# ams



## zbest (Mar 29, 2013)

Whats the deal with ams? Went for my first training about 2 weeks ago told be to call him when i got all my landscaping equipment so i got out and buy about 1k worth of equipment now they are Giving me the run around crystal tells me she is waiting to hear back from trainer (Justin) does anyone have a number for someone higher up? I added them to my ims policy and everything already


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## zbest (Mar 29, 2013)

What is the deal with ams? Went to my first training 2 weeks ago told me to call when i get all my landscaping equipment so i go purchase 1k worth of equipment now iam getting the run around ( crystal) tells me she is waiting to hear back from the trainer (justin) does anyone have a contact to the higher up? They had me add them on my ins and everything


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## Valley (Mar 12, 2013)

zbest said:


> What is the deal with ams? Went to my first training 2 weeks ago told me to call when i get all my landscaping equipment so i go purchase 1k worth of equipment now iam getting the run around ( crystal) tells me she is waiting to hear back from the trainer (justin) does anyone have a contact to the higher up? They had me add them on my ins and everything



We went through the same garbage. Came down to the lady who processes the paper work was being an ass. Didnt like my signature and wanted me to redo it .I parted ways . Do not have time for people who thinks the world revolves around them.


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## HollandPPC (Sep 22, 2012)

Awesome I just laughed my @ss off for a good ten minutes. Out of the kindness of my heart I will tell you what you did wrong. 


1. You put your faith in AMS 
2. You took vendor training when you didn't even have equipment to do the work
3. You spent $1K on lawn equipment. Did you get a push mower and weed whip from Wally World. With the way these properties are your mower is going to blow up on the first property.
4. AMS pays $20.00 a cut before discount (20%) You will never make money. Why would you sign up to lose money?

Its "contractors" like you that give us preservation guys a bad name. Do yourself a favor and quit while you are only $1K behind. Thanks for tge good laugh though. FNG





zbest said:


> What is the deal with ams? Went to my first training 2 weeks ago told me to call when i get all my landscaping equipment so i go purchase 1k worth of equipment now iam getting the run around ( crystal) tells me she is waiting to hear back from the trainer (justin) does anyone have a contact to the higher up? They had me add them on my ins and everything


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## Ohnojim (Mar 25, 2013)

Until you get a login, username and password for their system, no one at AMS can really help you, but when you do, they will usually assign you work orders pretty quickly. You can bet they did not wait for you to get equipment, hopefully they didn't assign the work to someone who was ready, or said he was. Also they may have assigned what they had to contractors surrounding your area, they don't wait around, for you, and you should not wait around for them, dig up some other work.


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## Splinterpicker (Apr 18, 2012)

HollandPPC said:


> Awesome I just laughed my @ss off for a good ten minutes. Out of the kindness of my heart I will tell you what you did wrong.
> 
> 
> 1. You put your faith in AMS
> ...


BREWtal but to the point thanks for the laugh. After a 14 hour day yesterday and a 10 hour one today that was what I needed . I am enjoying the ability to push back with a national on a project right now and I dont care if t hey pull it from me. Its VERY nice to be in the drivers seat !


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## zbest (Mar 29, 2013)

I had the equipment the next day. And they pay more then 20 i been doing the repairs with another company decided to do lawns for fillers the company im with now is only paying 20 up to 5000 s.f ams more


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## HollandPPC (Sep 22, 2012)

You got decent lawn equipment for $1k that can handle these jacked up properties? LOL
The current company you are working for is raping you if you are only getting $20.00. Guys like you that accept these jacked up rates are what is killing this industry. 

. QUOTE=zbest;45683]I had the equipment the next day. And they pay more then 20 i been doing the repairs with another company decided to do lawns for fillers the company im with now is only paying 20 up to 5000 s.f ams more[/QUOTE]


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## zbest (Mar 29, 2013)

Like I said just using them as fillers ive only been doing this a year and iam making 10-15 k a month on a good month why would i put 10k out for lawn equipment if iam a general contractor???


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## npm (Nov 14, 2012)

I was contacted by AMS via Crystal. Did the bs training. Never recieved any login or password but frankly im happy I didn't. After the webinar they held and they're expectations for lawn maintenance and other services there's no money to be made. I joined because I noticed Ams was taking over some of my other properties via post sale.


Never do anything on just a word get in writing imo


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## BRADSConst (Oct 2, 2012)

If you are a general contractor making 10-15k a month, why on gods green earth are you doing filler grass cuts @ $20 a pop. I sure wouldn't be wasting my time on them......:no::no::no:


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## zbest (Mar 29, 2013)

It has been slow the last two month i could be sitting two three weeks waiting on work


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## warranpiece (Jun 15, 2012)

This seems like BS. Hey Z, honeslty man, you are making 38 a lawn cut before 20% discount, and 20 a maid service before 20% discount. You are agreeing to removed up to 35 cubes for about 9 bucks a cube under their flat fee, and if you somehow ever get them to go over their flat fee amount, it will be at 16 cube. 

They are the lowest payer in the industry as a national right now, have the worst system in use in the industry right now, and are purposely compartmentalized in order to make sure the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

They want things done as cheap as possible, and the people running it (the board members) could not be more clueless as to what is happening in their own company. The Fannie contract is a loose for all involved under these circumstances.

AMS are thieves pure and simple. Ask for an up front number on what you are doing, and they tell you that that isn't the way they do it and won't give you work anymore. Any number you ask for after the job is complete? It will always be cut or turn out lower.

