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I had this situation with two fencing contractors. Had to call the Bubba network to find out why I havent heard back from two different contractors. Found out one wasnt going to make enough money on the job, so he decided not to call me. And the other one didnt like that I wanted to recycle my old fence into my new fence. So I've become my own contractor. Fencing panels are coming from NC, fencing inserts are coming from FL (for setting up fenced areas within a fenced area) and a local landscaper is supplying the labor.
I had the same problem for many years. I even tried servicemagic.com and had terrible results. Then I signed up on angieslist.com; I havent had a bad experience since then. Homeowners rate the servicemen on many factors on angieslist.com and they're brutally honest. I've saved the cost of an annual membership many times over. The list is national and also includes auto repair, doctors, dentists and other professionals.
That is where I go to get names & numbers of "professionals" to call. Even the highly rated ones don't bother to return estimates or show up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JimRom
As a service professional myself, I shudder every time I hear about people like this. My handyman business is built around referrals, and if I were to start behaving like that I'm pretty sure it wouldn't take long before the phone stopped ringing.
I guess the only advice I can give is to find someone who treats you right, and hang onto them as long as possible.
The trick is finding one in the first place....also one who doesn't rip you off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beachmouse
Angie's list may work well in bigger cities, but was a dismal failure when we tried it for my area. Most categories were totally dead even if you extended the search area to pretty much any place west of Tallahassee.
They were nice and prompt with a refund for our unused membership (had signed up for a year) when we called to cancel.
I'm in Dallas/Fort Worth, the fourth-largest metro area in the US, and Angie's List has been a dismal failure for me.
As a professional it bothers me also to hear stories like this too. Perhaps no one wants to hear this but those who do this kind of work develop a feel for customers who might be a potential problem. These contractors will just go through the motions and politely leave without telling the customer they want nothing to do with them.
Lets face it, admit it or not, there is an extreme distrust and hatred towards contractors. With good reason too. There were a few times I left with a smile on my face knowing I would never call those people back. There are specific cultures to stay away from and there are certain attitudes to stay away from. Then there is another type of person that I see a great deal of. Those who collect bids like they are precious antique baseball cards. It's a game to them. They show you a stack of bids by other contractors 5" thick.
Another issue I see with contractors is they try to prequalify people on the phone before wasting gas money to go there for nothing, I do. I ask a few carefully chosen questions on the initial sales call too. It shows me what degree of seriousness they are. I don't want to drive an hour one way to do a estimate on a job I have no chance of getting.
Insurance calls are the worse. When people tell me they had a flood and the insurance company requires 3 bids I don't bother usually. 99% of the time the customer has their contractor selected and just needs additional bids to satisfy the insurance company.
I'm not defending contractors. The vast majority are quacks, clowns and dishonest idiots. Unlicensed idiots at that. They put a bad name on us professionals who do care.
If a contractor has other work lined up and you have a smaller job, he might not think spending the time on your estimate is worth his time. Sure, he might get some bad rep over it, but unless the homeowner were to somehow publicize this, that homeowner is just one less word of mouth advertisement for the contractor. No big deal.
Why does it seem like most 'professionals' in the home improvement business, from contractors to carpenters, are so unreliable? How do they get customers and keep their business going? We had a painter and a carpenter come to our house to do estimates last week. We have yet to hear back from them. We're ready to move on to other estimates. If they keep blowing people off, why would anyone use their services? It's just very frustrating.
most are not actually professionals. . . .there is no licensing or certification for these types of jobs. . . .I am a professional horticulturist, and acutely aware of all of the "professional" yard guys. . . .(bull*** speak for a guy with a shovel and a truck) who claim "knowledge" that they do not have. . . .and it is the knowledge that makes a professional. Even those who have the knowledge can be unreliable, but they are not the ones you want to deal with, either. One of these days, people will (hopefully) figure out that they can pay a bit more for quality services, or pay less and get. . . what's the phrase? "Garbage in, garbage out". . . .
I don't think it is right to simply ignore smaller jobs.
First of all, jobs are not always abundant, so even a small job can be worth it at some point. And after a small job, there may always be a big one from the same customer or even from someone to whom he/she might recommend the contractor.
Just an example: if one cannot replace my door, I am not calling this person when I need my entire floor/roof replaced. The guy who showed up and was considerate enough to me for the small job is getting the big one.
Also, if one is not willing to work why not say "I won't even drive to your place for a small job, just call me of you have something that will be very expensive, ok?!" (which sounds really unreasonable to me...)
What gets me are the ones who don't think that a relatively expensive job are worth their time. So we were looking to replace some polybutylene pipe, which could have been more than $4K in billable labor costs, and one of the plumbers the spouse talked to was all "I don't have any jobs lined up out in that area. Maybe in a couple weeks, someone will have a service call, and then I can have a look at your pipes and get an estimate."
As a professional it bothers me also to hear stories like this too. Perhaps no one wants to hear this but those who do this kind of work develop a feel for customers who might be a potential problem. These contractors will just go through the motions and politely leave without telling the customer they want nothing to do with them.
Lets face it, admit it or not, there is an extreme distrust and hatred towards contractors. With good reason too. There were a few times I left with a smile on my face knowing I would never call those people back. There are specific cultures to stay away from and there are certain attitudes to stay away from. Then there is another type of person that I see a great deal of. Those who collect bids like they are precious antique baseball cards. It's a game to them. They show you a stack of bids by other contractors 5" thick.
Another issue I see with contractors is they try to prequalify people on the phone before wasting gas money to go there for nothing, I do. I ask a few carefully chosen questions on the initial sales call too. It shows me what degree of seriousness they are. I don't want to drive an hour one way to do a estimate on a job I have no chance of getting.
Insurance calls are the worse. When people tell me they had a flood and the insurance company requires 3 bids I don't bother usually. 99% of the time the customer has their contractor selected and just needs additional bids to satisfy the insurance company.
I'm not defending contractors. The vast majority are quacks, clowns and dishonest idiots. Unlicensed idiots at that. They put a bad name on us professionals who do care.
This is very interesting but we had big jobs (i.e. painting 80% of a house, etc.) No one asked us any quesitons on the initial sales call either. They both seemed very professional when they came to the house and we were excited to work with them. However, not now, and we asked another colleague for recommendations.
We had a painter and a carpenter come to our house to do estimates last week. We have yet to hear back from them. If they keep blowing people off, why would anyone use their services?
The answer is, you don't use their service if they don't call you back. You keep searching until you find professionals who behave professionally.
I think every home owner has stories about the contractors they called who never called them back...and the contractors who DID call back, got hired, and are now the ones they use for every job thereafter, and recommend to their friends.
In some areas, contractors often have so much work they just blow you off because they can. I never call them again for anything. I stick to the people who at least have the courtesy to respond in good faith. (I've actually gotten cold calls from the ones who previously blew me off, hit a slow period and were now scrounging for jobs --- I tell them I've found reliable contractors, thank you, 'bye).
In some areas, contractors often have so much work they just blow you off because they can. I never call them again for anything. I stick to the people who at least have the courtesy to respond in good faith. (I've actually gotten cold calls from the ones who previously blew me off, hit a slow period and were now scrounging for jobs --- I tell them I've found reliable contractors, thank you, 'bye).
Yes, it's unfortunate, isn't it? I guess though I'm surprised because we had a big job for them. I would have thought that would have been motivation enough, but I guess not. Additionally, we're a polite married couple--it would have been clear that we're easy to work with.
Now I have to figure out how to find more contractors to call. Not knowing many people in our area, this is difficult.
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