The newest, hottest game in town is Pumper-Survivor.

You put 20 commissioned salesmen on a jobsite and see who the last one is to be thrown off of the jobsite.

How do the pumpers qualify to get on the island? It is easy. All you need to do is go to ‘Sleezy&Lazy’ finance company and tell them that most of the time you are a member of the human race and you would really like to play. You must act somewhat sincere at this point. It also helps if you have seen a concrete pump at some point earlier in your life.

Now that you have qualified it is time to play; operators, start your engines… Engines? Like more than one??? Hell yes, Sleezy&Lazy had a finance one, payment free for 364 days and get one free for 9 months and a loaner at no cost for each of them which you don’t need to return SALE.

Son, you are now a FLEET OWNER!

But wait, behind door number two there is FREE FUEL because everyone knows you don’t have a dime to your name and need to get these machines working before you can buy the fancy stuff like INSURANCE and a clamp for your two ended tip hose [why buy a hose with only one fitting?]

You are now qualified and an active participant on the island of JOBSITE.

What are the rules, you may ask. Well here is the good part

THERE ARE NO RULES______ WHOEVER RULES, RULES!!!

How do you get work? Well DUH! You pump cheaper than any man has ever pumped before; how else would you do it!

I wish that just one of these asshats would man-up and call his company

SUB PRIME PUMPING

SO Thats what SPP stands for..SUB PRIME PUMPERS! I've seen it on a few pumps before but in very small print? Is'nt their logo "We Will Even Beat Our Own Prices"?

Hey Bob, On this Surviver pump game, if there are NO rules does this mean we can literally Kick Ass and Take names? WOO HOO sign me up, I can finally drop the smack down and bust out with some good ole American Judo... as in.. Judo know who you're mess'n with home boyz! Picture lil salesmen runn'n for their lives with large, red whelted hand prints on their bare asses..........................sorry, I got carried away with the NO rules bit?..... PumpOff! 

Pour it out T.T

The new crooks are as bad as the old crooks and you are on your own brother.

Just watch out; a big gun isn't going to get it DONE.

Quick draw McGraw is the name of the game. Pump-on - full volume. Or like we used to say in the "bad old days"

Double pump - full throttle ;~)

AND DON'T YOU FERGET IT !

I once heard a salesman complain about another salesman from the same company, just a different branch say that he was underbid again by his own company and that if he wanted credit for the job he had to lower his price again. It was a price war between the same company just different branches.  That has to take the cake.

Funny stuff Bob! It is a shame but I guess that is the way it goes. This industry needs regulation and bailout money. A congressional hearing on TV would be really cool!

No one really knows about this industry except the concrete industry. My dentist called me back the other day while working and asked me if I was a lumber jack?

Todd, That "Beat our own prices" line was no joke! It's an actual, factual true story happening up here right now. The kicker is, the fools work together at the same branch. A handful of salesmen from the same outfit were told to "Get the work at any cost, Their prices Cannot be beaten" and they will be paid commision + salary... Talk about comunication break down!?!? They are starting to feed on each other!!!

A friend of mine is a foundation contractor, He showed me (3) different proposals he had recieved over a two week period. Each one cheaper than the other, each sent and signed by different salesmen from the same COMPANY! Same BRANCH, same CITY!!!???... I say BRILLIANT, I could'nt have planned it better myself!

THERE ARE NO RULES______ WHOEVER RULES, RULES!!!

aint that the truth

Two companies [or twenty two] in competition for the same work are, when playing by the same rules, equal. The salesmanship of the boys in the pickups gets you on that job. He is the first line of offensive games to be played. Then the pump and operator show up. We can all kid ourselves about how presentation and deportment don’t matter in the eyes of the customer; kid ourselves being the operative phrase. The pumps MUST look sharp, as must the operator.

SALES & SERVICE is what we are all about. If the boys in the pickup don’t do their job you operators never get a chance to do yours. They are the first very important step. You need these people. Salesmen are part of the solution, not part of the problem. Treat them with respect until such time as they do not deserve it. You will find that the vast majority of them do deserve it.

During normal economic times the cream does rise to the top and the companies with the best service gets the better jobs.

Everything that I have written above is true.

Now comes the most destabilizing force to our industry. The thing that takes all the rules and makes them null and void is the out of control manufacturer and what he creates.

Let me take a ½ step back and investigate the MEGA-PUMPER. This company wants to succeed in a large way. He wants 10,000 machines cranking out profit. No matter what you think, he likes the prices to be up. If for whatever reason he cannot make where he IS pay, he will move some of his fleet somewhere else. It is like the old West, The Double B ranch has a large herd. The grazing is getting scarce so he moves part of the herd to a new pasture. He has the same cows as you do; they need to eat to survive too. He doesn’t have magic cows, economy of scale counts for only so much. Each one needs to eat and produce just like yours.

Now, back to the original villain, the out of control manufacturer.

This guy doesn’t care if you make it or not. This guy only cares about the size of his commission check. This guy deserves the GIANT ASS HOLE of the year award. This guy sells pumps that don’t need to produce any income to make payments because there ARE NO PAYMENTS to be made. This guy is your worst enemy. This guy is why there are too many pumps out there that are not in equal competition for the available work.

I don’t care if you are a small pumper or a mega-pumper, YOU CAN NOT COMPETE WITH A COMPANY THAT HAS NEW EQUIPMENT AND NO PAYMENTS. When confronted with this situation you need to (1) move your company away from the guy with no payments, or (2) lower your prices and roll in the mud with him, or (3) put a wooden stake in the place his heart should have been and bury him in garlic.

When the [ooc mfg] teams up with a big pumper, the problem is bigger; but it is still the same problem. The size of the pumper that teams up with the [ooc mfg] determines the scope of the problem NOT THE CAUSE of the problem.

You can reason with a small pumper, a medium sized pumper, a large pumper and a mega-pumper when each of you is playing with the same cards in the same game.

As soon as the joker is shuffled into the deck, all bets are off.

Out of control manufacturers are the reason that there are so many pumps out there today. Even if you do not own one of their machines; your equity and net worth has been negatively affected because of them.

Find out who these people are and DON’T BUY FROM THEM when things are back to normal – if ever.

RANT-OFF

Booya Bob.

I think you hit that right on the nose.  To see a pump on the road 6 years ago (where i come from) was an uncommon occurrence.

I keep hearing that the rates are the same since the 80s so how did all these new pumps fall into everybody lap?  it must be a burn for the pioneer pump companies to see how easy it has become (until recently) it was to get a boom pump.

By any chance does anybody know how much a boom pump cost in the 70s-80s? and what it took to get on? 

S.S. It was before my time but I pay close attention to the old timers and all their stories. I'm pretty sure a pump back then cost about what a brand new Ford pick up cost today? I guess I should say "a brand new Ford, 4x4, 1 ton, crew cab w/ bells and whistles". They sure as hell did NOT come with no money down and a no payment period!!!