How do I say this? You screwed us over!

[Sharsarannon]

Here's the background:
My mother referred me to a professional painter who would come with his team to paint inside my new home. I figured he must be a good professional businessman who could complete quality work in a trustworthy and timely manner. Right? That's what Professional is supposed to mean.
I arranged for them to come on a Saturday.
I had skipped an all-day friends-outing for this, but it would be worth it, because we can't settle into the new house properly until the painting is done.
I woke up early, went around the house getting everything ready for them to start at nine...and they didn't show.... and didn't show.....
Finally I called them and something had gone overtime at another job they'd had, and they "weren't gonna make it."
I tried to be understanding to a certain degree :violin: and said, "Okay, how about this next Thursday? Ten o'clock? Good, we'll be ready for you."

Thursday. I had cleared the schedule for them.
I woke up early, went around the house getting everything ready for them to start at ten..and they didn't show.... and didn't show.....

This was an eerie deja vu. Only not eerie at all. Just aggravating. :banghead:
Finally I called them and something had gotten mixed up between their crew leader and his underlings,
and they "weren't gonna make it today probably either...."
:pissed:
I had to arrange for them to come Saturday. Tomorrow.

My mom wanted to know how things were going. I told her and she said, "Well honey you can't be upset at them, that's just how contractors ARE..."
:eek: :wtf:
NO. When a puppy pees on the rug by accident, that is just how puppies ARE.
When a preschooler gets whiny around naptime, that is just how they ARE.
Apparently Certain Contractors are this new breed of Professional, recognizable by the allowances we're supposed to make for them being ridiculously unprofessional!

I would have told the guy, "Forget it, I can do a rather fine job painting it MYSELF", but according to my mother he'd already purchased the paint, and I "shouldn't put him out that cost". (The *&^% I shouldn't..)

So. Here's my question:
What is the polite and professional way to ask, "Since you screwed me over twice, how much can we cut out of the price you're asking for this very, very late work?"
:angel:

[Bright_Star]

So according to your mother you're just supposed put up with that kind of unprofessional behavior? In all that time, you could have done it yourself.
I would tell them to cancel the whole thing & then look around for somebody more reputable.
So they purchased the paint-big deal. Let them know that you're not going to put up with their shady business any longer & that they MUST discount their work since by not showing up TWICE it inconvenienced you. So if they start bitching about it & offer flimsy excuses then drop em like a bad habit.

[Gurndigarn]

You want to give that type of business positive encouragment? Sorry, no, don't reschedule. YOU are too busy for them.

They already bought the paint? Tough. They agreed to do it on X day, they reneged on the deal. You let them reschedule for Y day, they reneged on the deal. Costs incurred are their problem, since they didn't follow through on their end of the bargain.


And this is why I do all my house repairs that I possibly can. Painting, door hanging, wiring, plumbing... if I do it, I know what quality worksmanship went into it. And I can only blame myself if I run behind schedule.

[Sharsarannon]

But how do I tell the guy I want a major discount? Other than As Stated.

My mother will almost entirely certainly flip a lid at me and take it as some kind of personal affront if I fire them from the job, because she referred me to them in the first place, and "that's just how contractors are, you have to remind them of the job, You have no reason to fire them!"

[air914]

WHAT? That's just how FIRED contractors are.....

I'd tell him that you've cleared two separate days for them and haven't even gotten a phone call from them that they couldn't come - that you had to call them... therefore, you want some type of discount for the inconvenience, AND you want them to show up and do the job - otherwise, you'll find someone else.

Tell your mom that a friend recommended someone else who COULD show up on time and had a better price..... then find that person!

[marasbaras]

Um, my advice: tell your mother to shove it. Really. She's forcing this garbage down your throat.

So what if they bought the paint already. They failed to show up, twice.

If you want to be nice, offer to buy the paint AT THE EXACT PRICE THEY PAID so that the new painters you hire can use it. Yes, require they bring the receipt.

[Sharsarannon]

They're supposed to be here at ten tomorrow. If 11:30 rolls around and they are not here, I'm calling them and telling them very firmly that if this is how their service works, then I'm afraid I cannot use it after all.

[marasbaras]

Good for you!

[MCSledgehammer]

Yeah, not so much... That is NOT "just how contractors are"... My dad's a general contractor, and no way in hell would he, or any of his crew, pull that kind of stunt. If he had an underling that tried, said underling would very quickly become "former underling, now blacklisted". That being said, there's a reason dear ol' dad has a very good reputation, and more work than he can handle. The excess of which he turns down. To avoid situations like this. Y'know, like a professional...
Drop these guys like a hot potato, there's a reputable painter out there who would just LOVE to paint your house, and do it well, not to mention on time.

[Sharsarannon]

UpDate:
The crew arrived- in the form of one guy, at seven thirty in the Morning.
Now the crew size- that was just me estimating that of course to do this fast they'd have a crew. Guess not.
But I am pretty darn sure I told the boss-man TEN. NOT seven thirty! ARGH I really should have followed my own ideas and dropped them like a rock after the second screw over.

[Slytovhand]

and.....???

[Evil Queen]

and.....???
Yeah, what happened?! Did you get your discount?! Did the one guy even finish the job on time?!

My Dad's business remodels houses for a living; if he or anyone on the crew (family business, we're all related) screws someone over like that, they are fired and told to go away. Reputations are important for construction crews. If their rep is a bad one the business will drown.

