WWYD - Shady things happened with workers while roofing

[Snowflakey]

Need some words from my wise DIS friends - my DD had her roof redone, shingled. Holy moly is that expensive to do! Hired a local company with good reviews. Owner came out, gave estimate, scheduled the date and all was good.

Day of the work to be done, a van pulls in from ANOTHER state with about 8 workers in it, all but one could speak English. This was a two day job. Just after lunch on the first day, DD hears a knock at her door. She answered and the guy just stood there, then she heard another guy on the roof say "can he use your bathroom". I know she shouldn't have but she was taken off guard and was trying to hold back her dog who was barking and just said ok and walked him to where it was. She was putting her dog in another room and when she went to walk to the kitchen she passed the bathroom and the guy DIDN"T CLOSE THE DOOR and was "sitting" on the toilet using it. DD was mortified. He was done, she told him to leave out another door and then she had to walk out as the smell was awful. Three others later asked to use her bathroom after that. And no, the company didn't have a port-o-let for them to use.

Next morning - my husband was there the because DD was freaked out. They got done around 1pm and was picking up the last of their stuff and my husband left. Well, out comes a big sack (think santa clause bag) and they all started filling it up with the apples from her trees - she has an apple/pear/cherry orchard.

I know you want to say to me why didn't she say anything but she was scared. They didn't do anything when her father was there, didn't even ask to use her bathroom, but as soon as he drove away look what they did.

We have the owner coming this week to "talk" and I looking for some good talking points to bring up. She wasn't harassed but what she experience and saw for that matter has got her anxiety up..... bad! In fact, FedEx came last week and knocked on her door and she wouldn't get it.

We are going to be professional but I want to get the point across that the events that happened are inexcusable and its obvious they were taking advantage of her while she was alone....

 

[1GoldenSun]

Ugh. No advice to offer, but when I was a very young woman living alone in a rental home the owner was having some work done to the exterior of the home that took several days. I said hello to the workers when they first arrived and told them just to knock if they needed to use the bathroom or wanted some water or something. One of them looked shocked and told me not to ever invite (or allow) workers into my home unless what they needed to repair was inside. He said that no professional construction/maintenance-type worker would ever use a homeowner or tenant's bathroom. I always remembered that.

 

[HeatherC]

Sounds like they should not have done any of that, but she probably should have asked them to leave as soon as she felt uncomfortable and called the owner. If they finished the roof and it was done correctly, there is not much to do at this point.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Your daughter has my sympathies - this does not shock me in the least, I have had countless awful experiences with workmen to the point that now I will ask other people to be around the whole time just to prevent the aggression. They do stuff with females they would never ever do with another male around, some dudes will act totally different in the presence of another male, which says alot about how they are in their personal lives. Yes, I know it shouldn't be this way but it is this way, happened recently with HVAC mansplaining the most idiotic reasoning in the world, couldn't wait to kick him out - no sale, begone loser.

I would pay more for female only staff who did the same level work just to avoid this weird behavior.

Don't even get me started on dealing with car salesmen or mechanics, it is maddening,

 

[TwoMisfits]

Her contract for the roof probably stated if she needed to let the contractors use the bathroom or use a port-o-pot that she provided...so if she hasn't read her contract to make sure that term wasn't in there (and it's common for multi-day jobs), I'd let it go.

As for the fruit, that was out of bounds, even if she could have stopped them. I would mention that directly to the contractor, in hopes he would provide a discount worth the value of the fruit. Something along the lines of "this was not activity covered in the contract and your personnel should not have removed that property for their own use, so my daughter would like compensation for the out-of-contract action").

 

[kymom99]

I would let him know about the behavior you found unacceptable. I wouldn’t expect compensation but I would want him to know it happened. We had a roof replaced and the owner stayed there the whole time. They should not have asked to enter your house. They should have driven to a gas station.

I don’t think the workers not speaking English is an indication of the behavior expected. We have found workers of all ethnicities to be very hard working.

 

[Snowflakey]

Her contract for the roof probably stated if she needed to let the contractors use the bathroom or use a port-o-pot that she provided...so if she hasn't read her contract to make sure that term wasn't in there (and it's common for multi-day jobs), I'd let it go.

As for the fruit, that was out of bounds, even if she could have stopped them. I would mention that directly to the contractor, in hopes he would provide a discount worth the value of the fruit. Something along the lines of "this was not activity covered in the contract and your personnel should not have removed that property for their own use, so my daughter would like compensation for the out-of-contract action").

