Just don't understand the way things are today

[jbmaine]

Hi all,

 So, we are looking to have some work done on the house. We were looking at a local contractor, good rep, thirty years experience , that sort of thing. I gave him a call, had a good conversation, picked a time for him to stop by, talk about the job.

 Well, the time comes, and he doesn't show up. I called, got his voice mail, said good morning, gave my name, said Hey. we were supposed to meet, did something come up? Give me a call.

 This was yesterday morning, never did here back from him. 

 Was talking to my wife about it and realized I was not too surprised. Seems the way things are today, people saying what they mean, and meaning what they say is more the exception than the rule. Have medical tests done, am told they will call with the results, they never do, you have to bug them to get answers, order something, am told it will be here on X date, it never is, so on and so on. 

 Guess it kinda snuck up on me, but I realize that the way things are to day, having someone actually do what they say they are going do is what surprises me. When did this happen?

[Mobasser]

1 hour ago, jbmaine said:

Hi all,

 So, we are looking to have some work done on the house. We were looking at a local contractor, good rep, thirty years experience , that sort of thing. I gave him a call, had a good conversation, picked a time for him to stop by, talk about the job.

 Well, the time comes, and he doesn't show up. I called, got his voice mail, said good morning, gave my name, said Hey. we were supposed to meet, did something come up? Give me a call.

 This was yesterday morning, never did here back from him. 

 Was talking to my wife about it and realized I was not too surprised. Seems the way things are today, people saying what they mean, and meaning what they say is more the exception than the rule. Have medical tests done, am told they will call with the results, they never do, you have to bug them to get answers, order something, am told it will be here on X date, it never is, so on and so on. 

 Guess it kinda snuck up on me, but I realize that the way things are to day, having someone actually do what they say they are going do is what surprises me. When did this happen?

I'm with you here.Im.not sure when this happened either but seems pretty common these dsys. People don't seem to follow through like they should. It's frustrating to always have to call someone back and follow up on things. You would assume that the contractor wanted and needed this job? This is business for him. Too much irresponsibility these days. Sad but true

[TnRiver46]

I have dreams sometimes that i forgot to call a customer back and check my phone in a cold sweat. Just this morning i had two missed calls on my work phone and frantically called them back before i realized the area codes were both 888 and there were recordings on the other end. You wont get lousy service from me if i can help it. 

[Mobasser]

2 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I have dreams sometimes that i forgot to call a customer back and check my phone in a cold sweat. Just this morning i had two missed calls on my work phone and frantically called them back before i realized the area codes were both 888 and there were recordings on the other end. You wont get lousy service from me if i can help it. 

Truth! Probably the #1 problem with contractors. If you can't make the appointment, give them.a quick call and let them know. Almost everyone understands and will work with you. I was waiting for a call from a roofer yesterday. He was supposed to call me at 10 o clock. He never called, nor answered his phone when I tried to call him back 2 times. Sorry bud, your done. I'll give the job to another crew who can call back and wants to.work. Don't have time for that nonsense.

[A-Jay]

Boils down to self respect.

Either you have it or you don't.

A person's reputation & character are defined by actions not words.

There was a time not too long ago when people said a lot less but did a whole lot more - with much less I might add.

The more people I meet, the more I like my dogs.

A-Jay

[Mobasser]

5 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Boils down to self respect.

Either you have it or you don't.

A person's reputation & character are defined by actions not words.

There was a time not too long ago when people said a lot less but did a whole lot more - with much less I might add.

The more people I meet, the more I like my dogs.

A-Jay

AJay, I love my dogs for that very reason! 

[deaknh03]

I'm a contractor and I hear it a lot from customers when I show up on time, when we agreed upon. I actually get jobs because it impresses people. Good for me but not a good commentary on the state of what's going on. 

[Mobasser]

This was actually the second time on this roofing job. I called one guy who stopped by and measured, then called the next morning with his estimate. Then nothing! No call, no show for one week. It's getting colder, raining more, and snow around the corner. I need to get this roof on! It's a smaller quick job for a roofing crew. If I was younger, I'd do it myself. I'm shaking my head everyday anymore....

[Mobasser]

At 62, the older I get, the more I long for the old days, when people actually did what they promised, we're courteous to others, and treated people with respect. This is the way it should always be, but sadly isn't that way now. My wife says I have an old fashioned outlook on life, myself, I think I'm just getting a little crusty with time....

