Even after all these years...

"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
06/08/2018 at 10:31 • Filed to: Things that make work tolerable

I never get tired of a little positive feedback.

DISCUSSION (10)

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/08/2018 at 10:33

I love the “thanks for the great work” emails that are so, so rare. Usually it’s “why didn’t you get me more money????” even if I took a denied claim all the way over the $100K mark.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/08/2018 at 10:38

Agreed, unsolicited praise is rare. Most of my emails are, “I need things but I don’t want to pay the number that you say the things will cost in order to pay for the things. How can we remedy this?”

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/08/2018 at 10:42

Noted. If I ever have a contractor that does anything above “not quite what we talked about, but not wrong enough to have you come fix” I will be sure to email them my thanks.

Err sorry, I’ve been fighting with contractors almost constantly for a year now. I know there are good ones out there that return phone calls, show up when they say they will, and do a job right the first second third time... but I haven’t found one yet.

Good to know you’re one of the good ones!

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/08/2018 at 10:46

It often feels impossible to find a decent one. My experience as a homeowner has been:

- “good enough” general contractor with no sense of aesthetics
- worst fucking plumber ever
- garage door: good sales rep, lousy labor
- carpenter: excellent but whimsical
- did I mention the worst plumber part yet? Oh, okay.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/08/2018 at 10:56

Sounds about right. On this bathroom project alone I’ve had two contractors ghost me, one takes 2-3 days to return calls/ texts, and another that sent me a quote that had more misspelled words than correct. Weirdly the 2-3 days guy is likely going to get the job.

Other fun ones:

HVAC guy that said I needed to replace all my ducts when the heat wasn’t working. It took me 10 min with a screwdriver to figure out the thermostat was wired wrong.

Lumber contractor that backed into my house THREE TIMES before leaving and not saying anything

Plumber that installed a shower valve upside down, so now the only setting I have is “tepid”

Plumber that charged $750 to find where a pipe was broken, but completely missed the preceding 6 feet of cracked pipe

Painters for a different contractor that only painted the new wood and with poorly matched paint

Structural inspector that didn’t go into the crawl space or attic

Oh the joys of home ownership..

VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/08/2018 at 11:40

Okay. I’ve had some pretty good contractors come over and look at shit I can’t do, and while I’ve said thank you to their faces, I let yelp or google reviews do the speaking for me. In your expert opinion would a personalized thank you note be better/just as good/preferred?
I figure a good review would only help him, plus suggesting them as referrals is a practical way of thanking someone for a job well done.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/08/2018 at 12:03

I’ve only hired a few people to do stuff around my place thus far. The only one worth mentioning was an electrician that did a freaking fabulous job, but was painfully expensive.

Oh yes, and my gardener is fine.

Our house cleaner did a good job the first time, but her employees suck and she’s flaky as shit, so it’s like pulling teeth just to get an appointment. Will not hire again. Luckily, my wife and I decided that we’d focus on our official areas - she is indoor, I’m outdoor. Although I also maintain and empty Carl the Roomba.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely
06/08/2018 at 12:05

On the grand general scale, Google and yelp reviews would benefit them most, I suppose.

I just enjoy the personal thanks because I never look up yelp or google for myself or my company (not into that stuff myself - word of mouth and referrals are more powerful than online reviews for what we do). Consider also person X: “Very professional and whatever. Would recommend.” Nothing in there says, “Zoidberg was great!” The review of you as a professional just turns into a faceless review of the company overall. Because I can guaran-damn-tee had that guy gotten someone else in the building, his experience could have been veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery different for what he needed.

jkm7680 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/08/2018 at 17:46

I had somebody complain that we left a “couple” sticks in her driveway (5 exactly.) I told her “then pick them up” and blocked her number. I only do my stupid side business work like 1-2 days a week, but still fuck everybody.

Chariotoflove > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/09/2018 at 16:36

We have a guy that does everything from handyman stuff to full on contracting for construction. He has people for all the trades that he has relationships with, and I can trust him to get the job done when he says he will. Unusual to say the least.