there told him that They were seven and a half tons, right? So he bid the job based on what they saw at the site. Yes. Yeah Okay, that was a place where you guys first had a falling out Yeah And then I got on a conference call with every single person involved from the Department of Commerce to Noah To the head of this to that person and I'm like, do you guys want to be honored to be on this call? We're like, no It's like he doesn't need to be Okay So it's just been so after everything I just like because they can't kept coming to me when a unit went down And then I would have to call the company so they could go back out and I was like You need to call the company itself if you have an issue going on. They're like, isn't this your contract? Like no, they're like, isn't this your company? No, I'm like, this is not mine. I'm like, all I did was help them put it together And I explained to them what I did and they're like, oh So this was January, I think So I told you like left it alone I'm like, I'm taking my lost because I was expecting to make about eight grand out of this If they're in the red, I'm in the red and I'm driven. I made this drive and everything a couple times already. So I'm like, I am done It wasn't my choice because for that 90% inspection if I would have not gone nobody would have gone but that is a That shows very poor management of the contract by the owner. Yeah, not a reflection on you. It's a reflection on the company. I See it as a reflection on me because as your face is in front of me. No, right, sure And I've worked with this person before Right, but I understand that but that but again the idea for every the lesson to be learned from this is that you don't want to work With companies like that. No, no, I mean because again, they're that you know, that's the that's the whole point of this, right? I mean the story is great But what is the lesson that we all get your experience four months later? I get this letter that apparently they have not finished anything and they're taking it out of their contract So moral the story is make sure you know who you're working with And don't be so excited to get your first client to get that first contract to see Six-figured on there instead of because my first one was 25,000 when I saw hundred and thirty-three I was like, oh, I was excited Like the excitement and the feelings and the emotions and everything took over the fact that this guy's throwing stuff over it Like this guy like he right You miss you miss all the signals you look past all the signals that would have led you to believe that There's more to the person And again, I you know, I see that right if he has that if he can't have self-control with staff members who've been with them for Whatever however long he can exhibit a little bit of self-control in that instance What other things is he liable to do and I saw that in the beginning like I That's my fault, you see how it's gonna be my fault. Hey somebody turn around you So that's why when I call when I talk to some of you guys and when I talk to people calling in I tell them like Just be like it's not easy. It's there It takes a lot of work and you have to be able to recognize and walk away at times because it's trust me It's not fun when it gets there click the join button now to find out about all of the different membership options You can start off as a fan supporter and move your way all the way up to a gov con insider