Contractor doing great job - how to show appreciation

I seem to be either really good at vetting contractors, maybe deluded (I know some always pipe up - gotta be deluded if I dont' DIY....), or just plain lucky.

But, a job at my house is finishing Friday, and all is going well.

I pay the guy, get his business cards, and recommend him. Anything else appropriate?

- B

Reply to
Banty
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That's more than enough, and the right thing to do. Oh, and don't write him a hot check.

Hopefully this doesn't unleash another 'tipping' thread.

Reply to
G Henslee

Y'know, I've *offered* to do that, but they decline. Should I have sprung it on them? One day I thought of doing that - by 11:00 they were off to lunch already..

I have brought out a jug of cold H2O for landscaping crews, though.

Banty

Reply to
Banty

It depends on how appreciative you want to be. Those things you mentioned are a good start, of course. Slipping the guy some money isn't always the way to go. Unless it's a large amount of money, he might be looking at it as an "insufficient tip" - even if he wasn't expecting a tip in the first place.

To give you a lame analogy (my specialty), give your wife $3. one day and tell her you appreciate her. She's thinking cheap bastard. Spend the same three bucks on a Hallmark card and tell her you appreciate her. You're now thoughtful and a great guy.

One idea, find out where he's working in a couple of weeks, have lunch delivered or bring it by yourself if it's local. Call first so he doesn't send the kid out for it and have two lunches on his hand. A couple of pizzas and a couple of 2-liter bottles of soda goes a long way. The fact that you're doing this well after the fact on your job will stick in his memory forever.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

What? No Hidden cameras? ;-)

Reply to
G Henslee

Gosh how would you tip on a sizable foundation/drainage job... sure hope it isn't 20%!

OK, OK, thanks for the compliment. I'm thoughtful. I'm nice. But I ain't got no wife; that fact is most probably connected to the fact that I'm not a guy :-)

Maybe I'll connect on Friday (last bit of concrete goes in...) earlier in the morning: "Pizza's on me."

Speaking of wives, his wife was on the job a coupla days. Right in there with him working on the block wall.

Banty

Reply to
Banty

I offer to refer him, serve as a reference and keep the workers hydrated and fed. Actually , the latter, I do while they are there. Call me crazy but I think I get a better quality of work when they workers are happier.

When building my house I brought over a cooler with drinks and ice every so often when I knew major subs were working. When I had some concrete work going on, and it was just a couple of hours of work, I just brought out chilled bottled water. Another project I brought out some beer toward the end of the day. In all cases where I provided stuff, and built a good rapport, I felt like I ended up with a quality job. When I'm not involved I often end up with crap. (See my post "drive, garage floor connection" on

9/12)

-B

Reply to
No

Around here we double the tax to arrive at a tip. Capital Improvement = no tax = no tip. ;)

Listen, if you're setting up mental roadblocks for yourself it's no wonder you don't have a wife. "Oh, I'm a woman" isn't a sufficient excuse. Now get out there and mingle!

That's the easiest thing to do. Don't forget the garlic bread. R

Reply to
RicodJour

As him for 20 cards and tell him he owes you a case of beer for every referral that's successful. And, buy him & his crew pizza on the last day.

Reply to
Doug Kanter

If you really love his work you can offer a letter of recommendation (or just a formal thank you he can show future customers) or offer to let him use you as a reference.

Reply to
PipeDown

Good advice, but let me add one more thing. Buy the pizza or sodas along the way also. Offering the workers a little appreciation in the form of a cold iced tea can improve the quality of the job.

When the town was clearing some trees near my house, my wife took the guys a pot of coffee. An hour later, a cord of wood was sitting in my driveway. I had a hone repairman out for a problem. Turned out is was on my side so I'd have to pay $50 for the call. How about a glass of iced tea?" "Sure. This looks like it was defective when we did the original installation." No charge.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Excellent idea...when I reroofed a few years ago I provided doughnuts, cokes and coffee every morning for the roofing crew, and on the last day brought in tamales from a local restaurant (it was a Mexican crew). I ended up with the best roof in the neighborhood.

Reply to
Travis Jordan

I'll bet he would like some head.

Reply to
Oscar_Lives

I have not read all the replies to your post so I don't if this was suggested. The best thing you can do is write him a letter of recommendation. He can include copies with Bids.

Reply to
Sacramento Dave

No, unfortunately, it's a repair :-(

Hee hee. I'm afraid my interest is the opposite direction...

Thanks.

Cheers, Banty

Reply to
Banty

This is Turtle.

Accidents do happen everyonce in a while !

TURTLE

Reply to
TURTLE

A friend had a house built in the late '80s. The general contractor couldn't believe how well the subs were working together and when problems were found (e.g. switches in the wrong place) they were corrected immediately. One day the plumbing contractor showed up and had no place to work, so left. The GC knew something was up so asked my friend about it. He told the GC to stop by again at 4:00. Right at

4:00, as they were shutting down for the day, his wife showed up with a cooler full of iced-down beer. ...did it every day. A motivated worker is a happy worker. Beer is a cheap motivator. ;-)
Reply to
krw

Last week, a roofer told me my asphalt shingles weren't in as bad a condition as I thought, and said I had 1-2 years before I needed to re-roof. Gave me two tubes of caulk, said "Caulk where the roof meets the siding, right up there, and be careful. Call me if you wanna do the roof before winter, or hopefully we'll talk in the spring".

Very odd, but recommended by about a dozen people. :-)

Reply to
Doug Kanter

He probably has all the work he can handle for now, and he just put another customer in the bank for next year. Now you know why he was recommended and you'll do the same.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

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