The Amateur Project Manager
Kussmaul had a client who thought that "since he organized a carpool, he could act as project manager," she recalls. "But he didn't order enough paint, and since it was a custom color, we had to stop the job for half a day. He wasn't happy when I charged him for the time." Eric Thompson, a GC in Hampton Bays, New York, tells amateur purchasing agents, "Oh, excellent—now you can sort through the warped 24s and sit on hold with customer service when the faucet breaks—and you can't find the serial number!