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Spending more time or moving my business to Burnett County <br /> We have owned property in Burnett County for over 10 years. We purchased a lake home there because we <br /> loved the area. Our previous lake place was in Minnesota. We loved that area because the community(locals <br /> &cabin owners) were very nice but we wanted a more quiet area with cleaner water. <br /> After we purchased in Burnett County, we noticed that we were not treated like the locals. I realize that we <br /> are outsiders but this was much different than our last cabin, or any other place that we've lived. The culture <br /> of Burnett County is what makes the difference. That's not to say that everyone is like this because we have <br /> great relationships with some of the locals but after 10 plus years, I don't have a close connection to the area <br /> like I should. <br /> Whenever I called a local electrician, plumber or any contractor, we realized that we were going to pay <br /> excessively for most services. This is not to say that everyone treated us poorly but we have owned a lake <br /> place for 25 years and have never encountered this behavior. We've owned two places in Burnett County and <br /> planned to move there BUT we are so glad that we didn't follow thru with that plan. <br /> A hired a local plumber to do some work. When he was done, he charged us$85/hour and said that the job <br /> took him 8 hours. I have no idea how that job took 8 hours but we paid the bill. We supplied parts for the job <br /> but he still used his parts to pad the bill. He installed a water softener and charged us an incredible price but I <br /> had to fix it because he had no idea how to fix it. <br /> The electrician bill was incredibly high for not much work and he failed to complete the job. We hired <br /> someone to fix the furnace. They arrived but the tech didn't have the part on his truck. He said that he would <br /> order the part and it would be around $180. The part came in and someone from the office called to schedule <br /> the part installation and told me that the part was over$360. At that point, I just needed the heating system <br /> fixed. They fixed it and I got a bill for two service calls. I called the office and set them straight. This same <br /> business had tried some shady behavior before but we had to use them at the time because they were the <br /> only ones that could work on that system. We had new carpet installed from one place and it was the last <br /> time that we used them. We didn't get the product that we were promised and they did a poor job with a <br /> terrible attitude. <br /> These are just a few examples of what we've experienced. We are not difficult to get along with but after <br /> discussing this with other cabin owners,this is the usual behavior for many of the locals. <br /> One person told me that after cocktails one night, a contractor that had been working for him stated, "We <br /> have two working rates. One rate for the locals and one rate for you city people". Of course, that was the last <br /> time the contractor worked for this gentleman. He said that he was so shocked because they guy had done a <br /> considerable amount of work for him and he had treated him very well. <br /> A friend of mine grew up in Burnett County. He left as a young man, moved to the Twin Cities and made a <br /> good living. After he retired, he moved back to Burnett County. He hired people that he had known his entire <br /> life and he said that they treated him like a city person and tried to overcharge him for everything. He said <br /> that many of these guys want to make a ton of money from anyone that appears to have money. <br /> We have spoken to numerous business owners in Burnett County and most of them have stated that it is very <br /> difficult to find local workers that want to show up for work. They stated that they have workers that show up <br /> for a few weeks or months and never return to work. Apparently they make enough money to get by and <br /> quit. I have heard this from owners of restaurants, retail store owners and local people. I lived in a rural <br />