They are terrible, and Fannie Mae should be told what they by extension are doing to the American worker.


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## zbest (Mar 29, 2013)

Yeah i know. I make good money with the company im working with now do only major stuff drywall elec plumbing just gets slow sometimes there may be 2-3 week gap in between jobs i figred the 37 was better then 20 .. 
.
..


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## npm (Nov 14, 2012)

zbest said:


> Yeah i know. I make good money with the company im working with now do only major stuff drywall elec plumbing just gets slow sometimes there may be 2-3 week gap in between jobs i figred the 37 was better then 20 ..
> .
> ..


Have you ever tried picking up work from Atown Properties? Their out of Aston PA. Don't know what they pay.


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## zbest (Mar 29, 2013)

Thx man thats 5 mins from me


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## warranpiece (Jun 15, 2012)

zbest said:


> Yeah i know. I make good money with the company im working with now do only major stuff drywall elec plumbing just gets slow sometimes there may be 2-3 week gap in between jobs i figred the 37 was better then 20 ..
> .
> ..


Its not 37. Its 37 minus 20%.


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## Valley (Mar 12, 2013)

Personally, i like contacting these crapbag companies to screw them before i flag their adds on CL. As i did AMS


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## mtmtnman (May 1, 2012)

Here's the deal folks, it's not necessarily AMS but it is all the people that are willing to work for nothing in your particular areas that AMS will take advantage of every time. If they weren't finding people to work for these rates, the prices would increase. In over two and a half years with AMS I had very few issues with them. We were getting $800 for flat rate, $75 routine lawn cuts and $25 re occuring maids. Our properties averaged less than 5 cubic yards and many had no debris as they were cash for keys. I was always able to get over allowable approvals on site for overgrown lawns etc. Our broker scores were in the upper 90's and we even received a $5000 bonus as top contractor in the nation in July 2011. We qualified for early pay the whole time we worked for them so it was 15 days after the end of the month the work was completed in.

The difference between us and you is we are in a very remote area and they did not have a large choice of vendors who were actually capable of doing the work. They originally came in at $500 for flat rate $40 for routine lawns and $20 for janitorial and nobody took the bait. 

Now that safeguard has taken over the Fannie Mae contract here in Montana, we have gotten out. We cannot afford to work for safeguards rates nor do we have the stomach to put up with safeguards bull****. With safeguard and their piece rate my gross take on an average property here would be less than $500. safeguard has also hired M&H lawns out of California to do all of their routine grass cuts at $25 a piece. They found a broke woman with a rear engine 32" Honda rider, a Walmart push mower, and a garage sale weed eater. I have no clue how she is making a go of it because my normal Fannie Mae routine route of 40 plus houses every 10 days was covering north of 1200 miles.

This just goes to show you how every area of the country is different. if enough people say no, the prices do increase.


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## npm (Nov 14, 2012)

The areas z and I cover here in PA is real competitive. Especially zbest area of coverage. I just was at a housd doing a routine lawn. it had guys there roofing. No permits only replaced 1 sheet of plywood and the hole in the roof needed minimum 4 ( I know because I bid the roof). The guys on site asked if I would be doing the rest of the work order. I chuckled and said "no" you might want to call the company that hired you. Cough cough code enforcement magically showed up later that day:whistling2::whistling2:


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## warranpiece (Jun 15, 2012)

mtmtnman said:


> Here's the deal folks, it's not necessarily AMS but it is all the people that are willing to work for nothing in your particular areas that AMS will take advantage of every time. If they weren't finding people to work for these rates, the prices would increase. In over two and a half years with AMS I had very few issues with them. We were getting $800 for flat rate, $75 routine lawn cuts and $25 re occuring maids. Our properties averaged less than 5 cubic yards and many had no debris as they were cash for keys. I was always able to get over allowable approvals on site for overgrown lawns etc. Our broker scores were in the upper 90's and we even received a $5000 bonus as top contractor in the nation in July 2011. We qualified for early pay the whole time we worked for them so it was 15 days after the end of the month the work was completed in.
> 
> The difference between us and you is we are in a very remote area and they did not have a large choice of vendors who were actually capable of doing the work. They originally came in at $500 for flat rate $40 for routine lawns and $20 for janitorial and nobody took the bait.
> 
> ...


 
You are totally right. Here is something to consider, although i don't really know what I think it should mean to anyone yet. The states such as California and Florida, end up subsidizing places like Montana and Nrth Dakota.....even Hawaii. I understand that. However, AMS in Cali wants to start their FF rate at 378 (before 20 percent). Even if they go a bit higher, we are far from the 800 per that you experienced. I am sure Montana has its challenges. Weather, distance between properties etc... But Cali has no less of a challenge with our workers comp laws, gas prices, and state taxes. So why is it one place seems like it is so much cheaper to get work done? Because there are so many willing to do it, and not gripe about it. Meanwhile they are usually running their buisnesses illegally in some way shape or form, and AMS doesn't care or want to know about it. 

On the order mill level, they KNOW that the FNMA contract is BS, but they simply won't say no.


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## SethNKC (Jan 18, 2013)

*Ams*

Was called two days back to back on wanting us to sign up, so we did. Went through the webinar, Added them to insurance & then was promised all this work. Got our login and passwork information, however Never received any work, in over a month & a half. We have been in the business for almost 6 years, was just going to use them as extra, we have all commerical grade equipment & know what were doing. However, Apparently they do not.. 

Looks to be they do this to alot of contractors pretty often.


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