1964 Construction Bid Create Problems For Bathroom Remodeling Contractor
I seriously can't tell you how many homes I've personally
visited, so that I could give remodeling estimates to the homeowners and
collect some great stories. I usually ask some serious questions over
the phone, before ever going out to the home. This often saves me a lot
of time and the homeowners a lot of frustration.
On one of my bathroom remodeling journeys, I was contacted by an elderly
man who had convinced me over the phone that I was the contractor he was
going to use and he was ready to start his bathroom remodeling project
as soon as I gave him a price.
These kinds of people usually scare me away, because anytime someone
tells me that I already got the job or I’m their favorite contractor,
tells me that there shopping for the cheapest person and I rarely get
the opportunity to work for them.
I went to his house with a little anticipation, but nevertheless I asked
him every question and he provided me with all the answers. I told him
that I would need a couple of days to put the estimate together and that
he should contact at least two other contractors, before making a final
decision.
He told me again, that I was the contractor he was going to use and the
sooner he could get the estimate, the sooner we could start working on
the project.
A couple of days went by and I called him up and proceeded to break the
bad news to him. His bathroom remodeling project was going to cost about
$6,800. I thought that I was going to have to hang up the phone and dial
911, because I couldn't hear anything on the other end of the phone.
I kept repeating his name, while asking him if he was still on the
phone. After a minute, I told him that I was going to hang up the phone
and try calling him back. This obviously got his attention as he started
calling me every name that he could possibly think of.
He told me that I had remodeled his neighbor's bathroom in 1964, for
under $2000, while he was continuing to throw a couple of other names
in, that I really couldn't make out, because this man furiously was so
upset.
I explained to the man, that I was born in 1962. How could I have
possibly remodeled his neighbor's bathroom at two years old. As the man
finally started to calm down, I asked him if he would recheck with his
neighbor, just to make sure that he got the right construction company
name.
Before I hung up the phone, I explained to the elderly man that I would
not be working for him and he should find another contractor. This
seemed to upset him even more as he violently hung up the phone.
Every once in a while, I run into some extremely strange situations
while working in construction and I will continue to write about them. I
hope you enjoyed reading the story.