Am I irrational for thinking I deserve a discount?

[The Mystery Machine]

When we accept bad service without saying a word then that is what we will get.

Almost everyone here has said they are willing to accept the delays without any compensation. "That's just how it is." But that's how we've allowed it to become.

No actually the DH here should have checked over the materials first and approved them!

If you have ever done any construction you know that you need to have that first before they start work.

We just had a fence installed and the fencing guy WE HIRED came by to check the materials in the driveway before he started the job.

 

[connorlevismom]

What type of fence is it? I'm just wondering since it seems like a really long time for a fence company to get in fencing materials.

It is an iron fence so they had to order the materials. Every place we checked had to order it since they don't seem to keep it in stock.

You said you got 4 quotes. Did you take the cheapest, or did you get references and go with the best value\most reputable? Sometimes you get what you pay for.

When we got our fence, the guy dropped off an orange can of spray paint before hand, and told me to mark sprinklers, termite traps, whatever they may run into. They made it my responsibility. I also had to either get a survey, or at least find the official property line spikes.


Sorry you're having a hard time. Good luck.

BTW: I wouldn't expect a discount, but that is just me.

No we went the a person who was in the middle for price and checked Angie's List for reviews.

As for the sprinkle head, you might not have a leg to stand on, depending on your contract with the fencing company. I also have underground sprinklers, and in EVERY fencing contract I saw, there was a clause that stated they (the fencing company) WERE NOT RESPONSIBLE to any damage that installing the fence might cause to my sprinkler heads/lines. That I could independently pay my sprinkler company to come out and mark the lines/heads and they'd do their best to avoid them, but IF they hit them, it was still my responsibility to fix them. Read your contract with the fencing company, they probably aren't responsible for the damage.

This is what my DH says. He says they are not responsible for the sprinkler lines at all.

Kristine

 

[connorlevismom]

Well it looks like the majority of you think this is no big deal. I did talk to my DH last night about it and he is actually going to give him a few suggestions as to how we would like this dealt with.

#1. If it truly is the company they ordered the materials from fault, they need to get the materials here ASAP. Either overnight them or whatever they need to do to get them here. They sent the wrong product.

#2. If it is the fence installers fault, they need to give us some sort of discount for the extra week and a half we have to wait for it.

I don't have a problem that the parts took an extra week and a half to get in, I DO have a problem that they brought out the wrong parts because someone made a mistake and they did not double check the parts when they arrived at their shop to make sure they were the right ones. This is leading to yet ANOTHER week and a half delay. That is 3 extra weeks we will have waited to get this fence with both the delays.

I understand that things happen, but I am with the others who say that if nobody says anything, then it is just accepted that people can do a crappy job and still get paid the fill amount for it. This fence is costing $7500 and I think that for that kind of money I should not be dealing with stupid mistakes.

Kristine

 

[DrCavin]

Life is too short to worry over construction delays. Relax & get ready for your new baby. A year from now you wont even remember this fence drama.

 

[connorlevismom]

Life is too short to worry over construction delays. Relax & get ready for your new baby. A year from now you wont even remember this fence drama.

LOL while I agree with you that life is short, walking up and down 2 flights of LONG stairs several times a day at 7 months pregnant is not exactly a good time.

Kristine

 

[mickeyboat]

Don't let yourself get worked up over this. There are always delays during construction and renovation projects. They are to be expected.

Suppliers are providing their contractors with the same crappy customer service that we are seeing everywhere these days. It is unlikely that they are going to bend over backwards to get those parts to you overnight.

Mistakes happen. Give the contractor a bit of a break. It's only a 10 day delay - not months and months. It is probably messing up the contractor's schedule to have to come back at another time to complete the fence.

I think you will get a lot further with the fencing people by being kind and understanding than by being beligerent and angry.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Well it looks like the majority of you think this is no big deal. I did talk to my DH last night about it and he is actually going to give him a few suggestions as to how we would like this dealt with.

#1. If it truly is the company they ordered the materials from fault, they need to get the materials here ASAP. Either overnight them or whatever they need to do to get them here. They sent the wrong product.

#2. If it is the fence installers fault, they need to give us some sort of discount for the extra week and a half we have to wait for it.

I don't have a problem that the parts took an extra week and a half to get in, I DO have a problem that they brought out the wrong parts because someone made a mistake and they did not double check the parts when they arrived at their shop to make sure they were the right ones. This is leading to yet ANOTHER week and a half delay. That is 3 extra weeks we will have waited to get this fence with both the delays.

I understand that things happen, but I am with the others who say that if nobody says anything, then it is just accepted that people can do a crappy job and still get paid the fill amount for it. This fence is costing $7500 and I think that for that kind of money I should not be dealing with stupid mistakes.

Kristine

We installed an iron fence as well. That is alot of money. We paid about half that because we got fencing that was leftover from last yr. (discounted) and then we hired someone privately to put up the fence. Saved alot of money.

As far as the sprinklers, you are responsible for fixing that.

They did not do a crappy job, someone made a mistake. Mistakes with ordering do happen frequently with construction.

Our installer came by the driveway and counted every piece before he even gave us a firm date to install.

Next is a deck and we will be counting the posts and boards.

When we had hardwood installed it was our responsibility to make sure we had all the materials before they started the job.

This is just a part of doing construction work because the ordering person is normally not the installer.

Sorry you are having trouble. Now hopefully the guy does a good job when you do get your fence in!

 

[Tuffcookie]

OP,


I understand your frustration and being pregnant on top of it!

You are absolutely right that if the supplier sent the wrong posts, they should be overnight shipping the correct ones!

It sounds like you're getting a beautiful fence! Please post pictures when it's done!

TC

 

[brunette8706]

When we accept bad service without saying a word then that is what we will get.

Almost everyone here has said they are willing to accept the delays without any compensation. "That's just how it is." But that's how we've allowed it to become.

*****

EXACTLY! I'm sorry, but between destroying your sprinkler system and now a 7 - 10 day delay you are ENTITLED to a discount. When you signed the contract you expected it to be done in a certain time frame and or certain day. You have a life and I'm sure you have other tasks that need to be done besides waiting around to see when they will come back and start work. A reputable fencing company in my humble opinion would certainly compensate you somehow. If the customer isn't happy then something should be done.

 

[hiwaygal]

No actually the DH here should have checked over the materials first and approved them!

If you have ever done any construction you know that you need to have that first before they start work.

We just had a fence installed and the fencing guy WE HIRED came by to check the materials in the driveway before he started the job.

I have construction done every day...it's my job!

Technically it was the contractors responsibility to make sure they had the right materials before they started work. And they should be demanding better service of their suppliers as well.

While I can agree that the OP and her DH had some responsibility to inform the contractor of the location of sprinkler lines, the contractor also has a responsibility to locate ALL utilities in an area before they start digging anything anywhere (generally it's a state law).

OP, I think you've got a good plan to get some potential resolution. Making a contractor stand by his contract doesn't have to be rude or nasty...it can be done professionally and reasonably. But you don't have to accept less than what was promised to you.

 

[mjkacmom]

I'm guessing you have never had construction done on your home, when a 6 week project turns into 4 months. I had to wait 3 months longer than I was told to have my home painted, and it took twice as long as they quoted. I always double the amount of time, in my head, when having work done.

 

[DisneyMim]

Yeah, everything always seems to go wrong. I think ALL of us who have had to wait should get a discount (ha ha), but really it isn't going to happen. I've learned to expect to pay more, allow more time and just relax about any home improvements. I know it shouldn't be like this, but it is.

Good Luck!