I promised Susan I would not post this post until all the repairs to our home had been completed and the checks had been cashed.
When we first met with the repair team from SERVPRO — this would have been on October 29 — one of the things Susan wanted them to commit to in writing was a completion date. Specifically, we wanted the work completed by Thanksgiving. The project manager from SERVPRO said they would/could not put a completion date in writing. Susan was scheduled to be out of town November 2 through November 9, and with me not working due to the furlough, both the project manager and the lead contractor assured us that the work would be completed before Susan returned from her trip. The repairs involved replacing the damaged baseboards (which had already been removed), repairing three sections of damaged drywall, and repainting approximately 1/3 of our house. Despite what sounded like a lot of work to me, everyone involved said once they found baseboards that matched ours, work would begin the next day and they would “knock it out in a day.”
For the record there were multiple reasons why we wanted to know when the work would be complete. First, as mentioned, we needed to know if we were going to be able to host Thanksgiving this year or if we needed to make other arrangements. Second, in the past, we’ve dealt with contractors twice (building the workshop and installing the pool) and both times the contractors went months past the original agreed upon completion time, so were trying to proactively manage that. Third, we needed to schedule the installation of new carpet in the house. Since SERVPRO said all the work would be done by November 9, we scheduled carpet installation for November 11.
What I learned from our most recent adventure is the reason contractors won’t commit to a completion date is because none of these people have any intent on finishing a job when they say it will be done. They just tell you what you want to hear to get the job.
The baseboards were found and purchased on Friday, October 31. Part of me expected work to begin on Saturday, November 1, but it did not. Susan left for her trip on Sunday, November 2, with work set to begin on Monday, November 3.
Nobody showed up on Monday. On Tuesday, two workers arrived and worked for two hours on repairing the drywall. They said they would be back later that day, but they never returned. Nobody showed up on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. I spent an entire week staying in or close to my home waiting for people to show up. I get that it’s not quite house arrest or anything, but waiting around for people to show up who never arrive is super annoying.
On Saturday, November 8, workers finally arrived. To meet the deadline of November 9 the crew would have to work a super long and productive day. Thirty minutes after they arrived I was informed they had “brought the wrong saw,” and that all work had stopped until the right one arrived which was “iabout an hour away.” The saw arrived about thirty minutes before it was time for their lunch break. It was painfully obvious to me that the work would not be completed by November 9. I was starting to wonder if it would be completed by Christmas.
On Sunday, November 9, Susan returned from her trip and asked if everything had been completed as promised. I laughed, and laughed, and laughed.
On Monday, November 10, painters arrived. They painted all day long and did a good job. At the end of the day they said they would be back the following day, November 11, to finish painting. We said “no you won’t” because that was carpet day.
Now if it were me — and what do I know? — I sure would have tried to finish all the painting before new carpet was installed because prior to that if paint dripped it would have dripped onto the concrete foundation instead of brand new carpet. But because they didn’t show up for an entire week, the painters’ schedule now straddled the carpet installation, which meant when they returned they would have to tape everything off with plastic and deal with that.
This is getting long so I’ll wrap it up. The carpet people arrived on time, installed the carpet, and left. They were here for seven hours and we were their first of two jobs for the day.
On Wednesday, the painters returned and had to put plastic everywhere and cover everything and that’s when it dawned on me that they couldn’t care less. They’re all getting paid and the work gets done when it gets done. When they finish this job it’s off to the next. They get paid the same whether they’re putting down plastic or painting walls. Once you’ve signed the contract they have no incentive to go fast. Meeting deadlines is an inside joke to these people.
Thursday, November 13, was interesting. That was the day SERVPRO informed us they would be coming by to pick up their final check. That’s when Susan informed them that the job wasn’t done. No one had replaced the baseboards in the kitchen they had removed. Remember when I said it took them a week to come out and start work? When Susan said she was withholding the check, the carpenter was at our house within 30 minutes and by the time he wasleaving, the painters had arrived and had applied two coats of paint by 10 A.M. Deadlines are not these people’s language; withholding payment is.
That same Thursday, the furlough ended and I went back to work. All that nonsense about finishing things in a day or a week was all lip service. While I was a bit irritated that they had essentially tied up the entire time I was on furlough when I could have been doing something else, at least I didn’t have to take a bunch of leave off work to babysit (or worse, sit around waiting for them to arrive).
The remainder of the unused baseboards sat in our garage for another two weeks. On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving we got a random text informing us someone would be by Wednesday morning to pick them up. When nobody had arrived by noon I hauled them out of the garage, put them in the driveway, and told Susan if they were there Thanksgiving morning I would chop them up into little pieces and put them in the trash dumpster. Wednesday afternoon they disappeared and we assume the contractors picked them up although they never told us one way or the other and frankly I don’t care.
Through past experiences I have learned that the anger and frustration from these situations disappears. I remember “being” angry and frustrated when the completion date of my workshop was four months overdue, but I’m not angry or frustrated about it today. At some point they just become memories, lessons, and stories, and I’m sure that’s what this will become, too. It’s been a couple of weeks now and you can’t tell there was any damage. The walls are freshly painted and the new carpet looks great.
One parting thought. Every single person involved in these repairs left us a business card and invited us to cut out the middleman next time and call them directly. I have business cards from the project manager, the head contractor… even the painters left one. I kind of gather there’s not a lot of loyalty in this line of work. Also based on what I saw, these guys cook every job that comes their way and then juggle them, deadlines be damned. I don’t really mind the work taking a week or two longer than I expected. What I mind is having people shake your hand and smile while lying to my face.
This year for Thanksgiving I was thankful that all the work was completed before the holidays began. And I am thankful that this ordeal is finally over.
