Night Elf Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I got 3 quotes on a home project a couple of months ago. I contacted one recently that impressed me the most. He seemed please to hear from me. I asked him to drop by and give me a new quote as the job has changed somewhat. He set an appointment for 10:00am this morning. It's nearly 11:00am and I haven't heard from him. Should I wait a certain time and call him? Should I just wait and see if he contacts me? I don't want to end up with someone untrustworthy and I don't know if I'm just being impatient. I expected at least a phone call to say he was running late. What if he forgot about me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I would call him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5of5 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I don't know if this is area dependent, but I've noticed an epidemic of service people not bothering to call back, keep appointments, etc., and it isn't just "deadbeats". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I would call. Knowing me I would also be super apologetic about it. "Hi. Mr. Builder Guy, I was just checking my calendar and wondering if maybe I had written the date/time down wrong. I wanted to check because I would hate to not be here during our appointment ..." Then again. Don't be like me. :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I don't know if this is area dependent, but I've noticed an epidemic of service people not bothering to call back, keep appointments, etc., and it isn't just "deadbeats". I had a rather illuminating conversation about this with the father of the (sometimes flaky) HVAC business owner who replaced our furnace three years ago (his dad also owns an HVAC company and had come over to help out with something). He said he had worried for years because his son's ADHD was so severe growing up. He doubted his son would be able to successfully work for someone else. So he helped his son get his own business off the ground. The kid's mom and sister were doing his bookkeeping and scheduling, dad was still lending a hand when he could with bigger jobs. Brother had left for the military, but had helped out before leaving. When you hear story after story of flaky service companies, you start to wonder if many of these businesses pop up for the same reason - very skilled at their trade, but they just aren't organized enough to work for another person. Then their own business starts to suffer from missed appointments and forgotten call backs. But without a "boss", there's no immediate feedback before the pattern of customer complaints start. I doubt all of them have the support from family that this guy did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 I called. He said his daughter had a reaction to some medicine and he had to take her to the doctor. He rescheduled for 1:00pm today. Hopefully this works out. We've been wanting this done for a couple of years now. When we were replacing our AC unit, we had 2 companies that didn't show. What made me mad was one of them was the company that serviced our equipment in the first place. Then they called about 3 months later and asked if we were still interested in purchasing a new unit. Um yeah, we did that 3 months ago with another company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyroo Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Probably not true where you are, but if that had happened here today, I would assume he was trying to dig his truck out of a ditch somewhere while it slowly got buried under the snow. The roads here are SUPER slippery and we have gotten well over a foot of snow since yesterday (to add to the 2ish inches that were already on the ground) and it is still coming down like gangbusters. It seems like this winter has gone from 0 to 60 in about 2 days, so I am cutting everyone a lot of slack as they try to deal with the sudden onslaught. Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Sometimes, in those types if situations, I think that these people got into their business because they like that business, not necessarily because they are skilled "business-people", like with intelligible billing, call if you are late, let the customer know if the schedule changes. So, if I find someone I like, or want to like, I bend over backwards to make it work. To a point, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5of5 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 RE SusanC post 8 --- yes, I can see that. But, what amazes me is that their business doesn't suffer to the point where they are forced to adopt better customer service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I've had this problem over and over. We've done several home projects over the last couple of years. I'm amazed that so many contractors are so casual about bids. How am I supposed to believe you'll show up and do a good job if you turn up a day late for a bid? Also, don't ask me to pay you under the table so it won't affect your retirement. That dude lost the bid before he left my house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 *sigh* He called and rescheduled again for 3:00pm. I wonder if he'll actually make it today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 At least he called! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAmomof4 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 As owners of a service company (HVAC to be exact), it is NOT normal to flake out on customers. It is NOT acceptable. We do not do residential work any more, but when we did, we would absolutely not tolerate that sort of thing. Emergencies come up but you always let the company know so that they can contact the customer and make alternate arrangements. I would say that 90% of the companies in our industry are run by people who either don't know what they're doing, or care about nothing other than screwing the customer out of as much money as possible. And I mean that with complete sincerity. Many companies are started when a technician or other person working for a contractor says to himself, "It doesn't look that hard, I can do that!" and they steal a few accounts and then boom, there you go, they're a company of their own. They operate out of their garages with their wives answering the phone. They don't know how to price things or design a system, and they can make all the guarantees they want - if they're out of business in 5 years you can't really call them on it. Always, always, check the license number. Your state should have its own website where you can look them up and see how long they've been in business, etc. Do not go by "reviews" on sites like Yelp or the BBB. Those are shakedown organizations that remove unpleasant things from companies' profiles if the companies pay to be "members." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAmomof4 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 *sigh* He called and rescheduled again for 3:00pm. I wonder if he'll actually make it today. Well if you go with this company, you know what to expect the day the job is scheduled to be done. :-/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 When there's a shortage of trades or service people they can get away with the behaviour. I have also seen the other side of the story where jobs can have so many surprises that they take far longer than normal etc. but you at least call to let people know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 Well he was a no-show for today. At least he did call to say he'd be here so I know he knows I'm still interested. Hopefully, he'll call tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I got 3 quotes on a home project a couple of months ago. I contacted one recently that impressed me the most. He seemed please to hear from me. I asked him to drop by and give me a new quote as the job has changed somewhat. He set an appointment for 10:00am this morning. It's nearly 11:00am and I haven't heard from him. Should I wait a certain time and call him? Should I just wait and see if he contacts me? I don't want to end up with someone untrustworthy and I don't know if I'm just being impatient. I expected at least a phone call to say he was running late. What if he forgot about me? Another possible view—I wonder if he feels a little less invested since it's just to visit again for another quote after that length of time since the first quote. He might feel that it's not a great chance it will lead to an actual job. Was he on time when he gave you the first quote? That said, good customer service is good customer service. To me that means calling if you won't be there for a scheduled appointment, and if you aren't making it, there needs to be a really great reason. Erica in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 Another possible view—I wonder if he feels a little less invested since it's just to visit again for another quote after that length of time since the first quote. He might feel that it's not a great chance it will lead to an actual job. Was he on time when he gave you the first quote? That said, good customer service is good customer service. To me that means calling if you won't be there for a scheduled appointment, and if you aren't making it, there needs to be a really great reason. Erica in OR Actually I told him we wanted to work with him because his offer was the best. But yes, I need a new estimate because the job has changed. But based on what he told me and the quote he gave to me, I know he'd be the best of the 3 to work with. If he doesn't call tomorrow, I'll call the next guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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