How NOT to run your biz
A few months back my parents decided they were going to rid their house of carpet and replace it with laminate hard wood floors. After doing some research and talking to some people, they decided on a contractor they thought would do a great job.
About a month ago they came to do the floors. My parents were raving about what a good job his company did, and I agreed. A few days later, his company came back and did the stairs. To install this particular laminate floor, they had to cut down the existing floor that was under the carpet and "build it back." Only they didn't do that correctly and now my parents have stairs that don't meet the building code because they are an inch too short. They are also too tall because they didn't take the height down and just put the laminate on top...and honestly, they look like shit all around. And since they are an inch shorter than the MINIMUM length, I can't even fit my entire foot on the stair and it's a challenge to walk up and down.
Now, my grandfather and uncle ran a very successful high-end contracting business in the area and they noticed about 15 other things wrong with the job. So I took some photos for my Dad and he contacted the contractor.
What the contractor should have said: "I'm sorry sir. We will come fix the problem." OR "I'm sorry sir, we will pay for someone who knows what they are doing to fix the problem."
What did he say? "I did exactly what you told me, I did nothing wrong and I'm not fixing anything." So if I told you to shoot someone, you'd be off the hook because you were doing what I told you to do? He should have checked the building code, and he didn't. How he can claim that it's not his job to do that when he's the one cutting down the stairs is beyond me. They paid the contractor because he's supposed to know what he's doing! Better yet, he has a money back guarantee but claims this doesn't count because he did everything the contract stipulated!
So now my parents are left with some shitty stairs and a probable date in small claims court. Nothing good comes out of this for anyone. It could have been solved if the guy just did his job correctly the first time. But we all know that everyone makes mistakes, and my parents would have been happy if he just admitted to his mistake and came back and fixed the stairs.
My guess is that he will lose in small claims court and be out the profit he made anyway. Why not at least save yourself a court date and leave with a satisfied customer? Take this as a case study in how to lose customers AND lose money.
About a month ago they came to do the floors. My parents were raving about what a good job his company did, and I agreed. A few days later, his company came back and did the stairs. To install this particular laminate floor, they had to cut down the existing floor that was under the carpet and "build it back." Only they didn't do that correctly and now my parents have stairs that don't meet the building code because they are an inch too short. They are also too tall because they didn't take the height down and just put the laminate on top...and honestly, they look like shit all around. And since they are an inch shorter than the MINIMUM length, I can't even fit my entire foot on the stair and it's a challenge to walk up and down.
Now, my grandfather and uncle ran a very successful high-end contracting business in the area and they noticed about 15 other things wrong with the job. So I took some photos for my Dad and he contacted the contractor.
What the contractor should have said: "I'm sorry sir. We will come fix the problem." OR "I'm sorry sir, we will pay for someone who knows what they are doing to fix the problem."
What did he say? "I did exactly what you told me, I did nothing wrong and I'm not fixing anything." So if I told you to shoot someone, you'd be off the hook because you were doing what I told you to do? He should have checked the building code, and he didn't. How he can claim that it's not his job to do that when he's the one cutting down the stairs is beyond me. They paid the contractor because he's supposed to know what he's doing! Better yet, he has a money back guarantee but claims this doesn't count because he did everything the contract stipulated!
So now my parents are left with some shitty stairs and a probable date in small claims court. Nothing good comes out of this for anyone. It could have been solved if the guy just did his job correctly the first time. But we all know that everyone makes mistakes, and my parents would have been happy if he just admitted to his mistake and came back and fixed the stairs.
My guess is that he will lose in small claims court and be out the profit he made anyway. Why not at least save yourself a court date and leave with a satisfied customer? Take this as a case study in how to lose customers AND lose money.
posted by Adam McFarland at
2/19/2007 05:58:00 PM
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