Home Improvement Company Owners...

[HollaGeo]

The wife and I want to update our kitchen and one of our bathrooms. A job that would take a week or two in total. Not a huge project, but enough where somebody would make money. I am having a problem finding somebody to do the job. One guy came to my house (A friend gave me his number), he took measurements and said he would call me back with estimates , never did. I called some other people who advertised on Craigslist. They didn't pick up their phones. Is business good for these guys or what???

 

[jonesg]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

Did you mention how much you are willing to pay?

They know how much a job is worth at a glance.
My freind is good at that work , he counts the tiles on the floor to measure and estimates from that, $250-300 a linear foot.

You might be looking for a decent handyman more than a contractor.

 

[captmello]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

I do work like that all the time.

It sounds like some good indoor work for this time of year.

What exactly are you doing to the kitchen and Bathroom?

I would ask for more referrals from people you know and skip the craigslist ads. Even though the guys on craigslist could be good, you'll never know until it's too late.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

Check out http://www.angieslist.com/

 

[eaglejim]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

When I am bidding on a job and the owner is telling me what my price should be and how much profit I should make and how to do the job makes red flags go off,not saying you did this but this kind of work is hard enough and being able to work with the owner on a professional level is a plus so if I am bidding on 2 jobs at the same time the one that a jell with that respects my advice that will be my choice of who gets my attention

 

[HollaGeo]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

This also happened to me when I needed some electrical work done. I would just call and nobody answers their phone. There was one guy who was doing electrical work to a newly renovated house up the block from me. I told him I needed this done and that done (Nothing big). He said he would stop by, never did. It's not me. I'm a pretty easy going guy. I tell them what I want and let them do their job.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

I know what you're saying. I think it just comes with the territory. Just keep soliciting bids until you find the right one. That's always worked for me.

 

[Cofe]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

Stop by your local lumber yard and visit. Sometimes they have a bulletin board loaded with business cards. Also people in the kitchen/bathroom departments usually know who is doing good work in the area.

 

[rickryder]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

PM sent

 

[fat fanny]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

One thing I have learned unless u do it yourself you'll never be satisfied and if you pick someone remember u only get what u pay for!

 

[12vMan]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

A lot of guys get in over their head when they keep saying 'yes' to all of your requests, and the easy way for them to bail out before they prove they can't do the job is to simply not call back. Maybe your job requires the skills of several trades where you will need a specialized outfit to take care of you.
Craigslist has a lot of low-ballers who only want the gravy work and won't or can't do anything complicated. I'm in no way insinuating that all or even most are like this, but I know, I've bid against many and come up short only to have the customers call me back to fix it.
I would google kitchen & bath remodeling <your city> and then try neighboring cities and see what comes up. Get a couple or 3 estimates, eliminate any fast talkers wanting to sell you on the spot, get license info, referrals and also be open - tell them what you're going through with no callbacks. Let them know it's OK if they aren't interested in doing the job.
Hopefully you find someone who's honest and you feel comfortable with in your home.

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

Maybe it's because we're a military town with a great economy, but I've had a hard time finding contractors here.

Baseline...you answer the phone, or at least return the message. I lose most there, fortunately I guess.
1st...You actually show up to assess the job. I lose the most of the rest at this stage.
2nd...You show up to do the work. This comes down to the first one that actually shows up.

I had some fence work where I had a contractor upset with me because I had gone with a local handyman.
I explained to him that, had he returned the call from a valued customer, he probably would have had the job.
Sorry friend, this guy actually picked up the phone and fixed my storm damaged fence two days before you
called me back.

 

[rickryder]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

I have to jump in on this.

I am a construction company owner. Here is a quote from our web page and advertising
"Are you tired of contractors who don't return your calls? Sick of being told your job is too small?
At JLR Construction call backs are guaranteed and no job is too small"

We pride ourselves on doing the right thing CALLING the customer back!

On the flip side... We work 5-6 days a week 8-14 hour days...come home and do paper work,bids etc.
So Joe customer calls and sets an appointment for us to see their job... Drive over on a Sat or Sun.or after working all day. Spend time discussing the job.
Now there is the estimating of the job...back to the office to work up a bid.....lets say it's a 1000 sq ft addition.
It takes hours of figuring out materials and labor costs... Call the customer back to present the bid....Mr Joe customer says OK thanks for the quote and we will let you know.....Now keep in mind that estimates are free for the customer....meanwhile it's costing me money.
Time to go to the estimate,fuel for the truck,time spent bidding etc. and do we ever hear back from the customer......Maybe? Sometimes?
This happens more than you might think! Every time my time=money is wasted.... but Joe doesn't pay a dime!
I try to follow up with calls with no reply.... There are two sides to this.... Just wanted to give you our view....

