Finding a reliable contractor in Jackson, MS, is a pain.
Before moving into our new condo, we wanted to install new appliances, get some painting done, and completely gut and rebuild our tiny master bath. We called eight different contractors, from big companies (HomeWorks) to individuals. Of the eight we called, only three even bothered to call us back.
The HomeWorks team came off as very professional and very efficient. They visited the condo within 24 hours and supplied a bid within the next twenty-four hours. Unfortunately, their bid was ridiculously high: their price for rennovating our closet-sized master bath was roughly equal to one-fourth of what we paid for the entire condo!
The second contractor, an individual, simply wasn’t in a position to help us at the time.
The third, Bill Robinson, claimed 30 years of experience (though, in retrospect, we only assumed those thirty years of experience were in contracting … we should have asked!). Bill claimed he would be on-site during the entire project, and set aggressive deadlines for getting the work done. Despite the fact he came off as a little, um, odd (he has some distinctive verbal and physical tics that complicate communication), we hired him. (Frankly? We had no other choice.)
I’ve written before about Bill claiming to be at the condo when he wasn’t. In my book, though, that sort of thing pales in comparison to other problems we faced during our work with him:
– Bill has a problem with the truth. Bill told us the shower doors we wanted were expensive, custom-order doors. He claimed to have ordered them once; when they didn’t arrive, he claimed Home Depot “didn’t tell me I had to pay for them in advance.” He then claimed he paid for the doors and ordered them again.
When the doors didn’t show up weeks later, I checked with Home Depot myself. Their records revealed the truth: Bill had gotten a quote on the doors more than a month earlier, but he had never, ever placed an order for them. Later, we got the doors we needed off the shelf (not special order!) from Lowes.
– Deadlines were repeatedly missed, reset, and missed again. I’m a pretty reasonable guy, and I understand that dates slip. All I asked was that Bill call me to let me know when a deadline was going to be missed (so I could reschedule other things … like our moving day). Bill assured us he would do this; he never did.
– The work was substandard. Some fixtures were broken during installation. Rather than replace them or consult with us, Bill’s workers hastily glued them back together and hoped we wouldn’t notice. Fixtures were installed in odd places.
– Our carpet was ruined. Bill and his workers didn’t put down butcher paper to protect our carpets, and, during the work, he and his men tracked in glue and wax. The goop soaked up mud and dirt like a sponge; soon, we had twenty or thirty nasty-looking black spots the size of half-dollars throughout the house.
This mixture proved so stubborn, it stumped the steam cleaning crew we called into to handle the matter. Eventually, we had to get down on hands and knees with a hot iron and paper bags, iron up as much of each stain as we could, and then treat the remainder with harsh chemicals. It took hours.
– Bill disappeared. Toward the end of our time together, Bill just vanished. He quit coming to work. He stopped contacting us. When we’d catch him at home, he’d manufacture an excuse and promise to resume work by a certain date; that date would pass, and Bill would fail to show up. Ultimately, we had no choice but to move in to our unfinished house and call in other contractors to finish work Bill left “in progress.”
Lessons Learned:
1) Before using any contractor, ask to speak with four satisfied customers. Anyone can print flyers claiming “30 Years of Experience.” If the contractor is that experienced, he or she should be able to point you to at least four happy customers. If not, beware.
2) When possible, in Jackson, Mississippi, avoid using contractors and let Lowes do the work. While the Home Depot crew insisted our shower doors and French doors were special-order items, we found everything we needed on the shelf, in stock, at Lowes.
Lowes sells installation for almost everything they sell. Prices are reasonable; the contractors are courteous and professional; the work is guaranteed for a year. In retrospect, almost every aspect of our rennovation could have been done using contractors from Lowes.
Next time, we’ll know. Meanwhile: you can learn from our mistakes.
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