Now I think you’re just a Troll
If you followed some of the advice I posted earlier then maybe you wouldn’t whine so much.
Whoa, this is not acceptable behavior here.
You can agree to disagree with someone but you should not stoop to insults to do so.
If you have a problem with another poster you are invited to take it outside this forum to the Pit.
From the Straight Dope Message Board rules, which you may read here:
Before you post again you would be well served to read over the rules and look at the individual forum guidelines as well.
Jenny
Administrator
Thanks. I apologize to the poster. I have gone and read the guidelines and understand the infraction. Won’t happen again.
We are getting our kitchen re-modeled and I decided to call the number on a flyer given to me while I was cutting the grass. The guy handing out the flyer says he’ll have his boss call. The boss calls and he and the helper show up at the appointed time. The boss was nicely dressed. A little too nicely, I thought. Designer jeans, too much gold, fancy haircut. Anyway, he measures the length and width (our tape measure) of the existing kitchen and we tell him we want an island, granite counter tops and a wall removed. “$25 thousand, no more than $30,000. We can start next week.” Not one word about cabinets, electrical work, sink, plumbing, type of floor etc. I’ve never bought a car from a dealer but have accompanied others who did and I got the same feeling. We’ve since been dealing with true professionals and the difference is amazing.
I just ripped off my contractor for cool grand!!!
I wasn’t even trying. He was doing a job of renovating my kitchen, dining room, bath, etc. in bits and pieces and on this one part of the job (the dining room floor) he estimated it would cost between 3 and four grand, depending on many days he had to work and how much flooring material he’d have to buy. I let him have a set of partial keys to my apartment, and he wrote me up a bill for 1800 dollars in materials and 2200 dollars in labor (rounded off).
But I only noticed those figures after he had left, and I had paid the the total, which he got to add up to $3000, not $4000. I owed him another $1000, and I figured I would straighten up with him when he returned my house keys. I called him up and he said he’d drop them off tomorrow.
I’ve called him several more times in the past month, and he’s alsways coming up with reasons he didn’t drop off the keys the last time, his truck, his helpers, his health all conspiring to make a five -minute errand impossible, and vaguely suggesting that he can come by tomorrow, or thursday, or next week to drop off my keys.
At this point, I’ll accept the keys but I think I’ll neglect to point out his arithmetical error.
Now that this has been bumped, I can post a summary of something which happened this year. Perhaps I won’t be called a “troll” or be accused of “whining” this time.
May: Contractor for a major home improvement company comes out to look at our house, to bid on new siding and new roof. The contractor guy seems very sharp and on-the-ball. He passes all of my challenge questions and then some, does not seem to fake anything, and offers many helpful suggestions to both save money and do the job better. His company has a good reputation, and we’re enthused.
Two weeks later: He submits a bid for the work. The bid is 3 sentences long. Essentially, “we will replace siding with X and replace roof with Y. Cost for parts and labor, $53,000. When do you want to start?”
I immediately send a reply back saying "We’re interested, definitely. Can we see a more detailed bid, spelling out A, B, C, and D? I get an immediate reply saying that a more detailed bid will arrive in a week.
After 1 month passes I remember that I haven’t received anything from him. I mail asking for an update. No reply.
A week passes - I phone and leave a message. No reply.
A couple more weeks pass. I send a lengthy mail, saying in short “Hey, look, we liked your price, we liked how you seemed on the ball, we like your company, we want to pay you money for goods and services. All we want is a more detailed bid spelling out what you’re going to do, confirming the roofing materials and siding type, etc.” I receive a reply after 2 days apologizing and promising to get back to us asap. They say how “enthused” they are about doing the project.
Two more weeks pass. I mail. No reply. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
So now May turns to November, and I have mailed and phoned several times, and never had a reply back. None.
How can an industry like this exist, where you shit on paying customers who want to keep you employed in this economy? How?
But I guess that’s my fault, right MaineRussian? I guess I should have driven down to their office and just meekly given them $53,000 in small bills based on a 3-sentence e-mail, and been happy, right? And maybe this year, maybe next, my roof and siding would get done - when they wanted to do it, and not before. That is, if I’m good little girl, right? :rolleyes:
Oh yeah, the electrician - a so-called “Master Electrician” came out to give us a bid on some electrical work in June. He gave us an estimated price. We said “sounds great, draw up a bid and let’s get moving!” It’s November now, and he still hasn’t figured out how to do work and receive money for said work. But I guess that’s my fault too, for wanting to hire someone to do work. I mean, really, who the hell did I think I was? How dare I!? :rolleyes:
If someone hung on to my keys for a month I would give up and get the locks changed.
Wow. These horror stories remind me how blessed I am to know a few people in the construction trades. As I have bumped elbows with some yahoo’s while doing my work (low voltage wiring; AKA network, stereo, alarm, telephone wiring), I have also seen some spectacular work of the highest quality. The only problem is that, when the time came for me to get some work on my house (originally built approx. 1830, had a few major and minor remodels since then), all the people that I knew were good are busy.
So, I have to go in cold and pray for the best. First company I call to replace the windows wanted window measurements over the phone, and was ‘willing’ to quote me a price sight-unseen. Right…
A couple of other people come in, do some measuring, do a lot of talking, but in the end leave me with the feeling I should take a shower and disinfect where they were sitting.
Next was the company whose rep showed up riding a Harley, but had all he needed to do a proper estimate (tape measure, reams of paper and forms for all sorts of windows and options, etc.etc.etc.) I ask him qualifier questions and he KNOWS what is going on and apologizes for his appearance when I bring it up, telling me that his family time got away from him but he really wanted to make our appointment on time, and the bike was easier than going back to the shop for the truck. I did a little checking up on him and found out that he is, indeed, a licensed and insured independent contractor himself but is working as a representative for another licensed and insured contracting company, has a knack for appearing a little offbeat, but a reputation for doing some quality work, and even has a kid in the same school as my kids. Guess who I plan on going with for the windows? On a plus note, when he wrote out the estimate, he highlighted the sections ‘homeowner responsibilities’ and ‘contractor responsibilities’ and told me that if I ever thought the company was not holding up their end of the bargain, feel free to call him direct (he gave me his cell phone number) and he will come right over.
I just hope things go as well as this guy appears… I’ll let you know as things progress more in the spring, when it’s scheduled to happen.