The contract had no mention about needing to let the contractors use her bathroom. Plus, I've never heard of something like that even being in a contract. They needed to provide proper facilities.

I have several years of handling insurance claims and made sure DD and her husband along with myself and DH read the contact together beforehand.

 

[Minnesota!]

The only weird thing with the bathroom, to me, is the open door. Maybe he REALLY had to go and couldn't hold it till he got to a gas station. And then when they all saw that she let him in, they figured they could go, too.

The fruit - kind of ballsy, but again - wouldn't warrant me getting too upset about.

 

[Snowflakey]

I would let him know about the behavior you found unacceptable. I wouldn’t expect compensation but I would want him to know it happened. We had a roof replaced and the owner stayed there the whole time. They should not have asked to enter your house. They should have driven to a gas station.

I don’t think the workers not speaking English is an indication of the behavior expected. We have found workers of all ethnicities to be very hard working.

Never did I mention because they didn't speak English this was why she had issues....

 

[Snowflakey]

The only weird thing with the bathroom, to me, is the open door. Maybe he REALLY had to go and couldn't hold it till he got to a gas station. And then when they all saw that she let him in, they figured they could go, too.

The fruit - kind of ballsy, but again - wouldn't warrant me getting too upset about.

Hi Minnesota - guess we have totally different ways of looking at what happened.

That would be the day I'd allow someone to sit bare butt in my bathroom, and let me see EVERYTHING as I walked by stinking it up like he did. No way. Maybe it's because I'm older and have more life experience but that is crossing the line.

You wouldn't get upset about stealing the apples/pears? But what if it was a laptop, or a diamond ring that was sitting in the bathroom? You'd be fine with that? Stealing is stealing in my book.

 

[Snowflakey]

Sounds like they should not have done any of that, but she probably should have asked them to leave as soon as she felt uncomfortable and called the owner. If they finished the roof and it was done correctly, there is not much to do at this point.

She called the owner immediately. Or should I say the office - girl who answered said she'd get the message to him. He never called.

Both DD and her husband has called every day for 12 days with no return call. Finally today he called and set up a time to meet.

 

[TCRAIG]

I would definitely tell the owner what happened - if I was the owner I’d want to know if my team acted unprofessionally..

 

[TwoMisfits]

The contract had no mention about needing to let the contractors use her bathroom. Plus, I've never heard of something like that even being in a contract. They needed to provide proper facilities.

I have several years of handling insurance claims and made sure DD and her husband along with myself and DH read the contact together beforehand.

In my area, the bathrooms thing is a norm in contracts (it's part of all the standard clauses you get before you even talk work) - you provide access or they bring a port o pot and charge you (I'm shocked it's not the norm elsewhere for jobs that are all day over multiple days). You can't get work done on a house without allowing it, since we don't tend to have places where you can just "run and go."

Again, I'd let that go - normal human kindness if nothing else.

But the fruit was a dick move...

 

[prairie_girl]

Hi Minnesota - guess we have totally different ways of looking at what happened.

That would be the day I'd allow someone to sit bare butt in my bathroom, and let me see EVERYTHING as I walked by stinking it up like he did. No way. Maybe it's because I'm older and have more life experience but that is crossing the line.

You wouldn't get upset about stealing the apples/pears? But what if it was a laptop, or a diamond ring that was sitting in the bathroom? You'd be fine with that? Stealing is stealing in my book.

Yes, because a laptop is the same as a pear.

 

[Snowflakey]

In my area, the bathrooms thing is a norm in contracts (it's part of all the standard clauses you get before you even talk work) - you provide access or they bring a port o pot and charge you (I'm shocked it's not the norm elsewhere for jobs that are all day over multiple days). You can't get work done on a house without allowing it, since we don't tend to have places where you can just "run and go."

Again, I'd let that go - normal human kindness if nothing else.

But the fruit was a dick move...

Yea not the norm here. My DH has worked construction for 30 years and never, ever did he ask to use the homeowners bathroom.

DD won't let it go. She isn't asking for anything from this company but will express how unhappy she is. The fact they only pulled this crap while she was alone in the house says lots......

 

[Kennywood]

Uh.....taking ANYTHING, whether or not it be fruit from trees, from private property is called THEFT. Personally, I would file a police report. IF the owner shows up (which I doubt he will, since the job is done and he's been paid), I would tell him what his guys did and that a police report was filed. Then a report to the BBB should be filed.

As much as I would love to recommend doing so, do NOT post what happened on social media. As there is most likely no evidence of the theft, posting what happened could lead to the company filing slander charges.

