And so it goes....another first.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

WARNING:

This post may ramble. It contains the frustration of a contractor who strives to be a professional and charges accordingly. Elevated blood pressure due to missed spots, stop start marks, high pressure cleaning with no chems and water only may drive you too, to tears.

So today, I was out doing estimates and came across a deck that had just been done this week - it was one of my stops (never mind that they didn't call to say they no longer needed the estimate). So, I'm on the deck, and it didn't really look done. I sort of didn't believe them....then the young lady produced the paperwork. Seems a local air duct cleaning company (unlicensed) also does decks. YIKES! it cost this poor lady $200.00 to have a lousy job done to her deck, by an unlicensed hack with no wood experience. She is now the proud owner of lots of stop start marks, gouging, and her deck still has mildew and algae on it.

Some things just blow my mind.

Beth

[plainpainter 217]

Amazing isn't it, Beth, that people that price shop always get what they deserve?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Thing is, I don't think she understood what she was getting into. She had them do it while they were there to clean the ducts. She was a nice young lady and I hope she gets her money back. I'm sure she can't afford the quote I left her.

Beth

[jeffex11 121]

some people have to learn a lesson . How many jobs have you done that the homeowner has all but ruined the deck ? I have a neighborhood where I did many decks and a guy moved in giving quotes at 1/2 my price. I simply told the customer to keep my number just in case that guy goes out of business . Sure enough I got some calls last year and that guy is gone! Hell I even have to be taught sometimes you get what you pay for! I have a lawn business as well and people think once you get their lawn looking good again they don't need you any more. They go cheaper and I just leave the door open for them to come back... at higher prices and they have to restore the lawn again at a cost. PAY ME NOW .. OR PAY ME LATER.... she'll be back when her finances improve

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Money back based on damage might be valid but when people are cheap as these customers obviousley were I can only have so much sympathy. Not only that, but do we really have solid idea what was discussed or what their deal was? Buyers remorse is sure to always put down the prior guy if expectations are out of line or another contractor comes in and tries to call it that the $200 deck deal was all inclusive or some such. They were ignorant enough to have bought a $200 deck wash or strip..so be it. Maybe they pressured the company into doing the work at subpar price with no perticular expectations or outcomes. Do we really know if whether it was explained to them by the other guy that going with deeper cleaning would demand restaining. Maybe they chose not to spend money eh? What kind of stain was on the deck anyways?. You feel it could have been cleaned of all grime, mold, etc, without putting yourself or customer at risk of a restain?

I must say I am somewhat ammused on confronting the situation as such. I've been in similar situations at times and it almost leaves ya no choice but to comment on others work when yer standing on a junky job result. I try to just say "did ya get what ya paid for?" . Don't get me wrong though, I have on occasion went the route of calling a spade a spade when insulted or wronged. Nothing like walking in on a job you were to do and either someone else has done it or is right there doing it that very moment. That is just rude act by idiot customer.

In posting here I guess I simply want to push the idea that hilighting ones own abilities in a optimistic way is a winner compared to focusing on others inabilities.

The former leaves the customer with an answer to their questions of who will fix this problem when they screw up and buy cheaply once again. Eventually you will earn their business that way. See anybody can put down a job result, only a pro can offer the real solution by branding their name into customers frontal lobes.

Let this post be an example that yes issues can and should be discussed or debated but don't leave it at that....In other words, always end with it being about you.. :)

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Money back based on damage might be valid but when people are cheap as these customers obviousley were I can only have so much sympathy. Not only that, but do we really have solid idea what was discussed or what their deal was? Buyers remorse is sure to always put down the prior guy if expectations are out of line or another contractor comes in and tries to call it that the $200 deck deal was all inclusive or some such. They were ignorant enough to have bought a $200 deck wash or strip..so be it. Maybe they pressured the company into doing the work at subpar price with no perticular expectations or outcomes. Do we really know if whether it was explained to them by the other guy that going with deeper cleaning would demand restaining. Maybe they chose not to spend money eh? What kind of stain was on the deck anyways?. You feel it could have been cleaned of all grime, mold, etc, without putting yourself or customer at risk of a restain?

I must say I am somewhat ammused on confronting the situation as such. I've been in similar situations at times and it almost leaves ya no choice but to comment on others work when yer standing on a junky job result. I try to just say "did ya get what ya paid for?" . Don't get me wrong though, I have on occasion went the route of calling a spade a spade when insulted or wronged. Nothing like walking in on a job you were to do and either someone else has done it or is right there doing it that very moment. That is just rude act by idiot customer.

In posting here I guess I simply want to push the idea that hilighting ones own abilities in a optimistic way is a winner compared to focusing on others inabilities.

The former leaves the customer with an answer to their questions of who will fix this problem when they screw up and buy cheaply once again. Eventually you will earn their business that way. See anybody can put down a job result, only a pro can offer the real solution by branding their name into customers frontal lobes.

