|
News & Info
|
 |
 |
Seller Signup...
Quality Service, Seller or Tradesperson? Sign Up Now!
|
|
Home & Garden Articles
Gutter Man
Tue 02 Sep 2008 - 07:39
Gutter Man
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Linda_Reed_Friedman]Linda Reed Friedman
"A residential contractor"
Is he a City Mouse or a Country Mouse...which am I?
I live in the country now. He advertised himself as a roof helper. He cleans skylights, gutters and roofs. Great!... We're not too good with the roof tasks, a little sqweemish about climbing on and over our peaks and valleys. So we hired THE RED CAT.. It was a telephone hire. I spoke to him about the length of the single gutter we needed cleaned ( I know exactly how long it is), the three skylights, the twigs and branches swept off the roof. I thought his price was more than reasonable, I expected to pay more. He quoted "sight unseen" between $60 and $75.
I was home when he arrived, he knew the house, had been here before with the last owner. (I didn't know the last owner was me at the time). Did we still have the wood fireplace? He cleans chimneys and fireplaces.
Missing was the conversation and agreement we should have had.. Where should he put the twigs and gutter findings? I don't know... I'm on my way out to an appointment, I expected them to disappear. He says, " They would make great kindling for the fireplace, how about under the tree?" Sure, I say and I'm gone.
I was away when he claimed he was done, my husband ignorant of the conversation paid him the $ 80.00 he asked. Please write the check in his name, the company doesn't have a checking account.
When I returned, the skylights were spotless, but there were still twigs on the roof, the face of the gutter was not cleaned and the pile of kindling under the tree looked like a sewer had been cleaned out and left to rot on the rocks. The larger kindling (great for a fire in our fireplace, he said) was gone.
My landscape people removed the "sewer" product, when they came to mow and BTW without asking or telling.
When I entered his name in our financial software, his popped up. Then I remembered him. He was now working under a different company name. That's why we didn't recognize him. It was a bait and switch. I would have happily paid for a top notch job. I expected a top notch job. I got squat!.
I even know better. I'm a professional commercial interior designer. I've been in the facilities management and construction business for years in the city. Good contracts make for good jobs and great contractors. Now that I'm in the country, I thought I could let down my guard and be more trusting. Apparently not!
Actually, I can be trusting, I just need to remember my own rules living in the country or living in the city.
A few tips from my freshly dusted off rule book.
Write it down - you write down exactly what you expect to have done. You don't need a contract for a small job. But you do need clarity. Writing it down helps. All big jobs need a contract, if you're wondering if your job is big enough, then it is. Get it in writing.
Make the time to speak with the contractor, make thoughtful decisions about those things you didn't know about, and if you change your mind speak up immediately. It will cost you money, talk about the money before you say it's OK. Get the project done the way you want/need it to be.
Use your written information, the one on the paper when you are speaking with your contractor. When he quotes you a price, write it on the paper.
Put the date on the paper
Put the contractors name, address, phone number and any additional contact information on the paper.
File the paper away. If you have to take the paper out of the filing cabinet before the job is done, your understanding is probably different than your contractors. Stop him/her immediately talk about it and start again. This time with a new "documented" conversation.
It really doesn't matter whether you are a city mouse or a country mouse, it is the level of clarity you have about your project and how you have communicated that with your contractor. I blew this one. I knew better. I didn't stay around, I was not clear as to what I expected to happen. I didn't have that detailed documented conversation with myself or my contractor. I would love to say never again.
© 2008 Linda Reed Friedman, ASID
Speaker, trainer and coach, Linda Reed Friedman, ASID works with people in the building industry who want to grow professionally --so they can increase sales, and boost their business to greater success. She is author of soon to be released 'Act the Part! Get the Part!' Successful behaviors and habits for people in business. Contact her at http://www.advantatraining.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Reed_Friedman http://EzineArticles.com/?Gutter-Man&id=1433408
Looking for information on General Home Improvement, Find a supplier at HomeWise.ie
back to General Home Improvement articles
back to all home & garden articles
|
|