 

[Snowflakey]

Uh.....taking ANYTHING, whether or not it be fruit from trees, from private property is called THEFT. Personally, I would file a police report. IF the owner shows up (which I doubt he will, since the job is done and he's been paid), I would tell him what his guys did and that a police report was filed. Then a report to the BBB should be filed.

As much as I would love to recommend doing so, do NOT post what happened on social media. As there is most likely no evidence of the theft, posting what happened could lead to the company filing slander charges.

Thank you Kennywood. My DD would never post anything on social media. I think the last time she posted something was about 8 years ago - ha.

They haven't yet been paid so the owner I'm sure will hold to his appointment date.

 

[Snowflakey]

Uh.....taking ANYTHING, whether or not it be fruit from trees, from private property is called THEFT. Personally, I would file a police report. IF the owner shows up (which I doubt he will, since the job is done and he's been paid), I would tell him what his guys did and that a police report was filed. Then a report to the BBB should be filed.

As much as I would love to recommend doing so, do NOT post what happened on social media. As there is most likely no evidence of the theft, posting what happened could lead to the company filing slander charges.

My DD has photos of them with the bag full of apples.

 

[easyas123]

I'll give my 2 cents as a female working in the construction (albeit not residential) industry. I'm a plain speaker, so please don't mistake my verbiage for scolding, rather it's just a unemotional opinion as I see the situation as you have told it.

We have the owner coming this week to "talk" and I looking for some good talking points to bring up. She wasn't harassed but what she experience and saw for that matter has got her anxiety up..... bad! In fact, FedEx came last week and knocked on her door and she wouldn't get it.

We are going to be professional but

Respectfully, your use of "we" is possibly a small part of the issue. There should be no "we". Your daughter and her husband are grown adults who own a house and got their roof fixed. They should handle it. No one is going to respect a fully grown married couple having Mommy & Daddy go to bat for them. And no young couple will learn how to manage their own lives if someone else does it for them. Yes, parents can be a storehouse of invaluable knowledge and experiences, but all this "we" stuff is not necessary. Honestly...consider that the fact that they called for 12 days leaving many messages is likely a small part of the issue. One or two messages should be sufficient. THEY HAVE HIS $$$, if he wants it he will return their call. They have him by the short & curlies here and no amount of complaining will get the Owner to call them back to come to a face to face meeting and genuinely apologize. Him or Her wanting their money will. They might think he did, but in fact what he did was tell them (or worse, you & your husband if you are there ) what you want to hear, get his check and leave. If she can't open the door for the FEDEX guy cause some used her bathroom w/o closing the door and or because they swiped some of her apples and she didn't call them on it there and then, well I'd say her issue isn't really someone using her bathroom w/o closing the door or someone swiping her apples. Look - I'm a Mother and my young adult son just bought his first home. Did we help, did we offer our opinion, yes we did. We hand held when asked, but we also stepped back and let go of their hands so they could do it themselves - let them go thru the process and learn, including having contractors come out to do a few things.

The contract had no mention about needing to let the contractors use her bathroom. Plus, I've never heard of something like that even being in a contract. They needed to provide proper facilities.

Yeah, that's a new one to me. We have folks come onto our farm for a few days each year to do some crop specific work and we always get a port a potty for them.

I would definitely tell the owner what happened - if I was the owner I’d want to know if my team acted unprofessionally..

Most of us would, but OP's daughter should consider the cold fact that the owner of the Company may not have any employees, he could very well sub out each job. You never know. Obviously it's not always the case, but it is always possible. Plus - many of our employees have vehicles with different state tags on them. It's not my job to police what state they have their vehicle tagged in, and I don't think to much about it. It's not a entirely out of the norm situation.

DD won't let it go. She isn't asking for anything from this company but will express how unhappy she is. The fact they only pulled this crap while she was alone in the house says lots......

She's going to have to let it go. It's minor in the grand scheme of life, and probably minor in the grand scheme of major home improvements. Going forward, if she didn't do so when having her roof replaced she should have asked for a current copy of the Contractors Insurance indicating work comp in her state, and gone out to see if the roofers were tied off. She should have asked the guys who they worked for/proof they worked for the roofer if she wondered who they were. If she was uncomfortable she could have told them to stop and called the roofer right then and there.

This is a excellent opportunity for your daughter to learn how to express herself and her needs to someone she contracted with and paid to do work for her, and a good lesson in what to do in the future prior to getting to this point in a situation.

 

[Kennywood]

My DD has photos of them with the bag full of apples.

She could mention to the owner that she wanted to talk with him in person before filing a police report. It would be interesting to see what he says and does then.