Webster Remodeling

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/05/10) */
[redacted] called me to request a remodeling estimate from my contracting business for his home because he lived a few houses down from my parents and knew who I was. My business partner ([redacted]) and I walked through [redacted]'s house in order to look at...

everything [redacted] wanted done to his home in order to put it up on the market to sell. A few days later I revisited [redacted] at his home with a written estimate which was broken down into detail so that he could pick and choose what he would like us to do and what he wanted to do himself in order to save as much money on the project as possible.
After we reviewed the estimate together, [redacted] decided that he would supply all materials, remove all the trim, furniture, and remaining carpet; as well as re-install the trim that he had removed in order to save money and speed the project along. [redacted] agreed that he would have the furniture cleared out of each room and carpet removed as we needed it to be in order to complete any necessary work. He also stated that he simply wanted this to be a "quick patch up job" in order to keep costs down since he was planning on selling. I agreed to start the following Monday and we shook hands. [redacted] showed up during the morning of the agreed upon date and I went to do work on an additional project that had also been scheduled. It is not at all uncommon for a contracting company to have work carried out by partners, employees, or laborers so I am unsure why this was an issue.
The bid stated that the customer desired only one coat of paint on all quoted walls. I informed the customer that one coat may not yield the results he was looking for and his response was to wait and see what one coat looked like. Once the first coat was applied, the customer came to the conclusion that one coat did not cover well enough and requested that a second coat be applied and also asked if we could hide exposed drywall edges around all door jambs that was left by a previous contractor. I then submitted an additional work order and cost estimate for the extra work. He agreed to the price and we applied the second coat of paint and covered the exposed drywall edges around the door jambs.
The next thing that we worked on was the Pergo flooring that the customer wanted installed. The original flooring that he purchased was very cheap and flimsy and would not lock together completely and rippled with his uneven subflooring. I promptly called the customer to inform him of this. He then came home and tried to install a few pieces himself and came to the same conclusion. He then went out and purchased the next grade up. The customer was informed that in order to hide edges of flooring properly, the existing interior door jambs needed to be removed and re-installed once the flooring was done. The customer then stated that this would take too much time and cost too much so we agreed to install around door jambs and attempt to hide with a different solution.
As work continued, the customer was beginning to not hold up their agreed upon end of the deal. Furniture was not being removed from work space as promised and the customer began expecting work to be done that was not specified in the original estimate. I continually reminded the customer of the agreed upon work by showing him the original estimate. Afterward each time we reviewed it together, he seemed to understand and be content, but the next morning he would revisit the issue and claim to not remember the previous conversation. Midway through the project the customer began to express discontent about the amount of time the project was taking. I repeatedly apologized and reminded him that additional work was added, workspace had not been cleared as promised, and even took partial blame by saying I may have underestimated the time necessary to complete the project. After each of several conversations about this issue, the customer seemed understanding and also appeared to be past this issue, but would repeatedly revisit the issue during the course of the project as if forgetting our previous conversations entirely.
We also ended up doing many extra things during the course of the project without charge in an attempt to satisfy the customer who was growing increasingly disgruntled and irrational. We removed the base trim in the kitchen, in order to speed along the linoleum flooring part of the project, we installed additional linoleum flooring in the laundry room, we installed brand new hardware on all the cabinet doors and drawers, we added 4 additional coats to the laundry room walls to satisfy the customer, and we also did not charge the customer for the material needed to cover drywall edges along door jambs. All this was done for no additional charge in an attempt to restore satisfaction to the customer.
I find it offensive to be accused by the customer of using his tools, especially without permission when in fact, I graciously allowed him to borrow our compressor and nail gun so that he could re-install the trim that he had removed. This favor amongst many has also seemed to have unfortunately been forgotten by the customer.
Three-quarters of the way through the project, the customer approached me and informed me that they no longer wanted us to finish the project and that they were going to hire someone else to finish it. I told them that this was unfortunate however, their decision to make. I then said that we can settle up on the work that has been done and we can promptly remove our equipment. The customer then informed that he was not going to write us a check for anything. I consulted our attorney and he advised me to file a mechanic's lien on the property for the amount of the estimate. During this time [redacted] had another contractor quote the remainder of the job and decided that the other contractor's estimate was more money than he wanted to pay. After this, the customer called me up and asked if I was willing to finish the job. I requested that he pay me for the work that had been done first before I return to do any additional work. He agreed to these terms and I returned to finish the job and removed the lien once it was done. Afterwards, I spoke with the customer suggesting that it would be a good Idea to wait until they were moved in to their new house to do final touch ups on the home. This way, any scuffs or damaged from moving out could be addressed and repaired so that there was not any risk of additional wear and tear while the house was on the market. I also told the customer that they could withhold [redacted] of the invoice until after the final touch ups were done to ensure that I would keep my word and they agreed to these terms.
In conclusions, a walk through was done on the last day of the job. All drywall repairs were approved, paint quality was approved except a few minor touch ups that was agreed to be done when the house was empty, the customer personally helped my partner hang the cabinet doors and approved them other than a few minor paint touch ups which were also agreed to be addressed once the house was empty. The house was absolutely filthy, the customer prevented us from continuing work efficiently on several occasions by not having certain rooms cleared out in time, none of the customer's tools were used without permission, and agreements throughout the job were constantly and repeatedly changed and forgotten by the customer. We in fact, allowed the customer to borrow some of our tools, completed several small extra projects and tasks free of charge, bought additional material needed to complete work free of charge and made every effort to communicate, compromise, and find solutions in order to make the customer feel satisfied.
I find this entire situation and experience unfortunate, and my desired resolution to this issue, would be that the customer retracts their false accusations with the Revdex.com and refrain from any further slander against our company.