Hello, Contractors, It's Me. 

We’re constantly surprised when we answer the phone and Homeowners exclaim, “You’re the first contractor to actually answer the phone!” We typically arrive a few minutes early for appointments and find that clients are shocked when contractors show up at all!  Non-responsiveness seems to be a growing, alarming trend for contractors, much to the confusion of homeowners and commercial clients who are trying to hire them for paying jobs! It’s probably happened to you:  You leave messages with half a dozen contractors to gather bids for your project, but after three weeks of waiting for callbacks, you start wondering if your project is just a bad idea or if you need to invest in a stronger deodorant. Trust us, you smell fine, and you’re wise to hire professionals for your home improvement project. So, if you’re not the issue, why is the silent-phone-treatment a growing epidemic among small business contractors? Here are a few insights:

Contractors are builders, not office administrators. This seems too simple, but is honestly a factor. Most Contractors are craftsmen at heart who love to design, build, repair and beautify. They spend their energy and focus honing their craft and providing clients with quality designs and finished products. They are creative men and women who often get bogged down by the administrative side of the business. Creativity shrieks at the thought of letters, invoices, e-mails and phone calls, so these aspects of the business sometimes get lost in the process. A wise contractor will dedicate an assistant or office manager to these tasks to provide a comprehensive customer service experience.

Growing pains. When small, local contractors become widely known for their beautiful, creative work, the deluge of new clients and projects can be a factor. A one- or two-person team quickly becomes overwhelmed and is simply unable to keep up with the demand until the team grows at the same rate as the new work load.

Waiting for answers. Sometimes your Contractor is simply waiting for the same answers you are. His vendor may be having difficulty providing a materials quote, or the permitting process might be holding up progress. No Contractor wants to waste your time by frequently calling to say they have nothing new to say.

Here are a few tips for finding a responsive Contractor:

1)      Rely on reviews. Visit online services that list contractors with ratings or recommendations such as Angie’s List or Nextdoor.  Skip the contractors who consistently have comments from the past 6-12 months stating the Contractor “won’t call us back” or “didn’t show up for the meeting.”

2)      Pay careful attention to the Contractor’s reply to online reviews. You’ll know empty excuses when you hear them, and you’ll be able to recognize their true customer service philosophy by reading their own words.

3)      Be direct. Don’t be afraid to ask, “Is this job too small/too large for your company?” An honest contractor will be thankful for your understanding that their desire to help doesn’t always match their current timeline and workload.

4)      Get a timeline. If you’re waiting on a certain aspect of the job, ask when your Contractor expects an answer or an update to be available.

5)      Make sure that your Contractor has several ways to contact you. Provide a primary and secondary phone number when possible, and a working email address. Check your spam folder to make sure you didn’t miss that email you were expecting.

Unfortunately, some delays are unavoidable, and are as frustrating for your Contractor as they are for you. Because your time is valuable, we hope all your calls to contractors are being answered. But if you don’t hear from them, you can always call us!

Paving the Way Blog by Debbie Sanders      
Copyright 2017, All Rights Reserved