Re: Contractor no-show

Posted by Pops1532 on April 15, 2014 at 09:49:23 from (98.227.133.60):

In Reply to: Contractor no-show posted by da.bees on April 15, 2014 at 08:13:16:

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My family has been in the construction business since 1946. The focus of the business has changed over the years. Since I took over in '99 we've concentrated on remodeling. Dad was more interested in new construction.

Since '99 I'd say I haven't done more than 3 or 4 jobs without a written contract, and those jobs were for people I've known for 40-50 years. It's good business to have written contracts spelling out what is required of BOTH the contractor and customer.

I have limited experience with Angie's List. We built a handicap accessible shower several years ago for a gentleman that had just had a leg amputated. He was and is still very happy with the work we did. He made a positive recommendation on Angies List thinking he was doing me a favor. I wish he hadn't. Everyone that has called because of the A/L recommendation has been a flake. I haven't done any work for those people but I've wasted a lot of time dealing with them. In my experience the people that use A/L to find a contractor are a combination of people that are shopping for the lowest possible price, yet want the highest quality and have trouble making good decisions. I'll give an example. A couple years ago I got a call from some people that bought a house that was a few years old. The builder's slogan was "more house, less money". It was a big house with big rooms, and the cheapest materials you could possibly imagine. The new owners wanted to do several small to mid size projects. They had no idea what things would cost so they wanted separate prices on each project. No problem. So I spent considerable time preparing six bids. I didn't hear back so I figured I didn't get any of the work. That happens sometimes. No problem.

Several months go by and I get a call from the home owner. She said she had hired someone cheaper to do the interior work and had a patio poured instead of having me build a deck. OK, so why did she call? Turns out the fly by night outfit she hired, did a lousy job, and they didn't quite finish. She wanted me to come in and tear out what he had done, and redo it correctly. She went on to say she had contacted the attorney general about the other guy after just a couple of days. I declined to take that project. Then several months later she called again saying she wanted me to build a deck. Hmm, she had told me before they had gotten a patio poured. Turns out she had made a deal on a patio but it never got done. I suspect it was a similar situation as the OP described where someone shot a low ball price hoping to get some quick work. By that time my bid was at least a year and a half old and she wanted me to honor the price. My bids clearly state the price is good for thirty days. Sorry lady, not gonna happen. So she wanted a new price. Sorry lady, too busy to take on more work right now.

That was my BEST experience dealing with someone that uses A/L. The others were even flakier.

Like I said, I've never done work for anyone that shops for a contractor on A/L so I don't know if there's a way to fight undeserved negative comments.

As for not letting the money get ahead of the work....

Customers have a choice. They can use a contractor's money (or credit) to keep the work ahead of their own money, but that comes with a cost to them, or they can make a deposit, and make payments as the work progresses.

The way I do it is any project valued below a certain amount is due upon completion in it's entirety. No up front money and no draws.

If it's a bigger project I generally get a deposit and draws as work progresses. With that scenario I'm ahead at the beginning and they're ahead later.

I don't take the deposit and sit on it for months or use it for other projects like the fly by night guys. When a project is scheduled out a ways, I make sure the customer signs the contract and put their project on the schedule. When the start of the project nears I'll get a deposit.

Some customers aren't comfortable with making a deposit, or sometimes they are getting a loan for the entire amount. In those cases I'm happy to forgo a deposit and get draws as the project progresses.......but the customer will pay for having my money tied up.

There are many ways the contracts can be written. The best is whatever scenario the customer and the contractor are both comfortable with.

I better get back to work. I have 4 contracts to type this afternoon and another customer to meet with.

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