Contractor vs. Homeowner

Susan_6

I have a question that puzzles me greatly and you might be able to help.

How do you decide which potential customer you want to do business with? I know what I look for when bidding a job but I don't understand the other side of the equation. Having owned this money pit of a house for 17-years, I have lots of experience with contractors in all areas of home upkeep and some have done several jobs. I've had a few bad experiences but mostly I have gotten good work for fair prices. My problem is finding someone to do the job.

Why bother to tell me you will call back, come and look at the job or submit a quote if you have no intentions of doing that? One electrican even set the start date of the job and I never heard from him again (perhaps he did not have proof of insurance). If I call and leave a voice mail message it is guaranteed not be returned. Why not just say the job is too small, you are too busy or this is not the type of job for you? I want to do business with good people and rarely need the job done tomorrow or even soon. Is there something the homeowner can do to ease the process?

R. Kalia

complicated

My experience is that contractors don't turn up or don't call back for myriad reasons, few of them having to do with you. It's not that they "decide which potential customer they want to do business with". It's usually that these guys (relatively few in my experience) are disorganized and unprofessional. They can't do the job, they can't make the time, or they decide it is not worthwhile to them, but they don't want to admit it.

Now if you think of the many times someone has given you a quote for a job but then you've never called them back, perhaps you can't blame the contractors who have to bear this every day for occasionally doing the same to a customer.

My Significant Other has no patience for this; she doesn't want to get more than one quote, but she wants the guy to be exactly on time, and she wants him to do the job immediately. But that doesn't usually work, and when it does, it is because you know the guy is reliable and are willing to pay a premium for it. We can't afford to go with the most expensive source, and so I have to deal with a certain amount of unreliability.

Mike Kraft_2

Reasons....................

As a self employed contractor for 15 years my catch 22 for not responding is no man power.I have tried hiring and training.It is frustrating to say the least.What I do for a living incorporates quite a bit of liability.To do a job that is of expectaion requires planning and skill.I have 25 years invested in this trade.My demeanor with my work is at times (pardon the expression) a bit anal.Many times with employees (especially where I live)they just do'nt cut the mustard.I myself always feel that I fall short of the bullseye when a project is finished.But there is ALWAYS something to be learned.Expediting the jobs in a timely fashion is also thrown into the mix.

With this said my plate of late is always full.As one man working there is so much of me to go around.I can proudly say that my clientle are usually willing to wait.On jobs, other trades and scheduling can also throw a job closing date into a tailspin.As can backordered materials etc.

All of this in no way shape or form warrants the description of lack of response you are describing.A simple phone call is nothing for that customer should have to wait long for.Communication is so simple and of utmost importance.If I have a delay to begin a job which inevitably is passed to my next job,I inform and try to accomidate as best as humanly possible.

For your dilema (unfortunately) the only option you have is to solicite more contractors.I can only assume the frustarations you have and if you are of earnest as a potential client it's just not fair.Sorry for your troubles.Good luck!

A weak kneed cheese............been in the dreaded crawlspace all day:)

Mad Dog

Simple! They are losers..................................

AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE. There is NO excuse to Not return a phone call or fib like that. I have been known to be late...somedays by days...but we always keep the folks abreast and always show up. Mad Dog

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Ken C.

As a plumbing and heating tech,

the greeting I heard most was, "Thank you for coming over so quickly!" The company I worked for charged more than most companies, so they didn't have a lot of repeat business. Also, they didn't take on large jobs. Because of these factors, they were able to respond to service calls more quickly because there was no backlog of jobs. So if you want to get service quickly, you may have to go with a large, franchised company (i.e., Roto-Rooter, if it's a plumbing job) or a company that uses flat-rate pricing. Usually, these types of companies will have the largest Yellow Pages ads. You will pay more if you hire these types of companies, but in return, you will get faster service. As for quality of the work, that depends on the individual technician and his work ethic. If the prices you get from these companies are too high for your budget, then you will have to wait longer for service. Earlier in my career, I worked for a small, family-owned plumbing firm that did excellent quality work at very reasonable prices, but they had so much business because of this that some customers had to wait two weeks or longer. As for contractors not returning calls or failing to show up for appointments, this is inexcusable. They're most likely extremely busy, but the least they can do is to give you a phone call. It's basic common courtesy.

