Halloween Horrors

The phone rang earlier than usual that morning. It was still dark outside.

The voice on the other end crackled to life. “I’m not sure if you can help me…we seem to have a problem with our house.”

“What type of problem?”

“The ceiling upstairs is cracking and the windows on the level below won’t work.”

“Do you have any idea what might be the cause?”

“We just bought the house not that long ago. We found a leak in the basement, but that can’t be it…can it?” I could feel her uncertainty from where I sat at my desk. Nothing is scarier than having a problem with your house and no idea of the source.

When plumbing leaks, the plumber points to it and gives a price to fix it. When a light stops working, the electrician gives the homeowner a price to fix the wiring. When a ceiling cracks, it could be any number of things.

“I’ll dispatch someone right away,” I said, hanging up the phone to call our carpenter.

I called the homeowner back, “He’ll be right over.”

The homeowners watched from their window as he pulled the truck into the driveway. He grabbed his clipboard, camera, and a few tools. Before walking to the door, he looked up at the towering house. A modern construction of gables and pricey trim, the expensively crafted rooflines complicated the picture. A gust of wind swirled dead leaves around his feet. It would snow soon. The front door eased open, and Mr. Homeowner stepped out to explain the situation.

The family walked our carpenter through their beautiful home: floors carpeted with the highest quality coverings, granite countertops, and glossy bathroom fixtures right out of a magazine. Everything seemed in order. No, it seemed better than in order. Everything was perfect. But something lurked underneath it all-- something waiting to cost the family and untold price.

“You said there was a leak in the basement?” Our carpenter asked the fidgeting homeowner.

“Yes,” he admitted. “I don’t think it could be the problem though. That’s all the way in the basement.” He met our carpenter’s eyes, hope leaching out of his expression with each passing second.

“Let’s take a look.”

They eased into the dark unfinished space. A fluorescent light flickered to life. The homeowner pointed to the dried evidence: a ring on the floor.

Our carpenter bent, reaching down, testing the concrete for dampness, the wall for fissures. He ran his hand up along the rough, unpainted, poured wall and felt his way into the dark cavity above. The insulation melted between his fingertips. He brought his hand back, rubbing the mildew laced water onto his jeans. The homeowner took a step back.

“What’s that?”

“Not sure.” Our carpenter grabbed a flashlight out of his tool bag and shined it into the dark, cavernous space. He pulled out the obscuring insulation. Accompanied by a sodden slap, it dropped to the floor in a soggy, pink heap. He reached in again, glancing back to the homeowner before pulling his hand out.

The support structure of the house crumbled, wet, into the palm of his hand. The towering home above was disintegrating, deteriorating to a pulpous sludge. The ceiling on the second floor was cracking because the house was sinking.

The homeowner paled knowing the fix would cost him dearly. His wife called from the top of the stairs.

Our carpenter had to say it. He had to say the one thing every homeowner dreads. He could fix it, and he could give him an estimate, but the final bill would be based on Time and Materials.

Mrs. Homeowner covered her mouth and turned away. She busied herself with the children, coloring at the kitchen table, blissfully unaware of the horror brewing just a few feet away.

“I guess we don’t have a choice,” Mr. Homeowner said. He closed the door behind our carpenter who promised to return the next day.

The next morning our carpenter showed up on time. He brought more equipment than Mr. Homeowner had anticipated. He ripped siding off, removed the window, and tore off shingles. He brought someone else to help, and they cut away the rotted wood. They jacked up the side of the house and slid new supports into place. The homeowner went to work, counting the mounting expenses, hoping for a miracle.

Later, our carpenter called me at the office. “My hours are in. Can you create the invoice?”

With trepidation, I collected the receipts, typing the numbers into the spread sheet, calculating the hours, watching the total at the bottom grow with every new line item.

The last number in, I hesitatingly scrolled to the bottom of the sheet. It wasn’t cheap. Slowly, I flipped open the file, hoping our carpenter was close in his estimate, sending a quick prayer that we wouldn’t have to terrify the homeowners with a heart stopping, Christmas destroying, surprise.

“Oh.” I flipped back to the front of the contract, checking again, comparing it to my spreadsheet.

Twenty bucks. The time and materials estimate was within twenty bucks.

I let out the breath I’d been holding and sat back. I’d forgotten. I worked for Degnan Design Builders. These people know how to estimate.

