โJun-18-2019 04:40 PM
โJun-27-2019 04:58 PM
solismaris wrote:
If a contractor does not return my call, for any reason, he is off my list. Permanently. I'll never deal with him again.
Returning a call is part of doing business. Even if it's not a customer - yet. If you can't do that, you shouldn't be in business. Period.
โJun-27-2019 12:42 PM
โJun-25-2019 02:50 PM
WTP-GC wrote:Never have I suggested such.
You're cherry-picking a statement to create an incorrect narrative. If I do electrical work and you call me and leave a message saying you want to have a deck built, there's no rule, law or moral obligation I have to return your call.
WTP-GC wrote:I have indeed "walked a mile". Most people do not call businesses for work that is outside that business's trade, as you claim, and I have never stated that you should return calls from those that do.
My business is actually better suited if I focus on calls related to electrical work. Once I call all those potential customers back, if I have time and I remember, then maybe I'll call you back to decline the work. Perhaps you're better than most and you don't call people for jobs outside their trade, but (as already mentioned in this thread) walk a mile in our boots and see how many calls you get that are absolutely of no interest.
WTP-GC wrote:Nothing in my post came anywhere near resembling this fictional exchange, nor have I ever claimed that an electrician should entertain calls about roofing; idiots should never be entertained. Your "example" is so far out of the ordinary as to border on the inane. You and I both know that the majority of calls that ANY business gets ARE legitimate and do not sound like your example.
No, I don't advertise, and yes, I work in a very specific field. But thanks to contractor listing aggregating services, I frequently get calls from people who want something done that I don't do. Imagine getting this call:
"Hello, ABC Electric"
-Yes, I need a new roof
"Sir I don't do that type of work"
-What do you do then?
"I do electrical work"
-For remodels? Or new houses?
"Doesn't matter, I don't do roofs"
-Do you know someone that does?
"No"
-Who should I call then"
"I don't know"
-But you're a contractor, don't you know someone
"No"
-Well what happened is a tree fell on my roof and I told the neighbor that they needed to get that tree taken down but they didn't listen...
"Click"
-Well that was rude, guess I'll never call him again...
WTP-GC wrote:And yet that is exactly the part of my post that you quoted in order to call me entitled. So if anyone is "cherry picking" to create a false narrative, it's you.
And listen, if you tell someone you'll be there or that you'll do something, then honor your word. I never disagreed that that notion.
โJun-25-2019 11:32 AM
4x4van wrote:WTP-GC wrote:Wow, seriously? Sense of entitlement? Your rights of "not being bothered"? "Something you didn't request"? Am I missing something here, or are you actually saying that a contractor doesn't want anyone to contact them for work? Then how do they get their customers in the first place in order to stay in business? Do they not have advertisements? A business/phone # listed online? So you consider someone who sees an ad and calls, to be spam or junk mail? I'm really confused as to what business considers every potential customer who calls "spam/junk".4x4van wrote:
I have no problem being told no. I DO have a problem being ignored, or worse, being told that you will show up at a certain time and then you don't bother. Newsflash, my time is just as important as yours, if not more so.
That statement shows a strong sense of entitlement. You don't like being ignored? Well, how does your rights of attention trump my rights of not being bothered? In this case, the customer calls the contractor, not the other way around. Should I feel a required to respond to something that I didn't request? That's really no different than a spam call or junk mail. Your time is absolutely not important than my time...and vice versa.
Keep in mind that if your particular business does NOT advertise and relies on either word of mouth or you actually going out and soliciting for business only (which seems to be the case for you), then I wouldn't be cold calling you in the first place, would I? I see absolutely no "sense of entitlement" in expecting a business owner that is advertising for work to actually answer/return the calls of those who he is actively pursuing. I also see no "sense of entitlement" in expecting someone to actually show up when and where they said they would. You see a "sense of entitlement" from that????:?
At 57 years old, I'm well aware of the fact that some businesses want customers and some evidently don't; and I'm perfectly willing to give them exactly what they "want".
