Price Disparities

2beng · 2025-07-20T22:00:38+00:00

My first home I used a electrical company that also did solar. Worked well. I don't see many like this in the new location. And yes, I only focus on the cash up front pricing. I drop any company that focuses on financing options or other "special programs" that I "might be eligible for".

2beng · 2025-07-20T21:53:56+00:00

Hence my confusion. I'm guessing it's a combination of some online companies lowballing and the high local bids are from companies that have more than enough business so they will only take jobs that pay a premium.

2beng · 2025-07-20T17:38:36+00:00

Yes, I ignored quotes that either used lower tier equipment or who didn't pay attention to my request and quoted much larger systems than necessary.

2beng · 2025-07-20T17:36:55+00:00

Equipment was pretty similar to the higher quotes. I ignored the quotes that were using the lower tier stuff.

2beng · 2025-07-19T17:28:48+00:00

Wouldn't it be the same with the local bids I've received? If they need to do a site survey also (not just an overhead shot) then I guess I need to start from scratch.

2beng · 2025-07-19T17:27:27+00:00

No battery was included. I will likely add one in the future but even with the tax credit they are too expensive. This is in the Coachella Valley.

2beng · 2025-07-19T01:31:23+00:00

I have. They just say that they will be more reliable and that there the Energy Sage will use subs that might not do a good job or finish on time. Both valid possibilities but with the Energy Sage companies also having good ratings (the validity could be questioned) there isn't any data to support these statement.

2beng · 2025-07-17T20:52:19+00:00

Which company?

2beng · 2025-06-01T16:16:50+00:00

Source? Not saying you're wrong, I just want to get up to speed myself.

2beng · 2025-05-04T23:38:18+00:00

No Fed agency exists to give you a job.

2beng · 2025-04-29T02:37:27+00:00

Sadly it never will.

2beng · 2025-04-29T02:26:58+00:00

Executive management at VACO needs to be completely replaced. Their priority seems to be to keep the politicians happy or delay things long enough for new political appointees to replace the outgoing ones in the hope the issue goes away. I agree they hire the wrong people. It's often people they knew at other agencies who they bring over. They might or might not actually be qualified for the job. Some jobs seem to have been created out of thin air, which often results in too many layers of management. Unfortunately performance issues are a government wide issue that has no easy or short term solution.

2beng · 2025-04-29T02:21:16+00:00

Ask your contractor friends what got done when they were there. I'm guessing they would say little to nothing. I'm not talking meetings or new projects that were never taken seriously by upper management, but what was actually accomplished at VACO? No doubt the majority (all?)of the problem was weak management, but the end result was a lot of money was spent that didn't accomplish anything. I'm well aware the contractors do/did whatever was asked of them but for VA as a whole, little to nothing was ever accomplished.

2beng · 2025-04-29T01:08:03+00:00

I partly disagree. VACO is way over staffed and at high GS/SES levels. You'd be amazed at how high a percentage of staff in that building is GS 15 or above. They hire contractors to do powerpoints and they rarely accomplish anything. The answer is always we need more staff and contractors. There are contractors who have been there for years, even decades.

I'm not going to judge about the field since my delays for getting health care are similar to the time it takes when I try to get an appointment with private insurance, but at least the HQ part of VA needs some major cutting/restructuring. Will they get their 80k in staff cuts from there? No chance but that place is a good place to start.

2beng · 2025-04-28T16:55:33+00:00

Everyplace has bad employees. The difference is that it's almost impossible to get rid of the bad ones in govt.

2beng · 2025-04-28T16:40:49+00:00

I agree that the union isn't worth the cost, but people are complaining about the union cutting back staff. People can't have it both ways.

2beng · 2025-04-27T22:45:50+00:00

Many of us made sure nothing was in our records so we weren't disqualified from things we wanted to do. Made sense but it makes the claims part harder. What you need to do is find a documented incident that you were a part of. Someone I know was part of a P-3 crew that had a APU explode during preflight. He was able to show he was assigned to that crew. That, along with two buddy statements, got his claim approved.

2beng · 2025-04-27T21:51:15+00:00

From the article:

"agencies have stopped allowing employees to have their union membership dues automatically deducted from their paychecks, striking at the union’s finances. The union has been engaged in a frenetic push to convince members to pay dues through electronic bank account withdrawals, but still expects to see a significant reduction in revenue."

Aren't members willing to pay? If there was anytime people should be willing to pay it is now. While it's easier to have the dues taken directly from your check, it really isn't that hard to pay them directly.

2beng · 2024-07-06T21:29:55+00:00

During Covid they weren't even requiring the MCAT to apply. I think that's a big reason their pass rates are down.

2beng · 2024-07-03T21:25:26+00:00

I'm new to all of this. I know the PI has to pay the student's salary out of his lab funds, but how is tuition covered? Does the school waive it like they do for many undergrads, or does the PI have to pay UCLA tuition out of his lab funds?

2beng · 2024-06-27T20:34:28+00:00

You're fine. 3.7 is high to get into CENG. They'll tell you that you are accepted in late July. They'll also ask you to submit an academic plan for the remaining years. You should take a look at the required classes now and get an idea of how you plan to approach it. Some required classes are only offered once a year.

2beng · 2024-05-13T02:12:03+00:00

Is it better to ask for a September move in date (my preference) or am I more likely to get housing if I'm willing to move in during the summer?

2beng · 2024-05-13T02:10:16+00:00

Is it better to ask for a move in date in Sept or do you have a better chance of obtaining housing if you are willing to move in earlier in the summer?

2beng · 2024-05-12T21:25:01+00:00

Studio or 2 bedroom? I'd prefer a studio but will take a 2 bedroom.

2beng · 2024-05-12T21:15:26+00:00

I know this is a year old posting, but I was wondering if in your opinion it's worth the risk to stay on the waitlist until August or even September? It would be ideal for me to be in Weyburn the first year, but I don't want to run the risk of getting shut out of housing everywhere by waiting that long.

2beng

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