Contractors and Small Jobs

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
Is it true that contractors don't necessarily take jobs in the order they're received? When I asked one why it took so long to get around to me, he said that they give priority to the jobs they pay the most. For example, if I have a job for them that they're only going to make around $100 on, I will keep getting bumped down as higher estimated jobs come in. Is that fair to the person waiting to get work done?

I called a local plumber 3 weeks ago and he said then it would be a week to 10 days before he could get around to me. I finally called him back and he said he "got involved in a big job" and didn't know when he could get around to me. Sounds like he doesn't want a small job.
 

I find that a lot of local contractors have that attitude up here in Scotland. There are a great many small businesses here in town. And you'd think they'd be grateful for the work.

The last time I called a contractor out was for a blocked outside drain. They came twice. Never sorted it. The local water board solved the problem,free of charge. But I still got a £300+ bill from the contractor.

The same drain got blocked again recently (don't put facial wipes down the toilet). This time I bought a set of drain rods and did the job myself! Total cost £22.50
 
If a plumber did that to me I'd find another plumber. My money's as good as anyone else's and if contractors don't take on small jobs they may well find themselves out of business when the big customers don't need them and the small ones don't want them anymore. I know people NEED plumbers, but we need them when we need them and if one won't come, there's always another.
 

My plumber is very upfront that they prioritize jobs by their seriousness, i.e., a broken line that is pouring water into the house gets priority over my dripping sink. I'm fine with that.

Two years ago when a main line broke under the house and was dumping water like mad into the crawl space, they were over here right away and had to put some other people's dripping sinks, etc., off, too. So for me it works out just fine and I understand that they do the emergency things first.
 
I recently received a flyer in the mail from a local contractor offering "deals" on jobs. I thought my house was HUGE, but to take advantage of their deals, you'd have to own Buckingham Palace or Versailles. Here are their offers:

$1000 off roofing with minimum purchase of 48 squares
$1000 off siding with minimum of 4000 sq ft feet of siding
$1000 off replacement windows - minimum of 15 windows
$500 off attic insulation - minimum of 4000 sq ft of full attic space
 
Goldfynche said:
I find that a lot of local contractors have that attitude up here in Scotland. There are a great many small businesses here in town. And you'd think they'd be grateful for the work.

The last time I called a contractor out was for a blocked outside drain. They came twice. Never sorted it. The local water board solved the problem,free of charge. But I still got a £300+ bill from the contractor.

The same drain got blocked again recently (don't put facial wipes down the toilet). This time I bought a set of drain rods and did the job myself! Total cost £22.50
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I've heard a lot of complaints about workmen in this low population area of Scotland. They take their time. Fortunately, my husband can do almost all plumbing, electrical, carpentry type jobs. When the roof tiles blow off in a bad storm we've found the roofers to be pretty quick about coming to fix them.
 
I haven't heard form that plumber that said he stop by over a month ago because he got involved in a "big" job, so I phoned him 10 days ago and he said then it would be a few more days and hinted that he might even be able to swing by on the weekend. That was a week ago. I finally called him again and he said that he didn't call me because he "lost my number" and he'd try to get here on Saturday but it would be "late". He never gives a definite day and time - it always "I'll try" or "Maybe". The last two times I spoke with him, every time he mentioned a day it kept getting further and further away. e.g. "I'll try to get they the day after tomorrow." then later in the conversation. "I might be able to get there on the weekend." Then further along, "It might be the middle of next week before I can get there".

Believe me, I'm going to remember this the next time I need a plumber.
 
So yesterday I left a message on a local electricians phone, about my oven element (mentioned elsewhere) but he hasn't got back to me as yet.
 
debodun said:
If he doesn't want the job, why doesn't he just say so?
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This is the thing that really bothers me about some contractors. They keep you hanging on. I guess they don't want to close any doors, just in case they have a slow period.

I suppose the thing to do is just call several people all at once and take the first one that shows up that is reasonable, then tell the others "Sorry." That just doesn't seem ethical to me, but that is exactly what they do to you.
 
I'm lucky I haven't had any trouble with my plumber. He's always good about letting me know when he'll be here and he calls me from his truck when he's heading my way. I've used the same guy for several years now.
 

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