Lack of common courteous sense.
 

I did a quick tile repair and some grouting today. It's been in the high 90's for days on end here. I get to this guy's house and start to work a 9am. Seems like it's getting warm outside, but the house, particularly the kitchen seems unduly warm and humid. The repair is at the sink. About 30 minutes in and soaking wet, I figure out the dishwasher has been on and is in the dry cycle.

After an hour and a half, the idiot says, "It's kinda hot, you want me to turn on the A/C?"

This is no joke.

It's all around . Sure makes my day when ONE has it in them.

We never use the home owner's bathroom, never. My guys know that. I did a Master bath remodel for a woman and she demanded that we do not use her guest bathroom (understandable because all construction guys are dirty and they do pee all over the place) and, A/C can't be on when she's isn't home. Parking in the driveway is off limits. I deal with it, and not ask questions.

Why not be proactive and figure out why it is hot as hell? Then ask if you can turn the dishwasher off an the a/c on? If the guy says "no", then you can say he is a dick - otherwise he just isn't paying attention - it happens.

G

High 90's and the AC isn't on? Forget having a contractor be uncomfortable, I'd be too uncomfortable just living there.

It would NEVER have occured to me to treat a contractor in such a shabbby fashion. I've always let them use the bathroom (can't be any worse than teenage boys), if I'm making lunch, I offer it to them, and coffee when it's cold or cold drinks when it is hot.

I do not understand rude people. I also have very little tolerance for them.

angela

Precisely. Nothing occurred in this old fart's head that he was such a douche.

There's more: I told him that I'd know how much the bill would be before finishing. As it turned out, I re-grouted the entire splash to counter joint because it had settled and opened. I also did the entire sink perimeter. When I looked at the job at first, I didn't notice these things and he didn't mention them.

So, I keep the bill open if possible to avoid having to go over everything with a comb and laying down a big number to cover my act. I tell him $120 for the break out of the broken tiles, reset and grout. He has to go the bank to get money. (I don't take checks and he knows that. I've worked for this cat 4 times now.) He doesn't have any money in the house.

He comes back in less than 10 mins and asks me if I have a ten spot. I dig around and come up with a 5 and 5 ones. So he takes my ten and starts counting out his 20's. He wanted to "tip" me, but by God not a 20.

He had to count the money 3 times to see that it was right. I just thought this little story amplifies the difficulties of working in people's homes. Who said anything about using the bathroom? I pissed in his bushes.

Yup, I find going out and getting a big bucket of KFC or a couple of pizzas and supplying a cooler full of bottled water goes a long way in being a satisfied client.

Treat people the way you want to be treated and they'll usually reciprocate. If they don't no big deal.

Sounds like he is on a budget and trying to conserve.

That still does not mean he may not have a bunch of money, but it may be the way he attained it. Just a thought.

When I worked with my dad doing commercial flooring we would do residential side jobs and almost always had the opposite experience. Maybe it is a midwest thing, but very often we were offered drinks and sometimes food.

Our kids or mine anyway weren't taught any manners at school. That's been my job. I've spent endless hours talking to them about he importance of good manners. Some of it has sunk in but at times I feel like I'm fighting a loosing battle...

Part of my job is technical support and some of our clients work from home. So at least twice a week I have to go to the clients home to do my job. How often do I get offered a drink or cup of coffee? Rarely at best and I can be there for hours fixing the problem. So I bought a small refrigerator for my car and keep it stocked with OJ, bottled water and soft drinks (pop?). I just excuse myself and go out to my car and have a break.

Look171 - the woman may have had a bad experience in the past.

I recently contracted to have an addition built onto my shop. The shop has one restroom, at the back of the building, so I thought nothing of letting the crew walk through my building to use the restroom.

The metal erecting crew finished their portion of the job on a Tuesday, then on Tuesday night my shop was broken into and several thousand dollars worth of tools and personal property were stolen.

Because of this, the other contractors (framing, electrical, drywall) all were restricted from entering any portion of the building other than what they were working on. I no longer give a f*k if they have to drive 4 miles for a drink of water. F*k day-labor meth heads, and the business people who employ them.

For the record, all my employees undergo background checks and drug testing.

From what ive seen in my home improvement dealings, the customers that are the biggest shytheads tend to be the high dollar ones. The nicest ones always seem to be the lower range ones. They are more down to earth, they are the ones that will offer you something to drink, or lunch. Have no issue with you using their "facilities".
There is no way in hell that that I would not let someone working in my house, use the bathroom.
One job i was doing, the woman was home, she tells me she has to run to the store and she'll be right back, she starts walking out, turns around says " by the way, we have cameras around the house." and walks out. I was tempted to leave right then and there.

maybe the homeowner simply wasnt hot?

then when he/she walked into the hotter environment of the kitchen the realization set in.

+1 Vinny - generally the well to do bunch are the most uptight bunch. There are some exceptions but not many.

I think I would have walked out if someone said that to me...you exercised some amazing restraint there...wow....

The point being made here is manners and being considerate.

People are different all over - you never know what the client's personality will be - but the one constant you'd hope would be in place would be respect and common courtesy.

This is something I always provide as a contractor.....but do not always receive. So I totally get the topic of discussion and agree - it is amazing how clueless some are.

cashflyer, I'm sorry you had that experience. There is a reality you speak of. I knew an older lady (widow, alone) that had a diamond ring and her husband's gun stolen. Due to circumstances, this wasn't discovered right away. Emergency board up crews were likely the thieves and they likely have done this before and will do it again.

But your attitude sucks. I hope there's a blacklist in your area and you're on it. I wouldn't change out a hose washer for you. Have a nice life. [INGORE]

People suck, mean people doubly so.

Jeremy, where did you get the recent pic of a clean shaven Milt:)

Imposter. No gold chains here. No hats either.

And I hope my arthritis never gets that bad.