What Would You Do?

[PineappleMama]

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My problem is that I'd have a hard time not letting a *bleep* slip out... and then what kind of hypocrite would I be... calling him unprofessional while I'm spouting that kind of thing... best to let the more level-headed of the two halves handle those kinds of things... but that is me, no comment on you at all.

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Whole country has been living on credit for decades, not too big a surprise that contractors would be dumb enough to do the same... and just like everyone else eventually the house of cards tumbles and it isn't pretty.

I'm just glad you guys haven't already paid him, then you would be in a MUCH worse position.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
My problem is that I'd have a hard time not letting a *bleep* slip out... and then what kind of hypocrite would I be... calling him unprofessional while I'm spouting that kind of thing... best to let the more level-headed of the two halves handle those kinds of things... but that is me, no comment on you at all.
Well, I rarely curse, so that is unlikely to be an issue. I would just have to make sure I was more angry than hurt (probably not that hard in this case), then I would get very, very ICY. If I was feeling hurt I would probably cry, and that would not do at all.

Quote:
Whole country has been living on credit for decades, not too big a surprise that contractors would be dumb enough to do the same... and just like everyone else eventually the house of cards tumbles and it isn't pretty.

I'm just glad you guys haven't already paid him, then you would be in a MUCH worse position.Well, in some cases it is much worse than in others. Selling a service or product at a loss can be useful in things like grocery loss-leaders that bring customers in to the store, where they realize that oops, I need milk and bread, and ... as well as canned rutabegas [sale item], but for a more expensive items, such as construction, that doesn;t work very long--you end up losing money rather than making a profit or at least breaking even.

 

[jarcoo0153]

Get'r done! The first guy is a BAD businessman! Go with the second guy! If you were promised a date, he should be a man and show up. My Dad always told me growing up," Don't make promisses your A** can't cover!" (sorry for the curse word!) I still keep all my promisses that I make to my customers!

 

[herfrds]

That is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. If you promise something and don't do it, it drives me nuts.

Turns out the first guy has the footings done and three walls done on this other guys foundation. Waiting for him to put up the 4th wall that is a framed wall. Slab is still not poured.
Going to get ours at the end of the week? I don't think so.
What bothers me is he told DH that this guys wife could not make up her mind and was causing the delay.

What a loser.

 

[Ema]

I would seriously switch guys, first off he is giving you guys the run around, time delays are common when they are trying to take you in for more cash. if the other guy is willign to work on your time requirements go for it, and if he has 16 references call 4 or 5 if its all good go for it. Second, the guy you already have has s hort fuse, a bad thing to have around you, he gets ticked off he could walk off mid way and leave you up creek without a certain paddle. it costs more replacing a contractor mid way than it does at the beginning. Because this contractor might not to things excatly like the next and things may beed to be altered afterwards. Get rid of the bad seed and go with a new one. Also dude needs to respect you too, its your home aswell and your wallet too. contractors who can't stand talkign to women regarding building issues are ignorant!!

By the way my hubby is a contractor an he is the one who told me all of this. He says switch and tell the first guy he was diddle dallying and giving you too much run around, if he didn't have the time he should have agreed to do the work. Sure delays happen, but this just doesn't sound right!!

 

[herfrds]

Ema I did call the references he gave us. I posted it early. Good reports.

 

[Miltonchix]

In a business, would it be a wise thing to have ONE in charge or TWO? Even if you and your husband are on the same page as to what needs to be done, it becomes impossible to work for 2 bosses. ONE of you, husband or yourself, needs to take charge. period. NOT both of you. Now the continuous delays are another problem altogether. If you have a written contract does it specify a time frame for completion? If not, too bad. If you have no contract thats what you have, no contract, and you're free to hire whomever you want. But I'd get in writing an expected completion time/date, barring bad weather, and what will happen if it is not completed on time. You're the boss, if the contractor won't agree to your terms in writing then find someone who will. As long as they are not unreasonable expectations, you should have them scrambling over each other to get your business.

