I am sure many of you found some humor I'm my last post, but believe me if happens all the time. I can't tell you how bad I feel for these people, and if I tell them that this can;t be done for this or they will cut corners it sounds to them that I am trying to undermine them to get the work. Most Importantly go with your gut!
Beware of a contractor who:
• Isn't licensed or insured if applicable for the work at hand. You can check their license online at the NY State licensing website.
• Has popped up out of nowhere, literally. You can't verify any of her references, websites, commercial references, or that she even has a fixed business address.
• Rubs you the wrong way. "Trust your instincts," "If something doesn't feel right about the person, then it probably isn't." If they are in and out in 15 minutes with a price be sure to thank them as you show them the door.
If it's a furniture assembly job most if not all professional companies charge 1/3 of the retail price. If this person offers a price far less it is a flag they are new to the business and have no idea what they are doing.
• Is so eager to get things started that technicalities get brushed away -- but not the fee. He'll say you don't need to sign a contract and try to get you to pay for the project up front. This Old House: Get it in writing
Don't Miss
* This Old House: How to hire a contractor
* This Old House: Not all painters are pros
* This Old House: Hiring a qualified plumber
* This Old House: 21 ways to save on your remodel
* This Old House: The (Don't Get Burned) Remodeling Guide
• Asks you to write a check directly to him for products, such as cabinets and windows, instead of to the company supplying the items.
• Offers a bargain in exchange for using your home as an example of her work or tempts you with a low price that's only on the table if you sign that day.
• Tries to get you to buy stuff you already have. Don't get talked into paying to install a new kitchen cabinet set if you like the one you have.
• Asks you to pay for work that hasn't been done yet or for materials that haven't arrived. Most contractors require about 1/3 of the total price up front and the rest as the job progresses and you are satisfied with the work as it is being done. They also normally figure a total material costs where they have you make a deposit on the total amount of materials in the amount of 1/3 of the total price plus a 20% mark up they add to the price. If they ask for all the money up front, again show them the door!
. If you call and they are busy that is a good sign. It's the guy who is waiting for the phone to ring that you need to worry about because that normally means they have done such poor work that they don't have any referral work, or they are not even a business that has capital to market. However, in the furniture assembly business some companies are able to do several jobs a day and try to schedule new appointments within 72 hours, but no professional contractor should be able to do your job in that time unless he has an army work on 20 jobs at a time.
. Last but not least be weary of the low baller who bids so low that there is now way they can complete a professional job for such a low price. Get three or so bids and out of the ones that are close in price make your decision and make sure you get it all in writing.
Christopher Purnell
www.ezfurnitureassembly.com
Showing posts with label nyc scam contractors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nyc scam contractors. Show all posts
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Furniture Assembly isn't Expensive, it's Priceless!
Once again we have received several disturbing calls from people who hired someone to assemble their furniture or have their kitchen cabinets installed only to have them damaged, broken, or incorrectly assembled or installed.
I can't for the life of me understand why people go to Ikea, Crate & Barrel, or spend thousands of dollars on kitchen cabinetry only to have it assembled or installed by the person who quotes them the lowest price. Then they call us which ends up costing them more because they already paid some schmuck to do the job, now they have to pay us to come back in and try and fix their mistakes. With furniture it can be a simple fix or at least a minimum cost, but kitchen cabinets are another ballgame. I have seen so called expert installer utterly destroy thousands of dollars of cabinetry by not doing something as simple as mounting the cabinets to studs. I will never forget this one lady who contacted us last November to have us assemble and install about 10 base and 15 wall cabinets from a high end stock semi-stock cabinet company. We quoted her a price that was fair and competitive considering the work that was involved because the wall that seperated the kitchen from the living room was not well built and had studs every 4-5 feet so we would have to take down the sheetrock and reframe the wall and while we were in there we suggested that we run a support brace between each suds for the cabinets to screw into which would act as extra support, and since we were already opening the wall it would only be a hundred or two difference in cost. I felt she would understand the idea and reason for the added support since she made it a point in every email and at least a dozen times during our intial meeting how she would be storing her great Grandmothers fine bone china that was a perfect set and valued at $35,000.00. Which she even went as far as to insure it against theft, fire, etc.
