CONTRACTOR MANIA... AS PROMISED

Howdy, Blogging Buddies!

You will remember my promise to regale you with the tales of the contractor insanity experienced during the very minor updating of the house here. Well, since it's going to take a while for me to get my laundry done this afternoon, now seems like a good time to do just that.

Let's start with the painter and his helper... both with the same first name so calling out the name resulted in two deer-caught-in-the-headlights faces staring at one with the occasional "Huh?" in two-part harmony. Things started out fairly well here. The painter had been referred to me by a trusted friend. He did return my call and schedule to drop by to take a look at the job. He did arrive at the time scheduled. These were all things working directly in his favor. Things went a bit downhill shortly thereafter.

I try to be a personable kind of gal. I do have a sense of humor and I enjoy working with those who can exhibit the same. But... (isn't there always a "but?")... my expectation from you, as a service provider, is professionalism first... humor down the road. The immediate attitude of "best pals" I got far too soon became a problem. My winning personality does not mean it's okay for you to do things haphazardly. Since you have viewed the job, I expect you to arrive with the tools you need to do the job!! Yep. My contracted personnel had to ask to borrow tools from my spousal-unit who then questioned exactly where I had found these guys! LOL!! Yep. You heard it right. The folks I am paying to do a job need to borrow our equipment to do it. Is there a discount for that?!?!?

I also understand a timeline is based on everything going exactly right and is subject to some change. When "a couple of days" becomes Day Four, I am again wondering if I made a good decision by allowing you into my home. Oh... and when you are done, it would have been nice of you to empty the sheetrock dust from my good vacuum cleaner (another item you borrowed!) into the trash receptacle outside. It was quite a shock to me to pull it out and have a cloud of dust spew out when I tried to use it. Lesson learned here? Never allow a contractor to use anything I own.

Would I use these folks again? Nope. Sorry. While they did an alright job (nothing I would consider stellar), the aggravation factor was far too high.

So... let's move on to the Big Box store, shall we? :) You would think, perhaps, that a national level firm would be pretty sophisticated and wanting to meet its customers' expectations. Perhaps it would have a very stringent list of qualifications and requirements for those local contractors who are engaged on the Big Box's behalf to do the work. Silly me.

When I first spoke with the Big Box employee about what I wanted done, he provided me with a quote. (I was quite surprised to find out, after I had consented to the work, the quote he gave me was only for the product... not the labor. I would have preferred to have that information all at once!) I agreed to the $35 fee, which would be applied to the final bill as a credit if I had the work done, to have the contractor come to my home and measure the distance from the edge of the countertops to the center of the sinks (3 sinks total) as this was "very critical" to have accurately measured. Since I am a mere female, unlikely to understand how a tape measure works, it was required that the contractor show up. (I won't say any more here but pay attention to what follows.) Oh... and the $35 became $51 as there is apparently a $16 additional fee if the house was built before 1970-something and since I could not provide the exact date of the build, the rampant danger to someone taking 3 quick measurements from the possible LEAD PIPES was so great, they apparently had to pay them an extra $16... but that would come off of the final bill should I choose to have the work done (which it didn't although the $35 did).

After the contractor had come and gone, I was advised of the need to drive AGAIN to the north (about 25 miles) to pay for the work... in full... before they would even order my countertops. I thought there were laws about charging someone for work before it was done!!! I know you can't charge my credit card for the online order I placed until you ship it. I understand wanting a deposit (maybe 50%?) for something you can't do anything with if I change my mind or die before you get it in... but to pay you in full, including labor? Wow. Tough crowd. Unfortunately, by this time, I am already embroiled in having the painting done and really just want this all to end... so we drive north, hand over a credit card, and leave with a receipt for work that won't be done for at least two weeks... maybe more. Sigh.