[12poundbass]

One of my coworkers is in the planning stages of building a house. He’s been calling excavators to get a quote for basement and septic work for the spring. After calling a ton of excavators he finally got 4 quotes. The prices are high, but are all within a grand of each other. One of the excavators told him “things are so busy right now, most are booked a year out, they can set their own prices, and pick and choose the jobs they want to do.

 

Construction has been absolutely crazy here for the last three years, good for the contractors but bad for the consumers. The way they’re all doing things now could bite them in the hind quarters when the economy slows down and they’ve developed a reputation of poor customer service. 

[Mobasser]

6 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

One of my coworkers is in the planning stages of building a house. He’s been calling excavators to get a quote for basement and septic work for the spring. After calling a ton of excavators he finally got 4 quotes. The prices are high, but are all within a grand of each other. One of the excavators told him “things are so busy right now, most are booked a year out, they can set their own prices, and pick and choose the jobs they want to do.

 

Construction has been absolutely crazy here for the last three years, good for the contractors but bad for the consumers. The way they’re all doing things now could bite them in the hind quarters when the economy slows down and they’ve developed a reputation of poor customer service. 

Very good point. Right now, all these guys have more work than they can handle, but it will slow down for them at some point. They'll all be wishing they had followed through with good customer service then

[slonezp]

6 hours ago, 12poundbass said:

One of my coworkers is in the planning stages of building a house. He’s been calling excavators to get a quote for basement and septic work for the spring. After calling a ton of excavators he finally got 4 quotes. The prices are high, but are all within a grand of each other. One of the excavators told him “things are so busy right now, most are booked a year out, they can set their own prices, and pick and choose the jobs they want to do.

 

Construction has been absolutely crazy here for the last three years, good for the contractors but bad for the consumers. The way they’re all doing things now could bite them in the hind quarters when the economy slows down and they’ve developed a reputation of poor customer service. 

My trade has guys working 7 days a week just to avoid losing customers. Tons of work available and not enough manpower  to do it.

[Darren.]

Have experienced this several times over the past 10 years

with getting some woodwork done on some stairs. People...

even friends who are woodworkers... say "yeah, I'll stop by

tomorrow and give you an estimate" and _never_ show up.

 

Then there's avoidance. When you see them out n' about and

they slip out quickly to avoid. Or at least it seems that way.

 

Frustrating. Ended up just doing the work myself after years 

of waiting. But without the customization I was hoping for.

[DanielG]

I'm not sure it's a recent thing. It may be worse these days but I can go back years with relative having work done and contractors taking four hour lunch breaks, not showing up but every other day, not showing up for estimates when you've taken a day off to be there. And the doing most of the job but willing to take a hit on the last of what you owe them by not showing up to finish the details at the end. Seems it's been going on for a long time.

[Way north bass guy]

As someone that’s self employed in construction, I see this all the time. I’m a stonemason and also certified wood stove and steel chimney installer, which is a bit specialized, and I can’t hardly keep up with calls this time of year. I already have over two months of outdoor stonework lined up for next spring ( can’t do masonry work outside below freezing), and the phone just keeps ringing. Even though I’m ridiculously busy, I always will call the person back by the end of the day, and most times I get a “ wow, you actually called”, and that pretty much guarantees the job alone. I get that it’s frustrating for people that can’t seem to get a call back, even if I can’t feasibly get there to help them in time, I will at least make sure they’ve heard from me. 
I will say that on the other side of things, it’s absolutely amazing the number of people that call for something like a wood stove to be installed, and say” it’s getting pretty cool, we sure would like it done this week”, and it’s mid October when they call me. It’s as if they figure that we’re just sitting around twiddling our fingers waiting for them to call us, when in reality it’s the busiest times of year for us and now they’re 2-3 months away from getting anything done. 

[deaknh03]

1 hour ago, Way north bass guy said:

As someone that’s self employed in construction, I see this all the time. I’m a stonemason and also certified wood stove and steel chimney installer, which is a bit specialized, and I can’t hardly keep up with calls this time of year. I already have over two months of outdoor stonework lined up for next spring ( can’t do masonry work outside below freezing), and the phone just keeps ringing. Even though I’m ridiculously busy, I always will call the person back by the end of the day, and most times I get a “ wow, you actually called”, and that pretty much guarantees the job alone. I get that it’s frustrating for people that can’t seem to get a call back, even if I can’t feasibly get there to help them in time, I will at least make sure they’ve heard from me. 
I will say that on the other side of things, it’s absolutely amazing the number of people that call for something like a wood stove to be installed, and say” it’s getting pretty cool, we sure would like it done this week”, and it’s mid October when they call me. It’s as if they figure that we’re just sitting around twiddling our fingers waiting for them to call us, when in reality it’s the busiest times of year for us and now they’re 2-3 months away from getting anything done. 