Let this post be an example that yes issues can and should be discussed or debated but don't leave it at that....In other words, always end with it being about you.. :)

The money back is not a damage thing, in Maryland, an unlicensed contractor is not obligated to be paid for a service. The duct cleaning company performed a service they were not licensed to perform. The owner is under no obligation to pay for that service, damage or no damage. That's life in Maryland. This was a nice lady, young, who could not afford much more than she got. If she gets her money back it will only pay a part of just the wash, not including sealing, if she wants us to do it. Right now, contacting Maryland is her best recourse.

Beth

p.s. I would have made a comment to her about not calling to cancel her estimate with us, but I could barely believe it was done. That's how badly it was done. Rather than turning on my heel and leaving, I simply had to learn more about this fiasco....

[Ron Musgraves 240]

How do we stop it as a group, could we all afford the advertising to reach the public. How about a brouchure by a group? buyer beware,

Its it getting better? or is nothing changing?

In the concrete cleaning indsutry we deal with the same issues. Phoenix is and will keep improving.

the residential market is difficult do to the expense the education takes.

[Ron Musgraves 240]

Beth, your frustration if your remmeber was mine when we met years back. I displayed photo after photo of hacks destroying buildings and concrete.

Its costly and makes us all look bad, I feel your pain.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

It's a pet peeve. It will never change. There will always be consumers who do not do research, and hacks that don't learn a skill before attempting a trade.

Beth :cup:

[814jeffw 71]

This thread could almost tie in with another thread on here about whether or not this industry is taken seriously. I believe there are a lot of people who figure anyone can do it, so they naturally go with the lower cost in a lot of cases. I've had people tell me that they would do "it" themselves if they had time.

Jeff

[RPetry 564]

... I've had people tell me that they would do "it" themselves if they had time.

Jeff

Many a DIY homeowner can, even when restoring wood. Have had more than a few out of state calls over the years, asking how to refinish their wood. Via email and pictures, have seen some outstanding wood work by mere mortals.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Many a DIY homeowner can, even when restoring wood. Have had more than a few out of state calls over the years, asking how to refinish their wood. Via email and pictures, have seen some outstanding wood work by mere mortals.

Same here. But given the time it takes to consult, I have also taken to telling them to hire a pro, or call someone local to them. it can take up hours of time (they call about washing, they call when they are stuck, they call about prep work, they call about sealing, they call about cleanup...) to talk to them. Time is money. I used to spend huge amounts of time on the phone with DIY'ers out of state. Not so much these days.

Beth

[plainpainter 217]

I personally believe if folks didn't price shop as much and searched out for known contractors with great history in an area - that people wouldn't run into this nightmare. I believe the pain is self-inflicted.

[jeffex11 121]

well the notion thast this business is not taken seriously IS true. The fact is I compare it to my lawn business. Anyone can cut a lawn and powerwash and stain their deck. The difference is in the quality of the finished product. Nicely edged and trimmed lawns with proper fertilizing and mowing stand out in any neighborhood. The same goes for deck jobs. This is not rocket science but some knowledge is required for proper wood care. Inexperiened deck companies.?... 17 yrs a go so was I. I believe the frustration I would feel is that she didn't even call and that work I had taken pride in was ruined .. just as beth n rod posted. I'm NOT for gettin the government involved or anyone else in policing this industry. Let the market take care of it. I'll bet the duct cleaning company is not stealing our customers but they are doing work for people who can't afford to have it done properly. Thats not my target customer. Just like my lawn business , I don't want customers who want their lawn cut every 2 weeks and don't care about weeds or even trimming. There is a lawn guy for them but NOT ME!!

[fireandrain 39]

I just stick to doing what Im interested in doing and do it the best I can. If my job is to clean up after someones else mistake or poor judgement, I do it. Whatever, thats life. There has always been hacks out there. Always will be. Always will be people opting to pay low prices for crappy work. Thats the way it is. I've never had such an experience because I only work in demographics that can afford professional service. I don't offer coupons, never have. Not my market. Not my game. Clients never ask for any and I dont have any associated with my services. If someone is shopping a project based on cost, I don't even get involved in the bidding. Not interested.

[Mountain View 14]

I recently did a sales call on someone who had a deck/gazeebo setup (extremely gray with lots of mold/algae) in an upscale neighborhood. I talked with him, gave him a qoute and we talked again. He said the price was higher than he expected ( I didn't budge, I knew what would be involved). Then he asks me if I could just do the deck and leave the verticals and lattice untouched. I sort of humed and hahed about that. At the end of our conversation he told me about a recent experience he had where he took a low bid on painting his house and he ended up redoing and/or completing what the 'lowballer' did. We ended our conversation and I left. As I was getting in my truck I was shaking my head about a couple of things; he was asking for me to only do a partial job (deck would have looked great, verticals and lattice would have looked like c**p and he had already had experience of what taking a lowball bid will get you. Maybe I'll hear from him when he calls to ask if I can correct what the lowballer has done.