Times have sure changed. The majority of our years in business, work done was agreed upon by a handshake, and mutual trust. This was normal for small town Idaho. We were related to half the town and knew the other half!
In the last few years, that has changed. People saw our way of life and wanted it as their own. In some ways, it's a nice change. For example, going to the grocery store doesn't take 2 hours anymore because you had an informal family reunion in the aisle. Now, the massive increase in population has made a trip to the store quick, you don't know anybody in the store! On the other hand, that mutual trust has been all but eliminated.
Today, when you search for services, especially being new here, you don't know who to trust. You google a contractor for the services needed, make a call, and hopefully they show up. If you haven't done your research, you have no idea as to this contractor's experience, years in business, lawsuits against them, or if they are going to take your money and run. On the contractor's side, we don't know you, if you can pay, or if a disagreement will lead to a lawsuit against us. There are people in this county who have run through every single contractor in the area, fired and sued them. Yes, some people you just aren't going to make happy, they are out there in increasing numbers.
One thing I've observed with the simplest customer relations incidents, as well as the nightmarish ones, is that there was NO contract in place! I think the word contract has negative connotations for a lot of people, but it shouldn't. It is in place for YOUR protection, and OURS. In recent years, the ONLY time we have had issues is when we did not have a contract.
A good contract details the work to be done for a certain price. Anything in addition to the work will require a change order, and possible increase in cost. You as the customer know exactly what you're paying for, and the contractor has put a price on that work. You know and agree to the terms in which you will pay that contractor, and this is where it can get kind of hairy. It seems every week, we hear of a customer paying 50% down to a contractor, and the guy runs off with their money. Yep, it happens all the time and seems to be increasing. Whether it's an outright scam, or someone new to the industry who does not have the capability to be in business, it is a very real threat to your finances. YOU NEED TO RESEARCH YOUR CONTRACTOR! Is it abnormal to require a 50% down? Absolutely not, and you will find that any reputable contractor will require the same, or some other breakdown of staged funding. Banks operate this way when funding a project, BUT they have requirements those contractors MUST meet to be eligible to enter into a staged funding agreement.
A good contract provides an understanding of the entire parameter of the project, and may include other clauses that may seem out of the realm of normalcy. Some contractors, because of past experience, will have a clause stating that if after signing and agreeing to the contract for services, the customer enters into a contract with another contractor for services included in the original contractor's agreement, the customer will essentially pay a 25% or higher "cancellation" fee for that service. What? Why? You entered into a binding agreement for those services, and by contracting those services with another, you have breached the original contract. In most cases, it's because you may have found someone cheaper. Cheap work is not good work, and good work is not cheap. 99% of the time, you will regret "cheap" work, and that cheap work will cost significantly more to have someone with experience come fix it. No reputable contractor will come in and start where the cheap guy left you hanging, their reputation they've worked very hard to achieve is on the line, and they will start the fix from the ground up. Reputable contractors are in BUSINESS, not charity. A business is formed and ran to make a profit. Eliminating services from your signed contract cuts into that business's profits, plays havoc with scheduling, and makes it difficult to keep a steady workload, and keep good employees. A cancellation fee for services offered to another is reasonable.
Be clear with what you want your completed project to look like. Even with a contract, the majority of jobs end with MANY changes to the original plan. You may like to see something different as the contractor is well on their way through your project. That's fine! A change order should be agreed upon and signed by both parties, detailing the change and costs. We have had some nightmare projects, where every single day was a change to the original plan. It happens. After 15 change orders, it is not unreasonable to secure a blanket change order, stating that any changes from this point forward will be invoiced at a time and materials rate totaled at the end of the project. You can't spend every day in the office typing up change orders instead of being on the job. That causes huge delays in the project and pushes the next job out from its start date, making for customers that aren't very happy!
Other common language in a contract will state that the customer does not set hours, days, or priority to their project. Yes, some customers will tell a contractor what hours they will work, when they will start, and that they have to be their every day until it's done. The reality of that is, if that contractor can abide to those demands, theirs a very good chance you don't want them doing your job. A contractor and their employees ARE NOT your employees. While you have expectations of having your project done in a timely manner, a reputable contractor is often juggling several jobs at a time. One job might have something that is priority to get done before the next stage can begin, where they may need to pull the crew from yours. Yours may be the priority, pulling a crew from another job. Equipment needs, weather requirements and many other things dictate a contractor's schedule. That contractor wants to get your job done in a timely manner as well so they can get paid! Most customers are really good to work with and make our work enjoyable! I have had demands made of our schedule, with this actual clause in our contract. After a heated phone call due to OUR schedule not meeting the customers' demands, I stated I would be declining their job due to breach of contract. The tune changed really quick, and we completed their project without further misunderstanding. Some may think their single project is the only thing on our schedule, when it couldn't be farther from the truth. With long term contracts and obligations, each job is just a piece of the scheduling puzzle we face every day of every year.
We could spend days on contracts. You as the customer need to do your research on who you hire, nobody else will do it for you! A contractor that has been around for a significant amount of time is a safer bet than one that has been around for just a few years. The cheaper bid you received is definitely not the one you should choose. And you should never pay money to a contractor without a signed contract that states the down payment required, and have a copy of that contract as well as a receipt for payment. That contractor should also be licensed appropriately with that license readily available, bonded if required, and insured, which also means a worker's comp policy. If a contractor does not have a worker's comp policy, and their employee gets hurt doing your job, the compensation for that injury is going to come from you and your insurance. Of all the ways for your insurance to drop your coverage, why would you risk it on a contractor without insurance? Contract, proof of insurance, proof of licensing, and performance research will make your project run smoothly with outstanding results and save you from a mountain of headaches!
Comments