Contractors/Tradespeople are so annoying...

[LSUmiss]

I don't think I am asking a lot.

I don't see how I can possible be 100% or even 1% of the cause of my complaint.

If you say you are coming to work at my house, you come to work at my house. If you have other jobs you are working don't say you are coming to my house. Give a realistic range instead of a specific day if there is any question.

An entire week was lost to the insulation installation. The drywall could not start until the insulation was installed and inspected. The insulation sub contractor promised a date they new the general contractor wanted to hear but knew there was no way they were going to meet. Instead of giving a real date that could be planned around they kept lying.

And what I’ve found they do is skip out on your job to go start another b/c they get the down payment $.

I know it’s kind of a joke around these boards, but, perhaps, this really is regional. I think we are both in the south. Maybe it’s worse down here for things like this.

 

[ronandannette]

And what I’ve found they do is skip out on your job to go start another b/c they get the down payment $.

I guess none of you have ever heard of customers that refuse to pay contractors for arbitrary reasons, leaving the contractors with very little recourse on contracts that are payment on completion.

 

[LSUmiss]

I have the same job in the same office everyday, not the same.

I know there are some subcontractors and contractors that don’t care, just don’t show up, or whatever. If your’s are REALLY just slacking off, tell the contractor to get another one. But the vast majority are professionals who do their jobs and do it well every time. Client satisfaction and word of mouth is what keeps them in business.

But don’t assume anything. Find out why.

And I am sure they do take travel time into consideration. But just like one patient taking extra time can throw off the entire day of appointments for a doctor, one client or job taking extra time can throw off their days too. They can’t say ahead of time when there will be problems on a job. And these subcontractors have people working for them too. So you have you to the contractor to the sub contractor to the employee. Wires get crossed. Their employee isn’t dependable. The truck broke down. The last job took 2 extra days. Someone got sick. There are a ton of things that will throw off their schedule. They aren’t out to get you, I promise.

Ok I’ll give you all of that (maybe), but then why do so often they not even return your call or text to tell you about a change bUt rather just don’t show up. That’s unprofessional & probably what gives them such a bad rep.

 

[LSUmiss]

I guess none of you have ever heard of customers that refuse to pay contractors for arbitrary reasons, leaving the contractors with very little recourse on contracts that are payment on completion.

Or more commonly contractors who take homeowners $$ & never complete job, take forever to complete it, or not complete it correctly leaving the homeowner with very little recourse. Around here, if contractors get sued & are made to pay, they often just file bankruptcy & close the “business” just to open up a later under a different name. So the homeowner never gets what is owed them. My dad worked in millwork sales for 30 years & contractors were notoriously & consistently untrustworthy as far as paying for materials & if sued would just close up & reopen.

 

[ronandannette]

Or more commonly contractors who take homeowners $$ & never complete job, take forever to complete it, or not complete it correctly leaving the homeowner with very little recourse. Around here, if contractors get sued & are made to pay, they often just file bankruptcy & close the “business” just to open up a later under a different name. So the homeowner never gets what is owed them. My dad worked in millwork sales for 30 years & contractors were notoriously & consistently untrustworthy as far as paying for materials & if sued would just close up & reopen.

You have absolutely no way to assert that as truth, just because you're not aware of all the instances where it goes the other way. Your anecdotal impressions don't constitute statistics.

 

[dish rag]

If the average person only knew how some home owners can be. Will do or say anything to get something for nothing. Will even use blackmail for a bad review unless they are give what they want.

 

[kdonnel]

I think the title of the thread is an unfair generalization.

It is always the horrible few that ruin it for everyone else.

Thus far I have had a heating and air sub contractor, framing sub contractor, electrical sub contractor, plumbing sub contractor, drywall sub contractor, and tile subcontractor who came and worked the day promised.

Then there is the insulation sub contractor and the trim sub contractor. Each were at least one week late giving dates they knew they were not going to meet.

Who do I remember?

The insulation and trim sub contractors.

Those two weeks of lies more then outweigh any good faith earned by the six trades that came when they said they would. I can't give them that much credit because all they really did was do their job by coming when they said they would come. They did not go above and beyond in anyway.

 

[ronandannette]

It is always the horrible few that ruin it for everyone else.
Thus far I have had a heating and air sub contractor, framing sub contractor, electrical sub contractor, plumbing sub contractor, drywall sub contractor, and tile subcontractor who came and worked the day promised.
Then there is the insulation sub contractor and the trim sub contractor. Each were at least one week late giving dates they knew they were not going to meet.
Who do I remember? The insulation and trim sub contractors.
Those two weeks of lies more then outweigh any good faith earned by the six trades that came when they said they would. I can't give them that much credit because all they really did was do their job by coming when they said they would come. They did not go above and beyond in anyway.