HollaGeo We are in NJ and would be happy to estimate your project

 

[eastont]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

I have to jump in on this.

I am a construction company owner. Here is a quote from our web page and advertising
"Are you tired of contractors who don't return your calls? Sick of being told your job is too small?
At JLR Construction call backs are guaranteed and no job is too small"

We pride ourselves on doing the right thing CALLING the customer back!

On the flip side... We work 5-6 days a week 8-14 hour days...come home and do paper work,bids etc.
So Joe customer calls and sets an appointment for us to see their job... Drive over on a Sat or Sun.or after working all day. Spend time discussing the job.
Now there is the estimating of the job...back to the office to work up a bid.....lets say it's a 1000 sq ft addition.
It takes hours of figuring out materials and labor costs... Call the customer back to present the bid....Mr Joe customer says OK thanks for the quote and we will let you know.....Now keep in mind that estimates are free for the customer....meanwhile it's costing me money.
Time to go to the estimate,fuel for the truck,time spent bidding etc. and do we ever hear back from the customer......Maybe? Sometimes?
This happens more than you might think! Every time my time=money is wasted.... but Joe doesn't pay a dime!
I try to follow up with calls with no reply.... There are two sides to this.... Just wanted to give you our view....

HollaGeo We are in NJ and would be happy to estimate your project

I know exactly how you feel. Being a business owner is not as glorious as people seem to think. I operated my own business, and when asked what the best thing about being a business owner was, I always had the same answer...." It's choosing which 60 hours of the week to work"

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

A lot of the small contractors here, actually charge for their bids, then if they get the job, they will credit the bid charge against the bill, I know a lot of the guys that do this and they say it has actually worked out quite well.

 

[Insteada]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

Check out http://www.angieslist.com/

Best $50 I've spent. We got our drainage guy, bug guy, siding guy, sump pump/waterproofing guy/HVAC guy from there and have been thrilled. The one time that one of them let me down it only took a short update on the list for them to immediately volunteer to make it right. I then updated my update. Spend the money and join the list. You won't regret it.

 

[12vMan]

Re: Home Improvement Company Owners...

I know this is off the original topic of concern that HollaGeo has, but I think this could help any contractors out there reading this thread that have similar issues on the other side of the fence, so I apologize in advance..

I have to jump in on this.

I am a construction company owner. Here is a quote from our web page and advertising
"Are you tired of contractors who don't return your calls? Sick of being told your job is too small?
At JLR Construction call backs are guaranteed and no job is too small"

We pride ourselves on doing the right thing CALLING the customer back!

On the flip side... We work 5-6 days a week 8-14 hour days...come home and do paper work,bids etc.
So Joe customer calls and sets an appointment for us to see their job... Drive over on a Sat or Sun.or after working all day. Spend time discussing the job.
Now there is the estimating of the job...back to the office to work up a bid.....lets say it's a 1000 sq ft addition.
It takes hours of figuring out materials and labor costs... Call the customer back to present the bid....Mr Joe customer says OK thanks for the quote and we will let you know.....Now keep in mind that estimates are free for the customer....meanwhile it's costing me money.
Time to go to the estimate,fuel for the truck,time spent bidding etc. and do we ever hear back from the customer......Maybe? Sometimes?
This happens more than you might think! Every time my time=money is wasted.... but Joe doesn't pay a dime!
I try to follow up with calls with no reply.... There are two sides to this.... Just wanted to give you our view....

HollaGeo We are in NJ and would be happy to estimate your project

I'm totally with you on this, and I agree that it's frustrating spending all that time on bidding with no return.

What you need to really think about and take into serious consideration is what MTboatguy said about charging for bids. What we actually do is charge a non-refundable retainer that goes towards the price of the project. The amount of the retainer can vary depending on the size of the project. We still give free estimates but when we get to the stage where the consumer is interested in working with us we get the retainer. Like you've pointed out - it's only fair to get paid for diving into a project designing, determining what materials to use and how much, and maybe even making architectural decisions - and all for free? I think not.

Since we started this business practice and it has worked out beautifully. You may think business will be lost, when actually it's business you wouldn't have gotten anyway. It really weeds out the tire kickers and leaves the serious consumer that is convinced you can do the job timely, accurately, honestly, and correctly.

The first step is to get your bidding time under control. You need to invest some serious time coming up with a formula to quick-estimate based on square foot, lineal foot or whatever works for the particular project, and works for you. Key word Estimate. Remember, you're estimating to give a budget figure, not an exact price. Obviously neither you nor the consumer want any surprises, so you need to be as accurate as you can without going overboard. Let the customer know about this and the retainer upfront, and if done regularly, this system will quickly become a regular part of your normal routine.

We spend a fraction of the time on bids anymore than we used to. Remember - it can mean more time on the water!