Why is good customer service so hard to find?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I've found a lot of contractors don't give you the time of day. Hence it's better with word of mouth. Even if you pay more because sometimes they just never come out for a quote.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Our house is very compact, so the scope of projects we want to hire out are often quite small. I think that has been a problem in getting people to come give quotes. One or two have said, no, it's great because our little projects can fill in for down time between larger projects. For example, we needed new columns inserted under our porch roof. The company we hired did the job in just a few hours. Elsewhere this company was building (or re-building or repairing) things like multi-level decks with attached benches and matching gazebos in the yard, a days long project. There just wasn't much profit in coming to our house versus doing the deck and gazebo work. Can't really blame companies who don't want to schedule us when they have better prospects.

However, we finally have built a relationship with a home improvement contractor who is good, and prompt, and willing. It started when they came from the next county over and leafletted here in the city. We hired them to wrap the exterior wood frames on our windows and to re-do some trim & eaves work our crappy roofer (never want them on our property again) had done poorly. While here, they offered spontaneously to do another job, for free. I said, no, I'll pay you and please do that other job not only there, but here, too...This company really grew in its success over the subsequent years and we've called them for more projects. On the last job (just replacing a storm door, had to be custom) the owner came out and he was chatting about how so many of his competitors had gone out of business with the 2008-&-beyond housing bust. He said that he was happy to do lots of the small jobs he'd started his business with and that he was continuing to employ everyone he'd employed at the height of the economy.

But yeah, we've previously had several never show up to even give a quote when we'd set an appointment. They weren't late. They just did not show at all.

[disneysteve]

Yes, part of our qualification practice is to determine if there is any competition, and if so who the competitor is. We don't mind competing against a good, qualified contractor but won't waste our time if they have us bidding against Cheap Chuck. Most of our business is negotiated with little or no competition.

Interesting. As a customer, I can tell you that if I called a contractor and he asked me who else was bidding on the job, I'd tell him that was none of his business. That would make me extremely suspicious of him, enough that I wouldn't even want his quote at that point.

It would be fiscally irresponsible for us not to get multiple quotes.

Maybe it would be irresponsible, maybe it wouldn't? First time the snow removal guy plows up a bunch of your parking bumpers, curbs and landscaping and won't repair it, that low price doesn't look too good.

As I said, we don't choose solely based on price. We still do our research, check references, etc. If someone had that kind of track record, we wouldn't use them regardless of price.

[Fishindude77]

Interesting. As a customer, I can tell you that if I called a contractor and he asked me who else was bidding on the job, I'd tell him that was none of his business. That would make me extremely suspicious of him, enough that I wouldn't even want his quote at that point.

That's certainly your right as a customer. You also have to understand that putting together estimates and proposals involves lots of time and money. Why spend time and money on someone that won't be 100% honest with us from the get go? It's dumb to chase business that you have very low odds of getting.

The competitive bidding scenario sets the stage for an adversarial relationship. Contractors leave stuff out or cut corners because they know they have to be low bid. This is why you hear all of these horror stories about huge cost over-runs, quality issues, project delays, etc. This practice is jokingly referred to as "Bid, Build, Sue".

Most buyers that do this stuff every day develop a partnership of trust with their vendors, keep everything above board and honest, negotiate projects, and let their vendors make a little money.

[disneysteve]

Contractors leave stuff out or cut corners because they know they have to be low bid.

And that's exactly why I almost never go with the low bidder. I want the best price for quality work, not just the lowest possible price.

[Koolmagicguy]

You can't put a dollar amount on customer service. There is no amount of money that will guarantee someone gives a crap about their work. The first hour at my first job I was going out of my way to help customers for $7.75/hr. I have always had high standards for myself. Customers love me but management has never rewarded me for my customer attention. I just do the right thing for the hell of it.

[disneysteve]

You can't put a dollar amount on customer service. There is no amount of money that will guarantee someone gives a crap about their work.

Exactly. And that's another reason why getting multiple quotes is important. You have the opportunity to speak with the person face to face and get a sense of what type of person they are. Do they really care about their work or is it just a job to them? Will your job matter and get the necessary attention or will they farm it out to some subcontractor who won't care about the relationship?

[Fishindude77]

Your approach is part of why you are not getting good customer service. You start out right out of the gate with the mindset that you have to get multiple quotes. Which translates as .... I don't trust you to treat me fair or do me a good job so I'm going to check you out against several others. Smart vendors don't want to do business like that and won't participate in that game.

[Koolmagicguy]

Your approach is part of why you are not getting good customer service. You start out right out of the gate with the mindset that you have to get multiple quotes. Which translates as .... I don't trust you to treat me fair or do me a good job so I'm going to check you out against several others. Smart vendors don't want to do business like that and won't participate in that game.

So you should go with the first person you call? Capitalism runs on competition. Lowest bid wins.

[msomnipotent]

So you should go with the first person you call? Capitalism runs on competition. Lowest bid wins.

I would say that the best bid wins. There have been several times when I went with the highest bid, simply because they sounded like they knew what they were doing and would do it right. I was only disappointed once when doing that.

I think I have tried everything to get competent work, and failed a lot. In fact, I am sitting here waiting for tile guy to return to fix his crew's mistakes. He was supposed to be here yesterday and didn't show. Looks like today is the same. Yet another company that I will not be doing business with again.

[Fishindude77]

You might be surprised how good people will treat you if you'd just trust them a little.

[disneysteve]

Your approach is part of why you are not getting good customer service. You start out right out of the gate with the mindset that you have to get multiple quotes. Which translates as .... I don't trust you to treat me fair or do me a good job so I'm going to check you out against several others. Smart vendors don't want to do business like that and won't participate in that game.