What more did you expect? I find the comment itself a little confusing. If I said something similar on a tipping thread I'd get flamed.

 

[Floridaman999]

6 to 2 seems like a pretty good average into the positive category if you ask me.

 

[kdonnel]

What more did you expect? I find the comment itself a little confusing. If I said something similar on a tipping thread I'd get flamed.

I expect people to come when they say they are coming.

If I came to work only 3/4 of the time is that good? Why is that considered good for tradespeople?

75% = A?

Those 25% taint the other 75% and make the process of dealing with contractors and tradespeople annoying as I said in the title.

Edited to fix my math.

 

[ronandannette]

I expect people to come when they say they are coming.

If I came to work only 3/4 of the time is that good? Why is that considered good for tradespeople?

75% = A?

Edited to fix my math.

And 3/4 of them did, right? And by your description did quality work for the price you agreed. So what other "above and beyond" type of performance do you think you deserved?

 

[kdonnel]

And 3/4 of them did, right?

Let's look at it in terms of days I have been lied to versus days I have been told the truth about when work would occur:

Days lied to: 10
Days told the truth: 6

I can't believe anyone would argue that I should not expect better or that being lied to so often is not annoying.

If your kids lied to you 62.5% of the time how would you feel?

 

[PollyannaMom]

Those two weeks of lies more then outweigh any good faith earned by the six trades that came when they said they would.

I totally get your frustration with the length of the job (have one of my own that's not quiiiiiiiiiiiite finished) but that statement simply isn't fair.

You have every right to be mad at the two who actually did something wrong! But it's not OK to let their brush paint the other six. - That'd be like saying my kid had two teachers who were late giving back homework, so I hate working with all teachers.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

What happened to people remodeling themselves? You can learn a lot for YouTube these days. I'd starve to death as a contractor because I'm so slow, but owning a home as forced me to develop all kinds of new skills!

 

[kdonnel]

That's simply not fair.

How can I not let being lied to 62.5% of the time taint how I view each sub contractor when they are giving me a date?

 

[Christine]

If the average person only knew how some home owners can be. Will do or say anything to get something for nothing. Will even use blackmail for a bad review unless they are give what they want.

My husband is a master electrician and his full-time job is through a company that only does commercial work.

Many years ago, when the kids were young and we had a lot of expenses, he did some forays into "side jobs" to earn some cash. My DH was always reliable, there when he said it would be, and always completed the work quickly. However, he ended up just stopping because the homeowners were driving him nuts. Always wanted a little extra "for free", always whining that the couldn't believe they had to pay whatever price for a ceiling fan install; nevermind that he was in an over 100 degree attic doing it, and so on. Just unbelievably pains in the butt.

 

[kdonnel]

What happened to people remodeling themselves? You can learn a lot for YouTube these days. I'd starve to death as a contractor because I'm so slow, but owning a home as forced me to develop all kinds of new skills!

I am having 1219 sqft finished for my in laws. If I did all the work myself they might be dead before I was done! Is that a positive? Maybe? The jury is still out on if them living in the basement is a good idea or not!

 

[PollyannaMom]

How can I not let being lied to 62.5% of the time taint how I view each sub contractor when they are giving me a date?

I see 2 people who lied and 6 people who told the truth. To me, that's a 25% rate of liars. (We're judging actual people here. - If you want to switch to days, you have to account for the length of all the good jobs too. They didn't just show up on time the first day, they showed up every day.)

Like I said, I get your frustration with how long the job is taking. (I actually added that to my other post as well, but I think I was editing while you were answering.)

And I believe you that some contractors are either lying or messing up. I just can't help looking at it as trying not to be prejudiced.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

I am having 1219 sqft finished for my in laws. If I did all the work myself they might be dead before I was done! Is that a positive? Maybe? The jury is still out on if them living in the basement is a good idea or not!

You might want to thank the contractors for the delays, in that case! My grandparents actually finished out their basement for my aunt and cousins to live in after her divorce. My dad and uncle helped, but it took a few months to complete.

 

[luvsJack]

Ok I’ll give you all of that (maybe), but then why do so often they not even return your call or text to tell you about a change bUt rather just don’t show up. That’s unprofessional & probably what gives them such a bad rep.

That I can’t answer. I don’t know. I do know that if we have someone that doesn’t show or it looks like they aren’t going to, dh will call them. We never had an issue with them not returning the call. It may be late as they were busy but they would call and say sorry and what the problem was.

Of course there are always the shady ones. We probably both know of that experience from after Katrina. But the vast majority are honest hard working folks that know their job and do it well.