Well, to make a long story short, she informed me very nicely that another company had provided a quote that more than half less than what we estimated. We never consider a person's financial status when calculating the estimate, unless the person has special circumstances such as a single mother trying to make it, or a family who has been through some sort of bad times. However, if the person is well off, great for them! We post our rates on our website to let people know that everyone pays the same. My point being is that this person was well to do and could had afforded to have any cabinets installed by anyone but choose to go with the lowest bidder. The minute I read the email red flags started popping up and I knew what the end result would be. She explained that she really wanted our company to do the work, but wanted us to match the other bidder's quote. I wrote her back and immediately and thanked her for her offer, but there was no way that we could do that amount of work for such a low price. I told her that she should really think this out because if someone submits such a low price compared to three or four other companies who are in the same range, it is normally a sign that the person is new to the business, will do a poor job because they can't afford to do a quality job at that price, or both. Professional companies have operating costs like insurance, rent, license fees, etc, plus quality technicians don't work for peanuts. Nevertheless, I didn't hear back from her until Thanksgiving.
I will never forget this call as long as I live. It was early afternoon and I had traveled to Pennsylvania to be with family for the holiday and my phone began to ring frantically. My daughter said " Daddy, don't answer the phone it's a howeyday and you don't work on howeydays" She was right so I looked at the number and didn't recognize the number so we went about our day, but the phone just continued to ring and ring and ring. Now I was getting upset because this person had called over 30 times in a half hour. then I got worried maybe a friend or coworker was involved in a accident so i decided to call the number back. Before i could even dial the number the phone was ringing again so I answered it and it was the lady who had the kitchen job from 3 weeks ago which we lost to another company. She was in tears crying to me about what happened. After about 20 minutes I was able to understand because she was at the point of hysteria that I was in fear for her health trying to tell her to relax. Well, she had the company that low balled the job do the installation and on Thanksgiving she invited her entire family over and all the women were helping to prepare the big turkey dinner when the first set of cabinets came down smashing everything inside and underneath them. Then like a domino effect they all began tearing each other down breaking every piece of her precious china and smashing her $12,000 granite countertop. I asked her if she called the company that did the installation company, she informed that they didn't have a business card on them and gave her their # in the event she had any problems or needed more work. She told me she called the number they wrote down but it was to a cell phone that was out of time. I thought to myself here is another victim of their own doing. What professional company can't afford a land line or has such bad credit they have to use a pre-paid phone.I really couldn't understand why she was calling me. I guess she just wanted to speak to someone who understood the problem because we can't turn back time and save her china or counter. I finally got her to relax and told her to keep trying to contact this person and I would come by the coming Monday to assess the damages. I also suggested she contact her insurance company since she had insurance on the china.
Before I hung up the phone I knew exactly what happened and was only going there Monday out of pure sympathy for this poor lady, because there was nothing I could do to bring back all her china and the damages and above all embarrassment. As soon as I arrived she began crying again telling me that the insurance company declined her claim because it didn't cover damages as a result of improper installation and/or poor workmanship. She finally got a hold of the " big time " contractor who scraped up a ten spot for minutes only to hear that he wasn't a company and was living in a drop in shelter! Surprise??? Nope!!! I walked into the kitchen and every single cabinet was busted with the sheetrock torn off showing the bare framing and her electrical wires and water pipes. I moved up closer to the wall because I noticed the floor was wet about 6 feet from the sink and saw a screw they drilled directly into the water pipe and was only dripping but would eventually come out and flood the house or drip until it filled her wall, floor and neighbors below with mold and water damage. In a way it was a blessing that the cabinets did come down because if that leak never blew it would be trapped behind the wall and I would hate to think of the damages that would have happened if that blasted water for even just a few minutes never mind an hour or so if they had to call in the super to come in and shut off all the water to the building because at first they wouldn't know exactly where it was coming from. It could have been a real nightmare! I really didn't want to bring this mess to the attention of the building management for this persons sake. I was able to locate a shut off valve in a closet and cut the water off. Then we removed everything and used towels on the floor and a special funnel and hose we made to run the water to the sink because their was a lot of pressure in that pipe. I had the plumber fix the pipe and we went ahead and went with the original plan to strengthen the wall and run braces between the studs, hang new sheetrock with the wall behind the sink being water resistant. We painted it and sold her cabinets from a company we are a distributor for at our cost, and did the cabinet installation at just enough to cover operating costs and actual labor costs. In total she ended up spending about $50,000 for a job we could have done right the first time for under $20,000, and that doesn't include her financial losses in regard to the china and counters.