This makes absolutely no sense. Let me give you details of two recent jobs.

1. The job that started this thread was needing our broken garage door repaired. I didn't seek multiple quotes. I made one phone call to a company that has been around for many years and has done garage work for us before. That phone call was immediately put on hold and it took a full 5 minutes before a human answered. I very nearly hung up during that time because I consider it unacceptable to not even answer your phone like that.

I stuck it out and arranged to have someone come out that day. I was told they would come between 11 and 1. That didn't happen. When my wife called to ask for an update, she got no apology for the delay. Just a bad attitude and a promise that they would come the next day between 11 and 1 and we'd be the 2nd job on the schedule so it should be closer to 11. Again, they didn't show. When she called that time, the guy was just outright rude and she told him to forget it because their customer service sucked and we'd find someone else to do the work.

2. Last year, we replaced our furnace and central air. We first called the largest, best known company in the region. They came out promptly and gave us a quote for $13,000. They guy was cocky and did his best to push me into the signing the contract immediately. As soon as I mentioned that we were waiting on another quote, he got rude and angry, packed up his stuff as fast as he could, and got out of the house.

We then had someone who came highly recommended come out. He laughed when we told him about the first quote and said that company is a joke. He did the job, as well as later doing our hot water heater, and charged us $6,000 less than the first company.

So in example one, we would have happily used the first company we called if they had bothered to show up. It isn't my fault or my mindset that caused that job to go south. That fault was entirely with the vendor.

In example two, had we blindly used company one based on their size and reputation, we would have wasted $6,000. And I would not be at all surprised if we would have had some issues with them in the process. So we did get another quote and it paid off tremendously. We would have been outrageously stupid to use the first company. Surely, they've built their reputation on people blindly using them and not shopping around to realize how awful they really are.

Getting multiple quotes doesn't mean I don't trust someone. Two or three very trustworthy companies can have two or three very different approaches to a job and two or three wildly different prices.

Not shopping around for major purchases is just plain stupid. Over the 22 years we've owned our home, had we not made a habit of getting 2 or 3 quotes for each major job we've had done, we would have easily spent tens of thousands of dollars unnecessarily.

[rennigade]

I couldnt imagine having to weed through scummy contractors who cut corners...wont show up on time or all all...take your money and run...etc etc.

Im from the other side of the coin. My dad used to do a lot of side work..anything from replacing roofs, building wings/additions onto homes, converting attics/basements into rooms, building decks...anything that involved wood. Because he was so deep into the business he knew other contractors and built relationships with those people. If he was building out a new bathroom...he did not do plumbing...but he knew plumbers he trusted and would recommend...and always did good work at a fair price. He also wouldnt touch electrical...but again knew of people who did good work.

Here's the jist of finding a good contractor. It has to be by word of mouth. If you're just randomly calling contractors to do something for you and give quotes...good luck. I understand this is what most people have to do. Its a crap shoot.

I also know most people recommend finding someone who is insured or whatever its called...my father has never been insured or never had any specific license. If someone calls him for work to be done thats it...they're picking him. I dont recall a time when he went out and gave a quote only for the person to find someone else to do the work. He's never advertised...all of his jobs are through friends, family or people who recommended him to others.

Its so hard to trust anyone anymore. We just had a friend who had contractors in to do some work. For whatever reason they took their wedding ring off and sat it somewhere in a drawer. Well that went missing. They couldnt point the finger because they had no proof...but they knew who stole it.

[Fishindude77]

Didn't figure I'd change your mind. It's obvious there is a general distrust of contractors due to a few personal experiences.

Had a smart old client call me in to do a project many years ago and right out of the gate his first words were .... I want you to do this job, I'm not getting other bids. You just treat me fair. I could of hit a home run profit on that job but there was no way in heck myself or many others would cheat a guy like that, that was being so honest and fair. Gave him our best pricing and first rate service and have had that account for over 30 years now. I took a note from that old boy, and when I get stuff done that's exactly how I deal with folks. They treat me very well every time. Pricing probably isn't the lowest around but it's certainly fair.

[msomnipotent]

You might be surprised how good people will treat you if you'd just trust them a little.

I have read your posts on this thread, and your ideas might work in your neck of the woods but certainly not in mine. As I have posted before, I think I have tried everything. When I used the "Oh, I just want to be treated fairly and I will do the same" spiel, it resulted in spending over $6,000 on a furnace that was supposed to be top of the line from a company with great reviews AND I already had a relationship with, and it turned out to be the bottom tier and way overpriced. And I found out later that even though I stated that I needed my furnace repaired, they sent a salesman posing as a repair person and told me I needed a new one. They knew they could do anything they wanted because my furnace stopped working in the coldest part of winter in the Midwest, so they took advantage. My experience is that is how it goes when you let people know you are not getting other bids.

And then there was the painter that not only overcharged me because he didn't want the job even though he knew several family members referred him, but he sent his worst crew. They did such an awful job that the owner sent them back to my house twice to fix things. Even he thought it was a bad job, and he was obviously a lousy business owner. I could write a book just on the painting experience alone.

I could write a bigger book on all the crap I had to deal with from shady contractors. So I don't automatically choose the highest bidder, or someone that was recommended, or the lowest bidder. I have owned 5 properties and have been burned several times on each of them. And to be really honest, if someone told me to just trust him and not get any other bids, I would tell him that he wasn't getting my job. I have had too many problems to not do my due diligence.

On the flip side, when I find someone I like, I ask for several business cards and give them out. Once I do something, everyone in my family has to have it done also. And I write good reviews or offer to write a letter of recommendation.