Two carpenters and a landscapper no showed over the last two days. This is in spite of my agreeing to pay their bids. The first carpenter did not surprise me as he had no showed last weekend. Expecting he'd make another excuse, I had a back up plan, but the second carpenter also no showed. The landscapper said he try to be here, but never called.
The economy must be recovering!
Dick
The part that's most interesting is "This is in spite of my agreeing to pay their bids. " I don't know what exactly that means, but I'm assuming it means he agreed to pay them for quotes? Did he just offer to pay them? Around here, NJ quotes are usually free and it would be mighty unusual to call a landscaper and two carpenters and all 3 to say they would charge for a quote.
But the no show part doesn't suprise me. I've engaged with many contractors in the last couple years and had similar experiences. You'd think in the current economy they would be showing up, following up, willing to negotiate, etc. Oddly, I haven't seen that. They almost always show up to take a look, but then I've had to chase them to get an actual quote or follow questions they were to get back to me on, etc. You'd think they would be calling me to try to get the work, find out if I made a decision, etc. But it almost never happens that way.
wrote
I took it as he was willing to pay the quoted price and did not try to knock down the price. Whenever I bid a job, it was a fair price and if you don't like it, thank you and goodbye. Once I negotiated down and I was unhappy the entire time knowing I was making less than anticipated. Lesson learned.
I can see a contractor agreeing to a lower price and later not being happy, thus the no show.
Seems like many of the really good tradesmen are still working. I know of one that is booked for three months and only taking jobs from old customers. Reasonable prices, very good work. Does not need to quibble about price. He shows up too and rarely takkes a day away to finish other jobs.
Yes, re-reading it I agree with your interpretation. So, it looks like they no showed to start and/or continue the job. Which unfortunately a lot of contractors are known for. Some of it is understandable, because they have to try to keep the pipeline full and if the job they are on runs into problems, takes longer, etc, they have to push out. What there is no excuse for though is when they do it and don't let you know ahead of time that they aren't coming. Of if they do it repeatedly or put you off for weeks....
I've almost given up on trying to get quotes for anything around here. Either it is a no-show (most common), or a high-pressure salesman with slick brochures shows up, or they (eventually) send me a high-ball bid including stuff I didn't want. I mean, I understand that my jobs are piss-ant and wouldn't make them much money, but I know how few construction starts there have been around here in the last few years. Did all the underemployed tradesmen starve to death or move away already?
yeah i've seen this too. call 12 contractors and set up appts. 6 show up. 3 get back with quotes. if you're lucky 1 will work
and they cry poverty
Or, you didn't disguise well enough that you're a easy mark. -----
- gpsman
When I was doing iron work, if the customer complained about the price or terms or tried to beat me down, I'd just be nice, leave soon, and put an X on the upper corner of the proposal. This meant do not do any work for this person in any case. If they pound you down on the basics, they will pick apart everything else. A proposal is just that, and worth less than the paper form it is written on. It is not a contract (in most states) until accepted, signed by the buyer, returned to the contractor, and deposit made, or terms agreed upon.
If they called, I just told them that I had some big contracts come in, and would be busy for months. I then had them call back later complaining of what a bad job their BIL or the alien down the street did, and could I come fix/finish the job. I would tell them how sorry I was, and that being a licensed contractor with no complaints at the Contractors Board that I guaranteed all my work 100%.
There are all sorts of reasons for contractors to no show or fail to perform. And lots of times, we don't hear the whole story, or at least the other side. But when it all falls into place, and everyone's happy, there's usually a few very good reasons for that, and we don't often hear about the cases where there is negotiation, cooperation, and working together on fine issues.
MHO, YMMV, and all that .............
Steve, ex steel erection contractor.
Steve
Heart surgery pending?
There is no excuse for not notifying the customer, as far in advance as possible, that they're not going to show. They didn't figure out that another job was running over the day after. It's a good reason to fire a contractor.
They're "busy" for another 99 weeks.
Was the OP actually a customer, or did he just agree to the proposed price without putting down a deposit...
With things the way they are, customers who pay get the work and customers who nit-pick and waiver are allowed to stew a bit until they realize that they (the customer) are the problem and not the contractor...
~~ Evan
He was expecting them to show, so he was a customer. Whether there was a deposit, or not, isn't germane.
That's certainly true during boom times. Evidently contractors aren't hungry enough.
if he was a savvy customer, and working with a reputable contractor, there would be NO deposit. I pay nothing until material is on the site and/or work at least partially done.
"Steve Barker" wrote
One size does not fit all. That is not true for all crafts.
Steve
Heart surgery pending?
That's why they call them "independent contractors". :^}
It's a regional/customary thing. The size of the project has a lot to do with it, too.
I understand the sentiment, but as someone said one size does not fit all. If you're talking about some little dinky project, fine, no deposit. But if it's something substantial you can be rootin' tootin' sure that I'm getting a deposit when the contract is signed. It's good business.
If you're painting a couple rooms in a house, there's not a lot of upfront set up time and expenses, but if you're adding on a room, redoing a kitchen, building cabinetry or whatever, there's quite a bit of legwork that takes place before the actual first day of construction.
It's also interesting that most states and municipalities have codified what the maximum deposit can be. If your scenario was the standard, that maximum deposit would have been codified at zero.
R
S'truth to that. It was a nice day yesterday, so I took a toodle around on my bike, and there's a boatload of construction going on around here. It surprised me how much. I guess there has been a pent up demand that broke loose with the good weather.
R
Huh? What does that mean?
If the OP was an easy mark, wouldn't he have been ripped off in some way, other than his time?
What's to gain by having an "easy mark" agree to your price but then not show up to take his money?
it's true for ANY craft working for ME.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.