5 Tips for Being a Better Client From Building Moxie

How You Find (and Keep) Your Perfect Contractor

Editor’s note: Being that we are in what I’ll call contractor season, I thought my blogger buddy and pal JB or the contractor extraordinaire I call Mr. HammerTime from over at Building Moxie could offer some useful insight and the opportunity of another point of view.  He’s a hoot so enjoy!

A little ways back, the host of this blog and my friend Lisa M. posted on How to Get Your Dream Contractor.  In it, she says, there are “plenty of contractors ready to help …. Many have both skill and integrity.”

Now, you know this got me thinking, thinking about what we as homeowners look for in a contractor. And . . . if we were to come up with a list of “must-haves,” maybe it would look something like this:

• clean and well-dressed (Lisa’s note: no visible offensive body parts, aka “butt crack”)
• reliable and on-time – one could potentially say “caring”
• (Duh) has skill, aka is  “intelligent”, “experienced” and “adept” – one might say “worldly”
• independent, but also communicative < definitely!
• “someone that will be around” – one could potentially say “has a high earnings potential” and/or is loyal.

And sure, this list could go on, but to me it almost gets to sound, well, a little familiar.

And then I wonder why there are so many contractor matchmaking sites and further, so many (self-help) articles on this topic – “How to Find a Contractor.”   I have been pitched this topic, as an editor, countless times.   Why?  I mean – are there really that many homeowners out there that are having that much difficulty finding a contractor, let alone finding their “perfect” or “dream” contractor?  I find it a little hard to believe.  I mean — it just seems so easy – you have work; they need work.  You have money, they need money.   BUT why then is it still soooooo hard?

For some reason, it seems the market, the industry or even the contractors themselves get the blame.  But let’s stop for a second and take a look at our list of must-haves again.  Hmmmmm . . . “well-dressed”, “worldly”, “high earnings potential” (:~) ), “loyal”, “caring” . . . hmmmm . . . sounds a little bit like something you might find in a profile on Match.com; No?  And I think you know where I am going – perhaps the problem isn’t so much the marketplace, per se, or “the talent pool”  — there are simply not enough good, decent and skilled contractors to go around.  Wrong!

Rather, the problem may perhaps be with, well, yourself.  (Sorry.)

Are we out there just trolling for dates?  Maybe looking for a quickie or a one-night stand?  Is our thinking perhaps flawed in this fashion?  Maybe we should be less focused on trying to score dates and be more focused on trying to find a long term and committed partner — maybe not so much the one and only “soul mate,” but maybe what you could call a marriage of sorts.   Maybe we should be working to build the foundation of a long term relationship, not just a dirty (and cheap) wham, bam, thank you . . . .

Now, how do you, as you are part of this equation, go about being, well, the marrying type?  Start with this – “To get love, you need to give love.”  I’ve said it a lot and you just go from there.

5 things you can do to be a better client

*Practice Communication — Clearly state your intentions and how you feel — this includes speaking openly upfront about your . . . interests.   Maybe mention pets and children, their needs.  A great contractor, like my partner on Building Moxie Barry,  might add this kind of stuff to his “client files.”  Communication is built upon with each meeting.

*Find Common Ground — Any relationship needs to start with “common ground.”   Talk about things other than the work at hand.   You never know, but there might be shared thinking that makes you (two) a good match.   With the task at hand (let’s call this the first date) and quoting Lisa’s original posting — “Be specific include not only the scope of work, but maybe not so targetable expectations like how much dirt and dust and disarray you can tolerate.”  (When that topic does arise, feel free to reference the pain chart you might see in an Emergency Room or primary care facility.)

  Keeping it light can never hurt.

*Give Respect Freely  —  Because the perception sometimes is that everyone can do construction, a field filled with high school drop outs (it’s true), there is often an undervaluation of the work that contractors perform.  DO NOT be one of those “kind of people.”

What I often hear from reputable contractors is something along the lines of “What do they think? Just because I don’t work behind a desk that I am not educated?”    REMEMBER that most individuals, tradespersons, have invested an equal amount of time to training, resources, or gleaned an equal amount of on-the-job experience …  as with any other professional.

The ironic thing here is a small business contractor, I’ve heard it said, often has to wear more hats than any other single profession:  from businessperson to secretary, from project manager to buyer, from carpenter to lawyer and to surgeon, and even that sometimes they even wear the hat of a Mental Health Counselor.

Special Note for Designers & Contractors  :: If discussions involve plans or designs – remember that unless they are released to you, you are in a way being entrusted with someone else’s intellectual property.  Don’t abuse it.

*Be Understanding – This is especially true if you live in an old house.  It is well documented, construction (and homeownership for that matter) can be surprisingly unpredictable.

Another Special Note :: This is not to say that all contractors are deserving of your love.  Some are truly dogs; there is nothing that drives me more crazy than un-returned phone calls or emails.

*Stay Calm and Breathe – Often what is said in a heated misunderstanding can haunt you far beyond the morning after.

Parting Thoughts

We have covered elements of this topic on Building Moxie and we even have a category dedicated to Working with Pros — but I am reminded specifically of the first lines of a contribution from blogger Cara Wilkerson, in her post A Few House Rules to Live By,  Cara says,

“Be smart, not scared. What’s the old Gordon Gekko line from “Wall Street?” Every battle is won before it is ever fought. Words to live by. The more planning you do on the front end, the better off you (and your budget!) will be.”

Thanks for reading. ~jb @BuildingMoxie

Come back Friday for a Bonus Post on How To Keep Your Contractor.

Image Credits (in order of appearance):

http://www.jwcaketops.com/wedfigurines/Occupationsuniforms/contractor.htm

For Further Reading:

Derek Rice :: Do It Yourself or Hire It Out from Building Moxie