[Sharsarannon]

Update 2: The guy got most of the job done and went home at about five. (if it were me, I'da stuck around and finished, but it Was a 10.5 hour shift of work...)
When they ask for pay, I'm giving them half of what they asked for. Half. Because me not canceling them completely was a stupid thing to begin with.
Does this sound fair?

[Gurndigarn]

Update 2: The guy got most of the job done and went home at about five. (if it were me, I'da stuck around and finished, but it Was a 10.5 hour shift of work...)
When they ask for pay, I'm giving them half of what they asked for. Half. Because me not canceling them completely was a stupid thing to begin with.
Does this sound fair?

No. If they do the job, pay them what you agreed to. Otherwise, you end up in legal trouble, besides it being a sucky thing to do to them. After all, two sucks do not make a right.

But don't pay until completion. And make sure you inspect the work first.

[Slytovhand]

I'm thinking of offering to pay only half or some other similarly insuated discount (as you suggested) explaining why, and then he'll counter-offer (and should also acknowledge his bad).

If he demands full payment, then once again stand your ground and state your reasons, and that you would be letting people know how shoddy he was and that you woulnd't recommend him to anyone.

Then see what his reaction to it is - more than likely he'll apply his own discount at that stage - to save face.

If not - as Grandigurn, sorry sir, said, you could end up in legals, Grandigurn - sorry - I apologise again, Grandigurn, sir :P (yes - I read your other thread...)

[Peppergirl]

Ah, mommy guilt at it's finest. Ain't it a wonderful thing?

I'm pushing 40 and she can STILL make me feel bad, merely by breathing into the phone in a certain, put-upon way. :lol:


I feel for you!

[PCGameGuy]

Gonna disagree on the holding back payment thing. You gave them the extra time and they did do the work, so you owe them the agreed amount. A respectable contractor would be offering you a discount for the inconvienence, and it is perfectly acceptable to point out that you do not feel you are getting your money's worth on this job and see if he takes the hint, but if not just pay him and be done with it. All other courses vis-a-vis payment lead to suck.

Of course, you may want to contact the local business bureau and let them know the facts and file a complaint in that case. Also, as long as you keep to the facts and state your opinion as such, feel free to tell everyone you ever know about this guy. :) Heck, letters to the editor are there for a reason, IMO, and this is one of them. I had a 'suffer in silence, that's the way it is' mother too, and it took me forever to recognize the line between sucky customer and standing up for myself.

[Sharsarannon]

Of course, you may want to contact the local business bureau and let them know the facts and file a complaint in that case. Also, as long as you keep to the facts and state your opinion as such, feel free to tell everyone you ever know about this guy. :) Heck, letters to the editor are there for a reason, IMO, and this is one of them. I had a 'suffer in silence, that's the way it is' mother too, and it took me forever to recognize the line between sucky customer and standing up for myself.


I am gonna be contacting the contractors group they belong to and letting other people know they are not reliable.
I did in fact end up unable to get a discount out of them. I had to pay the full price, and the job took the guy a total of three working days to do- for which I had to be home, mind you, so for about three days I didn't leave my house. The speed was impressive with just one guy, but I'd think they'd want to use a crew for this kinda thing... Expedience and all.
The one good part out of all of this is the quality of the workmanship. It's pretty dang good.

[PCGameGuy]

Glad the work was at least done well! Yeah, reporting is a good thing. I know if I NC/NS twice in a row, my employer would not be so forgiving. :)

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Actually, the way I'd handle it would be to simply find another contractor to do the job and forget about the first one. If and when he called back, I'd just say "Well, you reneged on the contract, and caused me quite a bit of inconvenience. So I hired someone with a more professional work ethic."

And that would be the end of it. Maybe eating the cost of the paint would teach them a little lesson about professionalism.

As for your mom, I'd just tell her that your job is behind schedule and you have lost time at work you can't get back. This is not personal. It's business. YOUR business, as a matter of fact. You aren't trying to make friends, you're trying to hire someone to paint your house.

I HATE dealing with contractors. The reason they are so slack is because people like your mom let them get away with it. I'm right now trying to play phone tag with a small contracting firm I've dealt with before. The main guy had a bit of a family emergency, but I'm willing to work with him because they actually SHOW UP WHEN THEY SAY. And if they are going to be late, they call. They did a stellar job of knocking out a wall in my kitchen and I want to hire them again. Amazing, I know. If you find a good contractor, stay with them. Don't feel bad about refusing to settle for time-wasters and slackers.

[draftermatt]

Ok, now this is coming from a Subcontractor who works with General Contractors every day.

The time to discuss a discount went out the window when they showed up. Unless the contract said "will be here on" or "if date is not honored then". We get GC's who try and say if we don't show up when they want us there, we owe them a discount. So we always counter that if we get ready and they are behind then they owe us extra. So they drop it quick.

That said, the painter was very unproffessional. I've never made an appt and not showed up without at least a day's notice, and the fact that they didn't call you is ridiculous. And you did deserve a discount considering the hardships you had to endure, but, it's too late after the fact.

You might want to try writing a letter telling them you were very unsatisfied, they held you up, and would not renegotiate a price despite the hold-ups. Then contact the groups that you said, and hope they see fit to cut you a deal.

Sorry you got screwed over though.