 

[Penturner]

just a bit of comment from a contractors side of the issue. Many contractors will not work for individuals for reasons just like this. Basically the customer is clueless. The first thing almost any home owner / builder wants to know is when will it get done? Not an unusual request but one that is pretty much impossible to answer. As the OP mentions. they had a hassle just moving a trailor for one project. what do you think that same rain did for your contractors multiple projects? I know if I where the one doing your concrete I would have a signed contract with you and you could not just walk away. In construction things don't work by a clock. Do you have a general contractor? If so is the masonry contractor hired by you or a sub of the General? If you don't have a General yo probably don't have much of an excuse to complain. You chose to manage the job most likely to save money. well this is what saving money looks like. As for me personally, any time a customer starts with complaints like this I walk away anyway. It is not worth putting up with the griping and complaining for a job I won;t make that much money on anyway. As for the criticism about doing work at a loss. That again shows how clueless most people are about what a construction business takes. It is not like you going to work every day. A contractor has employees he is responsible for. Those are families and people feeding their children, keeping roof over their heads and food in their mouths. You do what it takes to keep them working. Not only that but the contractor has business relationships with his suppliers. there is benefits and agreements most people have no idea about. Volume of orders per year and whatever. The contractor is aware they need to do their part to keep their suppliers in business is the simplest way to think of this. It gets far far more complicated. failing to meet volumes that get you better pricing can bankrupt you. you take jobs at a loss to keep from taking a bigger loss later on. Having some nagging, ignorant customer crying in your ear is nothing but an annoyance. A contractor can give you a date and 10 minutes later in his world that date is getting postponed. He will not put a better paying job on the line for you, simple as that. that is stupid business. I am not int eh business to make you happy, I am in it to make money. and money talks. that is simply the truth. I walk on a job sight that the owner is acting as general and my price instantly doubles. I actually bid the job so high I don't think anyone would actually hire me. In truth I don't want the job and already know it. from time to time I do end getting hired. the better money is nice but the experience of dealing with the owner never is.
I have a question for you. Why did the contractor have to tell you to move a trailor? sounds to me like he showed up to work and you had a trailor in his way. You went to the back burner in a little box that is labeled people to stupid to work for. and that is where you are going to stay. your concrete guy does not become your project manager just because you don't know how to do the job yourself. Regardless most people that complain about how a contractor is not perfectly organized and right here the minute they expected them. Are that same people that could not organize a trip to the hardware store to buy a bag of nuts and bolts. Shaft your concrete guy, contractors know each other. Good luck getting your house actually built. you may be doing it yourself.

 

[Miltonchix]

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I don't know how it is around Reno these days, haven't lived there in 10 years, but around here contractors are almost letting the customer set the bid price. There is so little work for them they will take whatever they can so long as they can pay the bills at the end of the day. 8 of 10 construction workers are out of work. Most are now oil clean-up experts. Til that runs out. Right now I'm putting out for bid some concrete work. I'm having to turn people away and I know most of them and they are good, hardworking, honest people. I'll end up paying materials and labor ONLY. Now how can a guy grow his business when he can't make a profit? Its good for me, I get it done for nearly half price. And I keep a couple more people working for another day or two.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

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And why is this? When I give someone a date and time for my world I pretty much keep to it. If cannot keep the date/time I let that person know I will be late or that I need to postpone. I do not understand why it is acceptable business practice for contractors to just show up willy nilly when it suits them. As the customer, I am taking off work or leaving work early to be around for that contractor to work. While I understand that things come up every now and then, it seems like in contractor land it is perfectly acceptable to just show up whenever the heck you like. Why is it acceptable to terribly inconvenience the consumer? My day job is very, very busy. There are limited times for me to be at my house waiting on workers. When I make an appointment I have pretty much moved heaven and earth to free up that time. I need those I hire to be here when they say they will be here. Not an hour late. Not absent altogether. At the time that THEY have agreed to. When a contractor or company does not show up when they have agreed to show up, that is the end of our working relationship. There are enough hardworking business people out there that I shouldn't have to put up with that. If our positions were reversed I would fully expect to be fired.

OP- I would go with the second guy. He sounds like he really wants to work for you. The other guy sounds like a schmuck.