Fast forward about a week. When I got all of my receipts from the Big Box, I didn't really pay too much attention. Something told me to doublecheck everything in the little packet so I pulled it all out and reviewed it. Interesting. The measurements that I, as a mere female unable to comprehend tape measure intricacies, would not have been able to make are written on the paperwork... and they don't look right. I know. What do I know? I know enough to realize that the single sink in one bathroom is a greater distance from the wall than the two sinks in the other bathroom!!! If for no other reason than my measuring for mirrors and light fixtures, I know they are not the same measurements! But there they are... all three measurements from the edge to the "center of the sink" are identical. I rush to my desk in which there is a tape measure with my initials on it (I don't know why I have it with my inability to use it!). I whip it out of the top drawer and head for the sinks. I measure end-to-center in the single sink bathroom. Yep. That measurement is correct. I then measure end-to-center for both sinks in the dual vanity bathroom. Whoa, Nelly!!! The contractor is showing 18.5" when the actual measurement is 12.5" on both!!!

I pick up the phone and make a call to the contractor as well as to the Big Box employee with whom I began this ordeal. It is POURING down rain... big thunderstorm... and I get a call back from the contractor. He begrudgingly is offering to return here (he has that 25 mile drive to get here!) to check his measurements. When I tell him I HAVE the accurate measurements, he hems and haws for a bit before deciding to tell me that he'll just use my measurements. WHAT?!?!?!? Shouldn't I get my $51 fee back? Sigh. I get a call later from Big Box guy advising that the sink shape I had selected (rectangular) was not going to work now that the ACCURATE measurements were in. Oh... and this might push things back a week since they are just now aware of the measurement change. Great. If any of you heard Primal Screaming during this period, I assure you it was me.

I was not here when contractor-man arrived with help to do the countertop swap-outs. He was apparently very nice, according to my spousal-unit, and I guess he didn't ask to borrow any of our tools, so he gets extra points for that. They did a pretty good job of replacing the countertops with very nominal damage to the new paint job even though they had to strip out old caulk and slam the new tops in pretty tightly. All-in-all, the job was quite acceptable and the cost (including labor) was reasonable... even after they gave me the labor figure.

Now... the fun part of this deal was the follow-up! First of all, a card came in the mail prior to the installation of the countertops requesting that "Mr. and Mrs. Condren" submit their "own Testimonial" online. Interestingly enough, only MY name is Condren. My spousal-unit has his very own name... which he has had his entire life. Since he really was not involved in this other than to be here when the contractor showed up to measure and again to install, I'm not sure why he was even involved in the request for feedback. At any rate... it gets better. After the work had been completed, a phone call came in to the house phone. The spousal-unit answered it. The young lady on the other end asked for "Mr. Condren" and I'm not sure exactly what he told her about that. At any rate... she told him she was calling from "Big Box" and wanted him to answer a survey about the windows he had just had installed. ?HUH? He told her he had not had any windows installed. There was a pause... before she asked the most inane question ever asked to date. "Are you sure?" LOL!!! Oh Lord help me!! Do you think one would know if one had windows installed?!?!? It took me nearly five minutes to stop laughing and pick myself up from the floor. Of course, the spousal-unit did not offer up that there HAD been work done. He figures if they don't know what they're doing, he isn't there to help them figure it out. *chuckle*

Would I use the Big Box again? Nope. Not likely. While the work was satisfactory and the product is very nice, I just have trouble going back to anyone who has made a major error on the first job. As to feedback... they will receive it. I will be going online now that I have mellowed and experienced a lovely R&R that will likely allow me to submit my feedback in a civil tone. :)

I have to tell you all that I TRULY miss my most-wonderful contractor person in Austin. He did work on a property I had listed to sell (that sold on Day Two of the listing!), on my own home prior to it going on the market when we were leaving Texas, and on my former neighbor's home (both her "old" one and her "new" one). His work is impeccable. His price is fair. He has pride of workmanship and it shows. I wish he were here. I assure you he would be so busy, he would never have any time off.

That's my Contractor Mania tale, my friends. I hope you have far better experiences in your future contractor endeavors!!!

Until next post...

UPDATE: After 30 minutes of thoughtfully explaining my concerns on the Big Box web site in the feedback section, I received an "error" message which indicates my feedback likely has disappeared into cyberspace and will never be read by anyone. LOL!!! So... I am going to submit another complaint indicating my displeasure at the web site feedback form and telling them to CALL me so I can provide feedback on the "service" they provided to me. I'll let you know how that all works out.