Desert Orchid
Senior Jockey
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2005
- Messages
- 25,043
I'm really struggling to think of any builder I've ever dealt with whom I could regard as honest. I don't doubt some are highly competent but having now had dealings with at least twenty I can't think of a single honest one.
My latest saga...
I contacted a good dozen builders last summer to ask if they were interested in taking a copy of my plans and giving me a price. All bar two did, promising to get back to me within timescales varying from "a few days" to "two to three weeks". It took until the end of September to get enough replies on which to base a true comparison.
Only two of the replies were competitive, and the dearest was no less than 40% more than the cheapest, and had omissions with regard to the spec.
In October, I interviewed the most promising and eventually settled for one chap who seemed polite, articulate, enthusiastic and in tune with our plans. We agreed a price and a starting date: the beginning of November, with the work to take five weeks.
I phoned him back a week later to confirm the starting date and the correct match for the bricks, etc. He said he had just taken on some major work and now wouldn't be able to start until the new year. Disappointed, but not keen to start going back to other interviewees, I agreed to the new date so long as he could stick to it. He reassured me that only severe weather would impact upon his schedule, which I thought was fair enough.
A number of phone calls later, I finally spoke to him but suspected he was struggling to find words to keep me sweet. He promised me a letter within the week confirming the starting date as the beginning of February. It took two weeks for that letter to arrive, which it did today. His price - agreed and "guaranteed" in October - had risen more than 11% and the build time had increased to six to eight weeks.
I phoned to query the price increase and the longer schedule but his wife was adamant the "increased costs" to them had to be passed on to us, in spite of the price guarantee. I told her I was disappointed and would have to consider our position.
Tonight the guy phoned and told us he wasn't doing the job as he had too much other work to do and wished us well.
B@stard.
He has wasted five months of our time and it is unlikely we will find someone to do the job between now and the summer.
I just wish there was a way of naming and shaming these people to the local public.
My latest saga...
I contacted a good dozen builders last summer to ask if they were interested in taking a copy of my plans and giving me a price. All bar two did, promising to get back to me within timescales varying from "a few days" to "two to three weeks". It took until the end of September to get enough replies on which to base a true comparison.
Only two of the replies were competitive, and the dearest was no less than 40% more than the cheapest, and had omissions with regard to the spec.
In October, I interviewed the most promising and eventually settled for one chap who seemed polite, articulate, enthusiastic and in tune with our plans. We agreed a price and a starting date: the beginning of November, with the work to take five weeks.
I phoned him back a week later to confirm the starting date and the correct match for the bricks, etc. He said he had just taken on some major work and now wouldn't be able to start until the new year. Disappointed, but not keen to start going back to other interviewees, I agreed to the new date so long as he could stick to it. He reassured me that only severe weather would impact upon his schedule, which I thought was fair enough.
A number of phone calls later, I finally spoke to him but suspected he was struggling to find words to keep me sweet. He promised me a letter within the week confirming the starting date as the beginning of February. It took two weeks for that letter to arrive, which it did today. His price - agreed and "guaranteed" in October - had risen more than 11% and the build time had increased to six to eight weeks.
I phoned to query the price increase and the longer schedule but his wife was adamant the "increased costs" to them had to be passed on to us, in spite of the price guarantee. I told her I was disappointed and would have to consider our position.
Tonight the guy phoned and told us he wasn't doing the job as he had too much other work to do and wished us well.
B@stard.
He has wasted five months of our time and it is unlikely we will find someone to do the job between now and the summer.
I just wish there was a way of naming and shaming these people to the local public.