Susan_6

You wondered how many times I have not called a contractor back I can say NEVER. I always call and let the contractor know that they did not get the job. In fact, the electrical work I mentioned had two winning bids. Guy number 1 disappeared never to be seen. I was able to call the second bidder and ask him if he was still interested after he had originally lost the bid. He was and did a great job for us and I plan to call him for our current project.

I'm pretty good a detailing and planning a project and my expections for when the work needs to be done are modest.
Due to my day job, these are techniques I use every day.

Thanks for the comments, I guess a knucklhead can be rude as well as unskilled!

Ken_8

Mad Dog

Is absolutely, positively, on the money.



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Ken D.

Contractors.

I had a stove fire in the middle of the winter. I literally called over 25 painters before I found one to do the job. Most did not return the call. Others came out, wasted my time while they checked out the job, said they would get back to me and I never heard from them again. It was tough for me to do it myself as it was in the busy season. In my area there is a national franchise plumber who is my best job service. All the customers who he does't return calls end up calling us as we're next in the phone book. We have gotten some really nice work because of him, plus I,m entertained because the customers tell me what a bum he is. All this because he does'nt have the courtesy to return calls. One day I will send him a thank you gift.

tombig

I must say...

> I had a stove fire in the middle of the winter. I

> literally called over 25 painters before I found

> one to do the job. Most did not return the call.

> Others came out, wasted my time while they

> checked out the job, said they would get back to

> me and I never heard from them again. It was

> tough for me to do it myself as it was in the

> busy season. In my area there is a national

> franchise plumber who is my best job service. All

> the customers who he does't return calls end up

> calling us as we're next in the phone book. We

> have gotten some really nice work because of him,

> plus I,m entertained because the customers tell

> me what a bum he is. All this because he does'nt

> have the courtesy to return calls. One day I will

> send him a thank you gift.

jerry scharf

know this well

Som rambling thoughts on this common issue:

Many contractors can't organize themselves out of a paper bag. They may be great with a tool, but have no idea about business communications.

I've seen bad customer service just about everywhere. I now make a point of talking to a supervisor/boss when I get good service, it's getting more and more rare. I've had the pleasure of working with some companies that do it right, and others who did not.

If you plan your projects as well as you say you do, you may be scaring off many of the contractors. You have (reasonable) expectations that they can't meet or don't feel like they want to work with. Maybe they don't want to say no because they don't want to admit to themselves that they aren't up to the level of job you want.

I have found the construction world to have one of the widest gamuts of people. Some are unbelivably skilled and scrupulous, some are out and out crooks, some have the great attitudes, some have terrible ones. Then again, there are more cases of customers refusing to pay contractors than there are contractors who walk out on customers.

I learned one great lesson from a world class construction mamager. His simple motto was "progress every day." The more you can let go of how you got here (except to learn from it) and move on to how you get to the end from where you are now, the happier and more successful you will be in any construction project. Mistakes happen on all sides, and moving forward is the key. People don't call back, don't submit bids and don't show up. All of these are unprofessional, but none of them are fatal to the project.

I think it's great to bring this up now and then. It reminds us all of the customer experience and frustration that they bring to us from prior experiences. It's also another way the people who are here can distinguish themselves from the run of the mill.

jerry

John R. Hall

Professional courtesy

I don't expect people to jump when I yell jump. But I do expect them to acknowledge that I asked them to jump. It only takes a moment. A lot of customers are lost because a businessperson doesn't respond with a "Thank you for calling. Please know that you are very important to me and I will be in touch with you very soon [or give a specific time -- even better]."

joel_19

excellent question!

There is know one that I would refuse to do biusness with except for those who took advantage of us in the past. I do run into people who treat me as a second class lifeform right when I walk in the door, no matter how nice i try to be they just think that they are "above" the rest of us.
Of course we will help them as well but they will pay more for the privelage of our presence. I love home owners who have done some research!!! Even if what you found out isn't really what you need it shows your interested and concerned about what you'll get. We are 11 people with two full time ladies in the office. The job of 1 is to simply keep me as organized as possable. They actually return alot of phone calls for me to free up my time for the important/complicated ones. This kind of organization cost money, lots of it, and consequently we are much more exspensive than a 1 or 3 man band. I find many homeowners want our level of service or more but aren't willing to pay for it. Even as organized as we are I still leave people waiting. They will get called back just maybe not as fast as they would like. Some days i get back to the office at 5.30 and there are twenty people who want to talk to me, I'll take the most important ones. Problem is EVERYBODY thinks thier problem is the most important so some will be dissapointed but I will get back to them all eventually.
Realistic time frames: Right now the phone is off the hook with "i want A/C before it's hot". Folks it's May where were you in January?? Or my favorite "My house is up and framed i have no idea what i want for heat and A/C but I need you to come look at it tonight and put it in next week". Sighhhhh...... I would love to help you but you had to wait 6 months to get a biulder, why do you think we are any different? You'll need to wait for us too. And if your that far along and don't even have quotes yet how did you come up with a budget in the first place?
In summary I'd say forget the one man bands go with a shop with full time office staff and full time sales people (and be willing to pay for it). And then to have realistic expectations as to when the work can be done and you should be fine.

