18 Comments

We were ghosted for a bathroom reno by a local plumbing shop more times than I can count despite not making any comments that would be off putting to them so go figure. We ended up finding an excellent general contractor to do our bathroom reno, and he sourced the plumber for us, win-win. Suffice it to say that if we need a plumber, we will be using the services of the plumber that assisted us with our tiny bathroom reno. We are, however, still waiting for an electrician to come over and install a plug in our bathroom since last June. I'm thinking that is too small a job for the electrician to want to do. My husband does not seem to mind too much plugging his trimmer in hallway near the bathroom a big deal. I blow dry my hair in the office near the bathroom. That's how where making do. I think I will ask in a Facebook group I belong to about sourcing another electrician to do that small job.

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Ghosted? Another word for ignored.

Call it what it is. Yes, I too was ignored by a couple of contractors.

“Problem” solved: I found companies that wanted to be paid on-time and who returned phone calls.

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I’m a lifelong electric and HVAC contractor (40 yrs) I recently received a plan for a large addition in a upscale suburb of Boston. I had a phone call with the homeowner who told me they wanted a top-of-the-line heating system and they wanted to do it “as cheap as possible “. Are you kidding me? They’re building a million dollar addition and they want me to discount my knowledge and skills? I politely declined the project.

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I really enjoyed this one bc I never even thought about it from their side. I’ll actually going to keep this one to share with my husband. We need to get some repair work done to our enclosed porch.

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Apr 21, 2022·edited Apr 21, 2022

It's really good to get the contractor's perspective. I have never thought about those points and instead have just assumed the contractor was simply too busy.

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Although I have a "day job," I started in freelancing and still do occasional projects. I have the luxury of picking and choosing. From that perspective, I very much appreciated the contractor's guest column. Too many people do not understand that price is not the determining factor. In fact, if there's a budget, it's better to tell the contractors being interviewed, "here's my vision. here's my budget. Can you make it work?" When good contractors can see your vision, and they buy your vision, they'll deliver more value in the work than the money you'll pay.

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founding

Well. At least your contractor didn’t take your money and THEN ghost you. There are good, reliable ones out there and it sounds like this plumber might be one. Keep looking, you’ll find one.

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I cannot STAND it when I read "Myself and a friend are going somewhere." The incorrect use of "myself" drives me NUTS. My mother who was the first child to graduate from HIGH SCHOOL in her family of 7 had perfect grammar and would tolerate NO grammatical errors in our family. Though I am obviously imperfect in that regard, it sticks with me when there are errors. Definitely off-topic. I had a supervisor who said "I have went to the store."

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I can see this from both sides.

I dated a contractor. Though he would bid on everything, he would ghost if the client 1) was cheap, 2) was picky and 3) bugged him while he was doing the work. He did very good work, but if he wasn’t respected, he was gone.

I rent a house now. I used to be in charge of getting the contractors if there was a problem, then my landlord would harass them. So I made a deal with him. I’ll get the work done and take it off my rent in increments, but he has to leave both me and the contractors alone. I made him sign paper to agree to that. I have a general contractor who loves working in my house (his work and prices are wonderful). I get him more work and he gets me specialized contractors if I should need them.

As for my landlord, he now knows that if he gives me any grief, I’m gone. That scares the bejeebers out of him, as the house has never looked to good.

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Just looking at the title made me think maybe the plumbers discovered ghosts like a paranormal activity but it's the opposite. My husband had contacted a few contractors to do a pour on our driveway but got ghosted by all last year which was probably due to the rise of people not desiring to work let alone, do manual labor? We did do the sidewalk ourselves and now entertaining doing the driveway which is substantial amount of manual work that will likely break my back and ghosting my husband, lol. Funny title by the way.

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I work in the Trade Show industry. My company designs, manufactures, installs/dismantles, stores and repairs exhibits. I have some clients who might accept the price of our products, but push back at me for the services costs. Just know this, there is no such thing as an apples to apples comparison when you're comparing a full service solution that I provide to an online transaction. Please don't diminish my worth because you didn't properly consider all costs associated with exhibiting at a trade show. Especially if you're a multi-billion dollar company trying to shave my salary down to look like a multi-billion dollar company on the show floor. If you don't properly budget for it, don't go to the show. I'm not going to reduce my rate to make you feel better about the spend. Imagine being asked to cut your salary to accommodate someone who doesn't value your worth. It happens to us, to plumbers, electricians, landscapers, painters, you name it.

We have educational materials to help you understand how to budget for a show. I'm happy to share them with you so you can see where your budget meets your requirements/requests, and where you may want to reconsider the 20' LED wall and Barista (who, by the way, deserves tips if you're going to stand there drinking free triple espresso, double hazelnut, no foam, oat milk lattes ALL day).

ps. I've been doing this long enough to now decide who I will work with and who just has trouble written all over them. I've broken up with clients over the years only to have some come back after experiencing their "better deals", and others who find happiness with transactional business and never come back. Quality of life is important for all parties involved.

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Now Bill, I’m going to go back and reread your newsletter.

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As an architect and project manager who helps clients through design and construction of commercial projects. the plumbers newsletter was right on point for me. Make your contractor your best friend and it can pay dividends in countless ways. Plus treating people well and fairly is the right thing to do. Construction is not an easy business, so if they are in it and have been for awhile, they are typically smart and conscientious folks.

A lot of harm can be done by assuming the contractor is out to get you, wants to do crappy work, charges you unfairly, etc. It can become a self fulfilling prophecy when they can see you don't trust or respect them. Conversely, showing them, and all people, respect and appreciation for their skills and talents will usually get you the best project and everyone is happy. Respect is basic humane treatment. Treat others how you want to be treated.

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This is reply to the comments about money and security. I hadn't thought of the question from that perspective, and it really struck a nerve. Money won't buy happiness, but not enough money is pretty much a guarantee of misery.

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The first point is so petty. Also, be professional and after the eval say it’s not a good fit but you can recommend someone else. I hate how people think “ghosting” is an acceptable form of detaching oneself from a relationship. Grow up. Deal with uncomfortable moments. Work on your honesty and Integrity.

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