In my next posting I will tell you to look for in a quality contractor and what red flags should send you running the other way. Always remember that " Quality isn't Expensive, it's Priceless "!
I can't for the life of me understand why people go to Ikea, Crate & Barrel, or spend thousands of dollars on kitchen cabinetry only to have it assembled or installed by the person who quotes them the lowest price. Then they call us which ends up costing them more because they already paid some schmuck to do the job, now they have to pay us to come back in and try and fix their mistakes. With furniture it can be a simple fix or at least a minimum cost, but kitchen cabinets are another ballgame. I have seen so called expert installer utterly destroy thousands of dollars of cabinetry by not doing something as simple as mounting the cabinets to studs. I will never forget this one lady who contacted us last November to have us assemble and install about 10 base and 15 wall cabinets from a high end stock semi-stock cabinet company. We quoted her a price that was fair and competitive considering the work that was involved because the wall that seperated the kitchen from the living room was not well built and had studs every 4-5 feet so we would have to take down the sheetrock and reframe the wall and while we were in there we suggested that we run a support brace between each suds for the cabinets to screw into which would act as extra support, and since we were already opening the wall it would only be a hundred or two difference in cost. I felt she would understand the idea and reason for the added support since she made it a point in every email and at least a dozen times during our intial meeting how she would be storing her great Grandmothers fine bone china that was a perfect set and valued at $35,000.00. Which she even went as far as to insure it against theft, fire, etc.
Well, to make a long story short, she informed me very nicely that another company had provided a quote that more than half less than what we estimated. We never consider a person's financial status when calculating the estimate, unless the person has special circumstances such as a single mother trying to make it, or a family who has been through some sort of bad times. However, if the person is well off, great for them! We post our rates on our website to let people know that everyone pays the same. My point being is that this person was well to do and could had afforded to have any cabinets installed by anyone but choose to go with the lowest bidder. The minute I read the email red flags started popping up and I knew what the end result would be. She explained that she really wanted our company to do the work, but wanted us to match the other bidder's quote. I wrote her back and immediately and thanked her for her offer, but there was no way that we could do that amount of work for such a low price. I told her that she should really think this out because if someone submits such a low price compared to three or four other companies who are in the same range, it is normally a sign that the person is new to the business, will do a poor job because they can't afford to do a quality job at that price, or both. Professional companies have operating costs like insurance, rent, license fees, etc, plus quality technicians don't work for peanuts. Nevertheless, I didn't hear back from her until Thanksgiving.
I will never forget this call as long as I live. It was early afternoon and I had traveled to Pennsylvania to be with family for the holiday and my phone began to ring frantically. My daughter said " Daddy, don't answer the phone it's a howeyday and you don't work on howeydays" She was right so I looked at the number and didn't recognize the number so we went about our day, but the phone just continued to ring and ring and ring. Now I was getting upset because this person had called over 30 times in a half hour. then I got worried maybe a friend or coworker was involved in a accident so i decided to call the number back. Before i could even dial the number the phone was ringing again so I answered it and it was the lady who had the kitchen job from 3 weeks ago which we lost to another company. She was in tears crying to me about what happened. After about 20 minutes I was able to understand because she was at the point of hysteria that I was in fear for her health trying to tell her to relax. Well, she had the company that low balled the job do the installation and on Thanksgiving she invited her entire family over and all the women were helping to prepare the big turkey dinner when the first set of cabinets came down smashing everything inside and underneath them. Then like a domino effect they all began tearing each other down breaking every piece of her precious china and smashing her $12,000 granite countertop. I asked her if she called the company that did the installation company, she informed that they didn't have a business card on them and gave her their # in the event she had any problems or needed more work. She told me she called the number they wrote down but it was to a cell phone that was out of time. I thought to myself here is another victim of their own doing. What professional company can't afford a land line or has such bad credit they have to use a pre-paid phone.I really couldn't understand why she was calling me. I guess she just wanted to speak to someone who understood the problem because we can't turn back time and save her china or counter. I finally got her to relax and told her to keep trying to contact this person and I would come by the coming Monday to assess the damages. I also suggested she contact her insurance company since she had insurance on the china.
