How many guys or gals have you known is this buisness that where a big deal? Quite a few I'm sure. You all know what I mean. I want to know why on this site there is not more discussion of all the buisness practices led by these people that were a big deal 3 years ago. They bankrupted countless pump companies out of greed. Why isn't there more talk about it? Maybe I'm to "out of my box" I'm pissed is more like it. All the guys i know tell the same story. Cheap interest on equipment more work than they could do in ten years and yet here we are . As an industry nothing to show for any of it but lack of payments on equipment, the most skilled machine operatores on the planet out of work. Banks won't loan to us for a long time. We all need to get doing and not just being Joe with the Flow. Todd don't delete any responses every single person on this site should give their 2 cents. Things aren't good and they aren't gonna get better unless all of us tell it like it is.

You can only complain so long and everybody get tired of the same old song.

Ahhh Yes!! More hate and discontent!!....That's productive!!

we all moan and groan about the lowballers and the bankrupt ones and so on, but truthfully we all have been sucked in to this vacuum of competing with prices, used to be around here you got jobs awarded due to reliability,good equipment and good operators,safety, but now whats the first thing that the contractors ask ? whats your price sheet numbers,I have not in the last 10 years been asked what my downtime rate was , are your operators certified,let me see your safety record, its all been about pricing, now this is how I see it, walmart doesnt auction off there inventory, nor does any restaurant, we are our own problem because we dont refuse to play that game,years ago when we had the upperhand and pumps were not so plentiful, we had it and we let it go,now to turn this around will take a long time,but it has to start somewhere,it could start with every business owner on this site but it will not because as soon as we raised our prices some vulture would come in and get the job for peanuts,its a losing battle because none of our pockets are very deep in this industry anymore,its supply and demand when the demand is high and supply is low prices go up (we missed that opportunity),when supply is high and demand is low prices fall and we are at a low rite now, if I could get the number of pumps in the U.S. in 1990 I guarantee its less than half of what it is now,would work really be that slow with half the pumps on the market ? No the market is just saturated with equipment and idiots that pump for free, so why dont we bitch cause its a waste of breath and myself I would rather spend my time looking for work that pays,and when Im not I will be enjoying the little free time I have not moaning and bitching about what shouldve or couldve been. 

 Very well said

Damn Bankers.  All I got to say

just adapted to your surroundings and do what you have to do for your families and yourself. That's all you can do. Don't waste your life thinking about the stuff that's wrong but how bout trying to make it right. We all know who added to the misfortunes and why things are the way they are. Change. Start now and the future for this industry might havea chance. Good luck to all who swing to the left.

one more thing, alot of these pumps were bought with the best intentions,but with 1 year no pay and all the creative financing deals that were made to people that had no business owning pumps ,  I know of one manufacturer that sold three pumps to a guy who had never touched a pump,didnt give him any training,nothing just a big ass note,how many more did they sell like this ? no pricing structure , no operation training, no mechanical schooling, no nothing, but sold 2 million worth of equipment, failure was imminent,unless they went and lured other operators away from thier current companies at lucrative salaries again failure is imminent, we , free enterprise , is it to "free" ? stipulations,guidelines need to be set ,  I dont have many suggestions but I do know that our manufacturers and bank companies were very reckless and now we are paying the price.

It's not bitching by any means. Not gloom and Doom. It's the truth. That's what happened and it's gonna happen again unless we all remember the past mistakes and learn from it. Pudg your spot on in my opinion. Thanks for calling it as you see it

The pumping companys with low overhead "paid off equipment" are going to lowball all the others to survive . They can let there iron sit with no problems and layoff operators to survive and call them back when needed. I know it is a sad story out there.

dlee7729 - I disagree with that. I have very low overhead, my pumps ate not paid off but close and a very good payment. It's not the guy like that doing the lowballing. I turned down a job the other day because they wanted it too cheap. Called a buddy of mine with one pump who was slow to let him haggle with them, he turned it down and sat at the house while one of the bigger companies south of me came and did it cheaper than the contractor told me they were willing to pay. The bigger company was further away than the rest, like 70 miles further.