I hit print, emailed the invoice to the homeowner, and smiled, knowing the homeowners would be thrilled.

I guess there’s no horror story here…sorry. Happy Halloween!

Hair Gel, Change Orders, and Trust

One day, I went to get my hair done at a popular “upper scale” salon that shall remain nameless for the purposes of this blog (If you ask me in person, I’ll tell you all about it).

I looked great. She cut my hair the exact length, she offered the perfect amount of pointless conversation to take my attention off her strangely applied eyeliner, and I walked up to the counter feeling spiffed up and ready for the rest of my day.

She, extending the camaraderie (or so I thought), walked with me, chatted with the cheery receptionist, and commenced to pull bottles off the shelves. She placed them in front of me, “you’re gonna’ love how easy this style is to maintain.” She waved at the clerk and bounced off to her next victim client.

And there I stood; buying bottles of junk I didn’t want.

I walked to my car, convincing myself I had not just been duped, but I knew better. She employed a tactic that worked on me, and probably a lot of other people as well.

You know the one. It’s the one where the customer unwittingly buys a bunch of stuff they didn't plan on buying.

Last week, I was talking to another contractor who had recently lost a bid to a competitor. The competitor bid low and planned to make up the difference in change orders. It’s sad to say, but this is a standard practice for many builders. Unfortunately, clients don’t talk about it much, because no one likes to admit they feel cheated.

After I got my hair cut, my friends all complimented me. Do you think I told them the truth about my experience? No way. I told them the name of the stylist and pretended like her up-sale at the end of the transaction was normal.

But it wasn’t. And it didn’t have to be.

If she wanted to style my hair in a way so I would have to buy bottles of goo, she should have told me, and I would have probably been on board – maybe even excited about the change. I definitely would not be writing this blog.

The fact is every sales transaction involves a level of trust. I will not return to that stylist. Not because my bill was too much, but because of the surprise at the end of the process. In essence, no matter how good the cut was, I do not trust her to work in my best interest.

So what about contractors who work with this surprise at the end philosophy, and do so successfully? Why do they get away with it? Why do people still use that styling salon?

It goes back to not wanting to be the person who was taken advantage of.

As contractors, this is frustrating. We are professional, we know how much something costs, and to have another “professional” under-bid to get the homeowner to sign the bottom line is just plain dishonest. But, there is little we as contractors can do about it.

However, there is a lot you, as a customer, can do.

The builder wants you to trust them. Make them earn it. Call their references, and keep in mind, like me not telling my friends about how I was duped, people do not want to think they have been taken advantage of. They probably won’t admit it if they went with the lowest bid and their finished project cost them more than the highest bid. Ask specific questions that go beyond if they liked their experience. Questions like:

-How many change orders were there in total?

-What was the dollar amount of change orders?

-What was the reason for the change orders?

-How much did you spend on your home outside of your construction loan?

-Were the contractor’s allowances realistic for your goals?

-Did your appliances go over your allowance?

-Did your flooring go over your allowance?

-Did your landscape go over your allowance?

-Did your lighting selections stay within the allowance?

-Was the decorating and painting budget sufficient?

-Did you feel like you had the option to reject change orders, or did you feel forced into them?

-After you reflected on the allowances you were given, did you feel like they met your original expectations?

A $50.00 haircut is not exactly what I would call low cost, but it still was a lot less than I ended up paying for the privilege of the experience.

How much will you pay for your experience? Has your builder earned your trust?

We pride ourselves on our honest approach, and yes, sometimes our numbers might sound a bit high. That’s because we will bid what you ask for and nothing less. If you want an expensive faucet, you will find it in your bid, and not buried in an allowance that does not get close enough to paying for it. On the flip side, if it turns out to be more than you wanted to spend, we will help you trim your budget in a way that will not come back to bite you in the end.

Working with unrealistic allowances cheats the homeowner, the builder, and everyone involved. At Degnan Design Builders, we design to your budget. That means you have to power to control your costs, and can be assured we will not suddenly raise prices at the end of the transaction and leave you walking to your car, wondering what just happened, and why your $50.00 haircut turned into a $100.00 experience.

Oh, and ask me for the name of my new stylist…she’s fantastic.

By: Cara Luecht - Office Manager