Agreed, most customers are unrealistic as far as time tables. They want it done that week or next week...I usually tell them, any good contractor is booked out much farther than that. Side note, I was a masons tender for a couple years way back, we worked thru the winter, he would set up a tarp structure and blast a torpedo heater. Those bricks got hot.

[Way north bass guy]

28 minutes ago, deaknh03 said:

Agreed, most customers are unrealistic as far as time tables. They want it done that week or next week...I usually tell them, any good contractor is booked out much farther than that. Side note, I was a masons tender for a couple years way back, we worked thru the winter, he would set up a tarp structure and blast a torpedo heater. Those bricks got hot.

I do some stuff outside under tarps, but that’s usually stone walls on houses etc. It’s the chimney repairs and flagstone patio work that’s hard to do mostly. Tough to tarp something on a roof when it’s windy all the time, and to tarp and heat an area large enough to work on an outside patio just ends up being a money losing situation, better to wait till spring when it’s warm ( and buggy ?).

[Hammer 4]

2 hours ago, Way north bass guy said:

As someone that’s self employed in construction, I see this all the time. I’m a stonemason and also certified wood stove and steel chimney installer, which is a bit specialized, and I can’t hardly keep up with calls this time of year. I already have over two months of outdoor stonework lined up for next spring ( can’t do masonry work outside below freezing), and the phone just keeps ringing. Even though I’m ridiculously busy, I always will call the person back by the end of the day, and most times I get a “ wow, you actually called”, and that pretty much guarantees the job alone. I get that it’s frustrating for people that can’t seem to get a call back, even if I can’t feasibly get there to help them in time, I will at least make sure they’ve heard from me. 
I will say that on the other side of things, it’s absolutely amazing the number of people that call for something like a wood stove to be installed, and say” it’s getting pretty cool, we sure would like it done this week”, and it’s mid October when they call me. It’s as if they figure that we’re just sitting around twiddling our fingers waiting for them to call us, when in reality it’s the busiest times of year for us and now they’re 2-3 months away from getting anything done. 

 

When I was working as a G.C...I did this very same thing. One year I bet I turned down 1/4 Million in work. I would even try and refer some folks to friends that were contractors. All this type of stuff is keeping folks happy, and setting up work in the future, as people remember that you took the time to make a call back, at least it did for me.

 

All this about tradesmen not calling or showing up has been going on for years, it seems it's getting worse. And don't even get me started on the No shows..both re: helpers, and customers.  

[12poundbass]

Another thing to think about is the economy is so good right now that everybody and their brother is a builder, HVAC contractor, landscaper, and so on and so on. They’re probably the main reason you hear customers not get call backs. The economy tanks and these guys who flooded these markets go bye bye and the good true contractors survive and carry on. 

[TheRodFather]

As someone who relocated and started a totally different career path as a Service Plumber, I can tell you that a lot of times calls come in that take higher priority over previous calls that are already booked.  Maybe a family is without water, or without a downstairs toilet and seniors living on the first floor.

 

Is it wrong to get to that call first, over the estimate for a bathroom reno on a third bathroom......?   And, at the end of the day, some calls are worth more in revenue than others.  Hate to say it, but if I have a customer with a leaking water heater vs a customer with a dripping outside hose faucet, I'm going to the heater call.  The job of the Dispatcher is to triage the calls based on customer need and rev potential for the company.  That's just business.

 

It takes over 250k to keep a truck and Plumber on the road, including all the overhead, etc, so they can be out there helping people, and have a decent wage and benefits.  And people say no to my quotes all the time, 30% of the time to be exact.  If some aren't saying no, your prices are too low.  Running that call that a customer says no to costs money too.

 

But the same people that need our help, seem to think that everything ought to cost 20 bucks and get done at 4:30 on a Friday night.  Cheap contractors can undercut prices of legit licenced companies so badly that a large portion of the population will say no to my prices because they don't care about quality work.  And then when the guy walks off the job and leaves a room full of brand new tools in the bathroom that they bid but didn't complete, or the water heater bursts and floods the house.  I have to go hand them a quote to do it right, AND they paid out to the jackleg too.

 

I have a family too, and I want to see my kids games and enjoy my time on earth just like anyone else.  Not calling back is wrong, no doubt.  You get what you pay for though, and if your looking for rock bottom prices, you will almost always get rock bottom service.  