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Don Walsh

Joel, miserable answer!

Are we just a little puffed in the ego? Seems like it to me from your post. Those of us who now operate "1 man bands" as you put it, are not to be discounted or dismissed quite so easily. I would rather think that I am very much up front with my callers, which incidentally are patched through to my cell phone voice mail. I return all calls within 2 hours, I listen to their query, I respond with a positive affirmation of their needs and give them a time frame for my ability to resolve it. If that time frame is not acceptable to them, I refer them to several of my competitors that I know are capable of handeling their immediate or emergency needs. Yes, I pass a lot of work on to others, but since I am already booking work for November 2004, I'm really not complaining. You might be surprised how many people will wait six months to have me install their systems. I also,long ago, learned to say "No Thank You, I'm not interested in that particular work, job, whatever." I always refer them to someone who will professionally tend to their needs. Oh, and just so you understand, I have sat where you are sitting, I formerly had 22 field employees, 4 in the fab shop. and three charming ladies in the office. I am now a much happier person, and I can actually say I run the business, it doesn't run me. So while I indeed hope you may are very successful with your present operation, to malign small shops is a dis-service to close to 68% of us in this business.

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Ken_8

Yeah Grumpy...

I agree. Joel seems a little over the top.

Any business with two full time office folks should be able to support a lot more than 8 guys in the field.

Adding the overhead of a second insider either suggests poor organization - or generally absentee owner.

If Joel's handicap is in the single digits, or he's on the deck of his "hideout" in the mountains every afternoon by 4 PM having Gray Goose marti's along with brie and fresh berries, I can "understand."





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S Davis

One Man Shop!!!

I agree I allways call back my clients, even if I am going to be 10 minutes late, it's common cortesy.
If you don't have time to call back a customer you are just trying to take on too much work, especially when everybody has a cell phone on their hip.
You just have to be upfront with people if you don't have time for them and tell them so, it saves them and you time and frustration.
There is more to being in buisness than just getting the work done it is called customer service.

S Davis

Ken C.

Customer service, or lack thereof...

Yes, bad service seems to be the norm these days. Every time I use a fast food drive up window, the young person usually has to ask two or even three times what I want. And even then, there is a 50-50 chance the order will be screwed up when you get it. Like you, I will not hesitate to tell the manager when I receive excellent service. In some cases, I have written letters (there's another dying art).

Mad Dog

yeah and thats if they even speak legible english

Mad Dog

joel_19

agreed kind of

Very sorry to offend you, at times I am not the greatest communicator. We where all one man bands at one point or another,even companies with hundreds of guys started that way. I believe that beyond just a couple of guys you really need inside help to handle it all and continue to grow effectivly. If you hire a bunch of people without inside support your going to do a horrrible job, or kill yourself trying. I know, because i've been there.Yes we would absolutley love more high quality employees you guys know any looking for work???? It's been a monumental struggle to get the ones I have. If you guys are that busy and are 1 man bands then i'm guessing your that way (1man) for the same reason there aren't 12-15 at our place. Good guys are very difficult to find.
The work ethic shot was pretty cheap though. I work more hours than any of our employees. I sacrafice lots of my nights and weekends to sales calls after working all day and still run many night and weekend service calls. Grey Goose matini's RULE ,and i played golf once last year,haven't even dusted off the clubs this spring.

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jim lockard

Thanks Grumpy

At one time I had 7 guys, never again much happier with just me and the helper. If and when I need others such as the duct crew I hire them or borrow from others. Oh every call is returned, alot of "no thank yous " but they get a response. J. Lockard