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We would like to have some work done at our home this summer, so I’ve been busy contacting various contractors during the past few weeks. My experiences with getting people to call me back, come to my house and provide a quote have ranged from surprisingly pleasant to sorely disappointing.<\/p>\n
The areas where we need some help are removing a large rotting tree, getting some new windows installed and improving insulation in our basement and third floor area. This means I’ve been calling arborists, window installers and insulation contractors.<\/p>\n
The arborists were by far the most responsive and professional of the bunch. I called five companies and all of them called back fairly promptly and came to our house within a few days. With each arborist we explained the work that we wanted to have done and they went over various methods and options because it’s a fairly large job. Each gave us a quote on the spot and didn’t make us wait for days. The prices were quite varied which made me a little concerned. I mentioned to the last arborist (a very respected and well known company) that I didn’t understand why one of his competitors quoted me twice the amount he was quoting me. He explained that the twice-as-much arborist hates working around power lines and doesn’t really want my job, hence the crazy quote price. That made sense to me. We’ve since decided on a company, put down our deposit and will be having our tree removed in the next few weeks. Be on the lookout for a blog post with lots of pictures when that job is taking place. So, hiring the arborist was a snap compared to the rest of the work we wanted done.<\/p>\n
Next was on to window installers. They must really be in busy season because I have yet to successfully find someone who will actually give me a quote so I can schedule the work to be done. I called several. One called me back (after I called him twice) and came to my house. That was two weeks ago. I still do not have a quote from this individual, even though I’ve left a few voicemails asking for my estimate. I could understand the unresponsiveness if we only wanted one or two windows replaced. But we’re looking to have 15 windows replaced. It’s not that tiny of a job. Just send me my stinkin’ quote for crying out loud so I can hire you and get my darn windows replaced!<\/p>\n
Finally, insulation contractors. I must have called six of these guys. One called me back. He said he was friends with someone that lives on my street. I thought this would be a good sign. He came to my house and spent awhile talking to us about various options and what would be most effective. He told us he would have the quote to us that night and gave us the name of a sheetrocker that would need to help us with some prep work before he could do the job. We called the sheetrocker and he came to our house and gave us a quote 12 hours later. That was three weeks ago. Do I have the insulation quote yet? Heck no. How many times have I called asking for the quote? Three. I could understand if he didn’t want the job, but why the heck would he have us call his sheetrocker friend if he didn’t want the job? Gah!<\/p>\n
Perhaps I am a touch more annoyed with this process than I should be. Honestly, I just wish people would tell me outright that they don’t want my job rather than wasting my time by coming over to my house and telling me that they’ll get me a quote which they never seem to produce. I’m telling people on the phone the extent of the work, just say no then if you think the job is too small. You’re not going to hurt my feelings, I’ll just move on to the next person.<\/p>\n
Readers, what are your experiences with getting multiple quotes? Do you find some contractors are more responsive than others? Are window installers and insulation contractors always this frustrating? I seem to have fine luck with roofers, painters and masons. Thoughts?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We would like to have some work done at our home this summer, so I’ve been busy contacting various contractors during the past few weeks. My experiences with getting people to call me back, come to my house and provide a quote have ranged from surprisingly pleasant to sorely disappointing. The areas where we need some help are removing a large rotting tree, getting some new windows installed and improving insulation in our basement and<\/p>\n