 

Just sayin.

[OCdockskipper]

I have been in construction since 1985, first as an office employee scheduling installations and for the last 22 years, as a C7 low voltage contractor.  While the problems caused by contractors have been similar over time, their causes are different.

 

In the 80's & 90's, communications with people in the field was difficult.  The only phones were landlines and if you couldn't reach a person at an expected location, you had no idea where they were or what was happening.  A legitimate reason for a missed appointment didn't really matter because it took hours upon hours to find out why and relay it to the customer (much less advise them before hand).

 

The problem today is that many contractors rely too much on their cell phones and are basically on call 24/7.  Instead of having a central location where all phone calls are logged and a customer knows they can call & talk to a human being, guys try to run their business out of their pocket.  It doesn't work, you forget to return calls and there is no mechanism to remind you.

 

When customers call our office and ask for my cell number, we don't give it out.  We politely explain that we consider it inappropriate to be working at one customers home and be on the phone discussing things with another customer.  If there is something that needs a decision right away, the office will text me.  A majority of people understand & appreciate this, knowing that when we are working at their home, they will be our entire focus.  A small percentage have an issue with this, but not surprising, they are also the ones who will call at 9:00 in the evening saying they would like me to "stop by" the following morning.  These folks are also the ones who are the slowest to pay.

 

Many contractors came up through a trade, learning the hands on portion but not the steps involved in running a business.  They forget that the skills they have in the trade are of no use if their business is being run into the ground by bad customer relations.

[TheRodFather]

The company I work for runs a business model where the first call of the day is the only one that confirms an arrival time.  I get to that call, and do whatever I can do to make that customer happy, if I can sell the work and do it on the spot I do.  If I have to push it off and reschedule the repair, I do.

 

For all the other calls, the customer is told to go about their day, and we will call them when a tech is available, giving them time to get back home if they are out or whatever.  It seemed weird at first, but the idea is that we devote ourselves to the customer we are at, and are not rushing through to get to the next call.  Most companies give the techs 6-10 calls and the customers get a time window of when we will be there.  The way we do it there is no pressure to get in and get out.  Better care for the customers in my opinion.

 

Customers generally do not have my number, some do, and I will answer if I am not directly in front of another customer.  Everything is coordinated through the dispatcher as far as scheduling though.

[Harold Scoggins]

A few tools and YouTube how-to videos...Fight Back!

[slonezp]

On 10/27/2019 at 6:55 PM, TheRodFather said:

The company I work for runs a business model where the first call of the day is the only one that confirms an arrival time.  I get to that call, and do whatever I can do to make that customer happy, if I can sell the work and do it on the spot I do.  If I have to push it off and reschedule the repair, I do.

 

For all the other calls, the customer is told to go about their day, and we will call them when a tech is available, giving them time to get back home if they are out or whatever.  It seemed weird at first, but the idea is that we devote ourselves to the customer we are at, and are not rushing through to get to the next call.  Most companies give the techs 6-10 calls and the customers get a time window of when we will be there.  The way we do it there is no pressure to get in and get out.  Better care for the customers in my opinion.

 

Customers generally do not have my number, some do, and I will answer if I am not directly in front of another customer.  Everything is coordinated through the dispatcher as far as scheduling though.

Realistically, this is a good business plan for a service trade in general. When loss of money/business, to your customers is involved, things should be prioritized thru your dispatcher. Customers that spend a lot of money and pay their bills on time, should get priority. After that, priority should be specific to your trade. I was a journeyman commercial hvac/r mechanic before an injury knocked me out of the trade. Once we take care of our bread and butter customers, customer financial loss took precedence over comfort. A refrigerated warehouse takes precedence over a restaurant. An ice rink takes precedence over an office. Process/manufacturing takes precedence over all the above, but this goes back to the bread and butter customers. Customers who rely on their equipment to make money, are the first ones to spend the money when the equipment goes down.

[Koz]

You want to talk about bad contractors? I'm a hotel General Manager and my new Marriott was supposed to open at the end of July. As of this morning our target open date is January 15th and we're not even close to getting a CO yet. We were supposed to be breaking ground on a second Marriott property right next door in November and by early summer I was supposed to be running the second property as well.

 

The more delays we have the more the subs are wrecking the hotel. Yesterday I found 62 new doors that need to be replaced and 14 rooms that need to be re-carpeted. Wall damage, furniture damage, and fixture damage is unbelievable. Every day we find even more issues. It feels like we'll never open.