โJun-25-2019 08:55 AM
WTP-GC wrote:Wow, seriously? Sense of entitlement? Your rights of "not being bothered"? "Something you didn't request"? Am I missing something here, or are you actually saying that a contractor doesn't want anyone to contact them for work? Then how do they get their customers in the first place in order to stay in business? Do they not have advertisements? A business/phone # listed online? So you consider someone who sees an ad and calls, to be spam or junk mail? I'm really confused as to what business considers every potential customer who calls "spam/junk".4x4van wrote:
I have no problem being told no. I DO have a problem being ignored, or worse, being told that you will show up at a certain time and then you don't bother. Newsflash, my time is just as important as yours, if not more so.
That statement shows a strong sense of entitlement. You don't like being ignored? Well, how does your rights of attention trump my rights of not being bothered? In this case, the customer calls the contractor, not the other way around. Should I feel a required to respond to something that I didn't request? That's really no different than a spam call or junk mail. Your time is absolutely not important than my time...and vice versa.
โJun-24-2019 05:18 PM
Hammerboy wrote:First thing we did was check references and qualifications. He was a retired guy that had been in the trade a long time and knew his stuff. I hate doing caulking and he was freakin' good at it! Not everyone on CL is bad.myredracer wrote:
Not long ago we hired a guy off CL to do some tiling work and he turned out to be the FIL of the chief building inspector in our municipality. His work was VERY good and on time! ๐
All the trouble you had in the residential arena and you hire someone off Craigslist?? You got lucky on that one, usually those are the bottom feeders, not all of them of course. Glad it worked out for you ๐
Dan
โJun-24-2019 12:11 PM
myredracer wrote:
Not long ago we hired a guy off CL to do some tiling work and he turned out to be the FIL of the chief building inspector in our municipality. His work was VERY good and on time! ๐
โJun-24-2019 08:56 AM
โJun-24-2019 08:39 AM
โJun-22-2019 03:44 PM
CFerguson wrote:
I understand that things happen but in today's age of cell phones there's no excuse for not calling when you know you cant make it or will be late.
โJun-22-2019 11:47 AM
time2roll wrote:
That about sums it up right there. Just as a customer never really knows how the work will turn out... the contractor never knows what they are stepping into.
Walk a mile in the contractors boots before you are too hard on them.
โJun-21-2019 09:46 AM
Lantley wrote:That about sums it up right there. Just as a customer never really knows how the work will turn out... the contractor never knows what they are stepping into.
Correct and this is why contractors don't waste their time even trying to appease/satisfy some customers. There are good and bad contractors and there are reasonable and unreasonable customers.
โJun-21-2019 09:23 AM
WTP-GC wrote:Hammerboy wrote:allen8106 wrote:
In 2001 we had a large addition put on our old farm house. In 2017 we had some major storm damage to the inside and outside of the house. Contractor that did the addition told me "we don't do insurance claims, we are only doing new construction or new additions".
They lost my business and referral forever.
Really? Are you not going to refer a plumber because he doesn't want to do your electrical work? Yes I know it's not quite the same but insurance work can be a entirely different animal and there are companies that specialize in that type of work. You cannot penalize some for not wanting do it.
Dan
This is the perfect example of how some customers refused to be or become satisfied. The customer in this case has an unreasonable expectation of services which they feel entitled to. Its the same thing as if a mechanic added a stereo to your old beater car 20 years ago, but now the same mechanic doesn't want to do body work on your brand new Tesla.
16 year later, you call a company to ask if they do something entirely different than your first experience and they turn you down? I surely don't understand why you'd be upset. When I first started in business, I'd take almost any job in my field, even those that didn't have much profit. Now, about 12 years later, I wouldn't even give those same jobs the time of day. Its not worth my time or effort anymore. So does that mean that when the economy turns, I'll be hurtin? Maybe, maybe not, but it won't be because I chose to quit doing tiny projects in order to focus on larger, higher profit jobs.
โJun-21-2019 09:11 AM
Hammerboy wrote:allen8106 wrote:
In 2001 we had a large addition put on our old farm house. In 2017 we had some major storm damage to the inside and outside of the house. Contractor that did the addition told me "we don't do insurance claims, we are only doing new construction or new additions".
They lost my business and referral forever.
Really? Are you not going to refer a plumber because he doesn't want to do your electrical work? Yes I know it's not quite the same but insurance work can be a entirely different animal and there are companies that specialize in that type of work. You cannot penalize some for not wanting do it.
Dan