Before I hung up the phone I knew exactly what happened and was only going there Monday out of pure sympathy for this poor lady, because there was nothing I could do to bring back all her china and the damages and above all embarrassment. As soon as I arrived she began crying again telling me that the insurance company declined her claim because it didn't cover damages as a result of improper installation and/or poor workmanship. She finally got a hold of the " big time " contractor who scraped up a ten spot for minutes only to hear that he wasn't a company and was living in a drop in shelter! Surprise??? Nope!!! I walked into the kitchen and every single cabinet was busted with the sheetrock torn off showing the bare framing and her electrical wires and water pipes. I moved up closer to the wall because I noticed the floor was wet about 6 feet from the sink and saw a screw they drilled directly into the water pipe and was only dripping but would eventually come out and flood the house or drip until it filled her wall, floor and neighbors below with mold and water damage. In a way it was a blessing that the cabinets did come down because if that leak never blew it would be trapped behind the wall and I would hate to think of the damages that would have happened if that blasted water for even just a few minutes never mind an hour or so if they had to call in the super to come in and shut off all the water to the building because at first they wouldn't know exactly where it was coming from. It could have been a real nightmare! I really didn't want to bring this mess to the attention of the building management for this persons sake. I was able to locate a shut off valve in a closet and cut the water off. Then we removed everything and used towels on the floor and a special funnel and hose we made to run the water to the sink because their was a lot of pressure in that pipe. I had the plumber fix the pipe and we went ahead and went with the original plan to strengthen the wall and run braces between the studs, hang new sheetrock with the wall behind the sink being water resistant. We painted it and sold her cabinets from a company we are a distributor for at our cost, and did the cabinet installation at just enough to cover operating costs and actual labor costs. In total she ended up spending about $50,000 for a job we could have done right the first time for under $20,000, and that doesn't include her financial losses in regard to the china and counters.
In my next posting I will tell you to look for in a quality contractor and what red flags should send you running the other way. Always remember that " Quality isn't Expensive, it's Priceless "!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Need To Find Honest,Quality, Contractor or Service Provider???
I STRONGLY suggest that if you are in need of a contractor, Handyman, Plumber, Electrician, or any other Trademan that you use Angie's List to see what other previous customer had to say about them. It allows you or any member to grade the provider on workmanship,quality,price,customer service,cleanliness, and much more. This is an unbiased network of actual customers who tell it like it is. Believe me, I am in the business and there are a ton of so called "Professional Referral Services" that don't do anything but take the company's payment and state they are a quality service without knowing nothing about the company or the workmanship of it's employees. I could write a book about how many jobs I ended up going and redoing someone elses work that was clear had no earthly idea what they were doing and about codes and safety precautions which in some cases could have cost sevberal families their lives, and the worst part is they all came from 3 seperate so called professional referral services that claimed to do background checks and license verification and so forth. Well, to make a long story short we did some homework and found 2 of the three companies were not even companies but a guy working out of his van with a cell phone which they changed the number every other month, and the third contractor wasn't licensed to do electrical work and was actually in the hospital at the time we bagn our investigation for severe burns as a result of an electrical shock which happened why he was rewiring a customers home. Click on the link below to see what Angie's List is all about and save yourself a lot of headaches, money, and maybe your life.
Eric Davis
Editor
www.nychandyman.biz
Eric Davis
Editor
www.nychandyman.biz
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About Me
- ezassembly
- I am a person who has had a rollercoaster of a life, with more downs than ups. I spent several years in marketing in which I started entry level and left Regional Marketing Director. I was blessed with a little princess and deiced my life needed an over haul so I started EZ Furniture Assembly & Interior Innovations, LLC with no more than a few screwdrivers, a shoebox of past due bills and a passion to succeed at something I found I really enjoy. Today I run NYC's top professional furniture assembly & kitchen installation companies, and am considered an expert in my industry.