Overreacting or justified anger?

[WillParkinson]

We contracted a gentleman to build new stairs for our house. He agreed to come over on Sunday, 05/31/09 but never showed. When we contacted him he claimed to have been at the hospital. He said that he would be over first thing Monday morning. Monday morning came, but he never showed or called. When called in the afternoon he stated that he had purchased the material and would be over at 5:00 pm. At 5:10 he had not shown. Due to this being the 3rd time we contacted him without ever having him call to say he would not be able to come or would be late we decided not to do business with him.

[cwydro]

1. Sounds right to me.

God knows what quality of work you'd have to deal with; best you got this out of the way early.

[rucky]

2. Now how quickly will you get it done?

Speaking from experience with flakes, the second message you left should've been "please call me back or I'll look for someone else." If they want the work, they'll call within a couple hours of that.

I would say 75% of the people I've worked with on contract need to be managed. They can still do good work, often better than some of the talkers - but some folks aren't as good with the social aspects of their job. I don't get angry anymore. It's just a fact I've come to accept

[WillParkinson]

3. I don't consider courtesy a social aspect...

If you have a contract to do a job and you are not able to fulfill it, I do not think it's unreasonable to expect to be called. I can forgive just about anything, but negligence is not one of them.

[WillParkinson]

9. It's worked out for the best...

We talked to another local company who said that they were booked up, but had the number of a carpenter that the guy knew personally who was laid off and could use the work.

[WinkyDink]

4. When people don't want the money I'm ready to throw at them, they can bugger off!

[Rising Phoenix]

5. We had a guy come to fix the siding on the garage.

He worked for a half a day, finishing the job about half way. He then went to pick up materials and never came back. Never answered his phone......nada. At least we didn't get a bill

[WillParkinson]

6. Ouch...

That's just bizarre.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

7. I'd have dropped him after

the second no-show.

Absolutely correct.....................

[Midlodemocrat]

8. Some contractors are like that. If you find a reliable one? Stick to him like glue.

[NJmaverick]

10. It's typical behavior of many contractors

He probably considered your job a small one, so he was trying to squeeze it in around other jobs OR he is a small contractor who has fallen behind in his work and is trying to put you off. Either way, unless you know the guy does great work you are probably better off with a more reliable person.

[auntAgonist]

11. hah, sounds like you had contact with the same guy we did.

He didn't show up, his brother was hospitalized, he was diagnosed with ADD and that's what makes him so disorganized (?)or so he claimed. And the list goes on.

A drywaller we hired told us his brother passed away and my first thought was "here we go again" ... I don't know if his brother truly did pass. The drywaller showed up a week later and completed the job.


go figure.

aA
kesha

[skygazer]

12. That was no gentleman

I'd say you were fully justified.

[DarkTirade]

13. If he didn't bother to call you even ONCE to let you know he couldn't make it...

I'd say completely justified. Find somebody more reliable.

Maybe I got spoiled though, we managed to find an awesome contractor when we needed one. :P

[Dogtown]

14. Unreliable workman

Probably over-scheduling himself. If he builds stairs like he runs his business, you've made the right choice.

Wait for him to pull the martyr card out of the deck and whine about the supplies he can't use elsewhere...

[CreekDog]

15. Yup, better to have him be late to the estimate than to the job

:thumbsup: