I personally don't mind trash cans at the end of the drive way. But because I moved into a neighborhood where they do, I should be considerate of that. The neighbor wasn't being a jerk for reporting me, I was for ignoring his and everyone else's simple request.
Actually, having lived in HOAs that care and actually talking to people... the majority of the neighborhood really doesn't give a crap if your cans are out for an extra hour. But there's always that one guy.
As good a point as I make, an HOA or a classroom has nothing to do with FAA regulations and business ethics and should not be compared. I feel like if you look at the two the 'same way' you do not take business or drone operation serious enough.
And I am sure you take it very seriously, but even still,
Oh, I take it very seriously. I also have no problem at all reporting unsafe operators. None. Aside from that, I'd rather let the market decide than tell on someone.
And again you throw out the "ethics" thing. There's nothing ethically wrong with reporting people for flying without the proper licensing. It's just kind of a jerky thing to do without first making an attempt at educating them.
in my experience illegal operators often offer lower prices, impossible prices, because they have chosen to ignore regulation and fail to understand the great risk they represent to themselves and their clients, and they have put themselves first above everyone else in the industry.
All of these operators are operating with the 'it won't happen to me' mentality, and when it does, they're in very very deep, and often go out of business.
Just because someone paid $150 and took a test doesn't really make them any safer in the long run. There's a lot more to operating on the up-and-up than getting your Part 107 certificate. A buck-fifty isn't really much overhead at all... and I've seen at least a few operators around here who have their certificate and nothing else... no insurance, none of the other stuff that makes you a legitimate business, and no common sense. They're far more "risk" than a guy doing real estate jobs for $50 with his Phantom.
When it doesn't, they may have managed to earn themselves a living, but at the cost of many hardworking, considerate people who are just obeying the law. Some of them may even have gone out of business. When your illegal operation is costing my family it's future, it is very much my business.
I know this is going to come as a shock... but you're not owed business as a "legitimate" operator. It's not a zero-sum game here. Every dollar someone else makes isn't a dollar out of your pocket. Sometimes it's a dollar that would never have entered the market at your price point. Sometimes that underbid illegal flight (with a sub-par result) leads to the client looking for someone better the next time.
True story:
In one month, I lost about $3500 to an illegal operator, who priced two large jobs out at $400 a piece. The quality of my work didn't matter, and yes, the difference between mine and his was worlds apart. After I learned this, I thought long and hard about reporting him, and I decided to do it. He was the first person I ever reported. I was surprised at how easy it was and not long after, his facebook page became inactive and his website went down, and I know for a fact he went back to his old job. The following month, the same people who didn't go with me before hired me, they saw an enormous response from the work I did for them, and they have been my clients ever since. Over the lifetime of that client, I have earned around 15 grand this year alone.
These same people also said that after using the other guy and not getting any response from his work they were convinced drone photography and video was just ineffective marketing. The only reason they hired me on the third project was because he was no longer available and they had already promised their client they would include drone footage.
That sounds more like a failure of your marketing and client relations than a case for reporting unlicensed operators. You got a second chance at it because you reported him... but that doesn't change the fact that you failed the first time to show why your work was better.
I'll also note that someone who got the certificate and shot the job for $400 could ALSO have made a mess of it. For some reason you've confused "unlicensed" with "not very good." There are examples both ways that disprove this.
I've seen licensed guys who are hacks.
I've seen unlicensed guys who are awesome.
I've seen cheap licensed guys. (there's a licensed guy in my area doing shoots for $50 TOTAL)
I've seen expensive unlicensed guys. (though this is becoming less of an issue because the bar is so low for licensing)
The point is, the bar isn't very high to become licensed... so it's hard to take your "they're taking money out of the mouths of my darling children" argument seriously. Are they winning jobs with lower bids? Maybe... but they're also more likely going after jobs that were never yours to begin with because they're so far below your price point.
More likely than these nefarious, selfish underground drone operators, you're reporting a guy who's just trying it out to see if it's something he wants to pursue further... or someone who really doesn't know any better. In either case, he's largely not hurting you. In the latter case, you're missing an opportunity to walk up, introduce yourself, and do some outreach and education. If your goal is truly safety (rather than sour grapes), that's an opportunity that should REALLY appeal to you.
Good competition is always good, but not only do illegal operators hurt themselves, they hurt the families around them and the industry's reputation as a whole.
Again, I think you're looking at this wrong... just because a poor college student pirates a copy of Photoshop doesn't mean Adobe lost out on $600. That sale was never going to happen. Not every job done by someone else is lost money to YOUR business. Especially when the price points are vastly different. For every story like your "true story" above, there are probably a hundred where the client would have never bought drone video if it cost $3500. That business wasn't yours any more than business you've signed is mine.
I realize the idea of 'it's not your business' is deeply rooted in many, but I truly believe this idea is only held by people who operate illegally themselves.
Yeah, that's a really silly assumption.
Reporting the the FAA takes a fraction of the time this post did. Sorry but I won't reply at any decent length.
You said that before.