Comments on: Beware Home-Repair Gyps (Mar, 1957)

By: Andrew L. Ayers

Andrew L. Ayers — Sat, 08 May 2010 07:54:53 +0000

We’ve had two major pieces of work done on our house in the past year; last year, a portion of our fence blew down (we replaced the entire fence with block), and last December we had the windows and doors replaced, and added extra insulation. In both cases, we not only got the best price, but we were able to hire the best teams. We did this in a fairly simple manner: First, we came up with a plan of what we wanted, exactly. We also came up with backup plans in the event we couldn’t get exactly what we wanted. We then called around for estimates, and we did interviews.

When we interviewed for the fence, we had the contractor come out, and my wife told him what we were looking for. If he couldn’t answer things right, or seemed drunk (several were!), or seemed like he didn’t know what he was doing (in one case, my wife had to show the individual how to use a tape measure – !!!), he was “outta there”. If he “little-ladied” my wife about decisions or ideas, or anything – my wife don’t take that – goodbye! We had some trouble finding someone, then my wife hit upon a great idea: Call up a concrete block manufacturing company, and ask them who -they- would recommend for such a job…

It worked perfectly; the contractor (Toro Construction – Phoenix) was able to implement our ideas perfectly, and quickly, too! Once we had the down payment paid, his workers came out, and inside of one day, had all the old concrete panel fencing demolished and removed, and footers poured with rebar for the new block fence around our house – amazing doesn’t begin to describe it. The next day, they returned, and installed all the block and caps. On the third day, they had our ironwork panels and gates installed. It turned out perfectly, exactly as we had dreamed and “napkin-scratched”. If you want to see more about the fence, check out my website.

We did the same thing when we had our doors, windows, and attic insulation installed; this process took longer, and we weren’t able to get the custom back doors we wanted (no one could fabricate them), but because we had a fallback plan, we did get doors we love. Installation took some time due to personal issues as well as waiting for the factory to build and ship the parts, but it all did come together, and it wasn’t any real hassle (I will say that blown-in insulation is a dirty and nasty process; we’re still cleaning our garage from the dust generated – but this was expected). Our house is much better insulated, we are saving money, and we got a nice deduction on our taxes this year. We also recommend this contractor to all who will listen (Acme Works – Phoenix).

We have found that, by taking time and talking to people, that you can generally find wonderful individuals who love their work, and make your investment of cash worthwhile in a great product. We also learned that there are more than a few incompetent individuals out there attempting to sell something without having the slightest clue as to what they are doing (one contractor wrote out his estimate in chicken-scratch on the back of an old soiled envelope – sure, buddy).

Use some common sense, and beware.

By: Cordless Tool Batteries

Cordless Tool Batteries — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:39:58 +0000

@Dave – lol

Seriously, these unscrupulous practices are world wide. We had a window salesman call when we asked for a quote to get new double glazed windows for the front of our house. He showed us the pretty samples on offer, then measured up and got his price list out. For 2 windows the list price was nearly $13000! Being a person with some nous, I just looked at him. 50% came off that price within 2 mins. I still just looked. He said “How much do you want to pay? I said 50% of the %50. He made the usual phone call to his manager and the out come was I got the 2 main windows plus one smaller window for $3500, saving me $9500! As a rule of thumb, expect to pay 25-30% of an original price. And keep quiet so the salesman can talk himself into your deal.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 07:10:49 +0000

But where can I get some of this ‘mastic paint’?

By: blast

blast — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 05:10:05 +0000

Fair enough, Neil, but I hope that my wife and I never, EVER again meet a man at our home who believes as you seem to that “it’s only reasonable that they earn the customer’s business” or that they “can offer them a percentage off the sticker price because it saves the time of coming back” – as if a follow up telephone call would be utterly useless.

I call our first and only in-home sales experience – we were new homeowners – the “Night of the R______t Salesman” – like a horror movie, as in one of the worst nights of my life – and that household water softener pusher ruined it for you and every other to come (as in “No Soliciting” sign).

This man – I won’t dignify him with the “gentle” prefix – wanted a sale sooooo bad. Ultimately, he couldn’t offer us anything meaningful – like brochures to select a model with (“those cost money”) or the benefit of a few hours’ thought. “Think it over” was not in his vocabulary – as if I would spend $5,000 at the drop of a hat! Why, it even came with “a free supply of soap for three years” – who knew that had been going on so long? He kept escalating the pressure. He even popped on out to his car to “consult with his superior” to try to get us a better price. What a LIAR. After he’d left (with a blank order form) I looked him up on the web (all we had was dial-up back then…). He was the district sales manager. I’m sure he had the authority to set prices however he pleased to make a sale.

So don’t tell me “stereotypical” or “urban legend”. There are plenty of people (foolish, or careless) out there waiting to be taken, and plenty of people (slick and polished, or here today and gone tomorrow) to take advantage of them. The BBB and the authorities still put out warnings for scam artists. Not much has changed in 50 years in door to door sales.

By: Neil Russell

Neil Russell — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:15:50 +0000

What a stereotypical urban legend this article is! The idea that homeowners are just a bunch of idiots waiting to be fleeced by a sideshow barker is just silly, it was then and it is now.
From the other side of the fence, I’ve spent years trying to overcome the stereotype by doing in-home sales for home improvement products and I always try my darndest to demonstrate the products honestly and to answer all the questions a homeowner has about the project. I also always look professional and drive (gasp) a nice car, I suppose it would make things better to have an old beater and wear bib overalls. That would give the customer confidence wouldn’t it? What the author doesn’t seem to grasp is that the salesman isn’t the installer, and if he is, then there’s a risk involved in dealing with a one-man band. A real company is going to have management, a sales force, warehouse people, and installers. Not to mention insurance and licenses that the small companies usually don’t offer (not all, I’m generalizing here but not as bad as the author).
Are there crooks out there? You bet! But they usually don’t last too long in a market and after they’ve tried taking in a few people, they move on or just vanish. Any company worth a toot is going to have pictures of jobs they’ve completed and letters of recommendation from prior customers. Not only that they will have a list of customers for the homeowner to call and just see what kind of work was done and whether or not the customer was satisfied.
The reliance on the Better Business Bureau is something consumers should take with a grain of salt, yes they can tell you if a company has had complaints, but only if those complaints haven’t been remedied. It’s not always the best recommendation. Don’t take my word for it, check with the BBB.
Does a salesman try to get the client to sign on the first meeting? Of course. Because they are pushy and greedy? No, because if they’ve presented their product to a well-informed customer and met all the customer’s requirements, then it’s only reasonable that they earn the customer’s business.
With our company, we never push, it’s entirely up to the customer, but we do offer sales pricing if they want to get started right away. I’ve had to explain to more than one customer that I can offer them a percentage off the sticker price because it saves the time of coming back to see them a second or third time. I could be all over the southern part of the state, my territory covered a radius of 250 miles, and if they decided to buy later I’d have to detour and go back to see them. That could cost me a sale somewhere else, so naturally it’s worth a percentage to save my time and gas. It’s just simple business.
I don’t do the model home concept but I’ve worked for companies that do and yes, it’s valid. If you buy siding or windows, or shutters, or gutters and are happy with the work, why wouldn’t you allow the company to use you to advertise particularly if it saves you some money? Usually all that’s asked is for the customer to put a sign in the yard, allow pictures to be taken for advertisements, and to refer back to the customer later. The ironic part is that today we still ask the customer for those things, but it all just becomes part of what adds to the company integrity.
The home improvement business is too competitive these days to screw people over, scams like “free siding, just pay for installation” and other old tin men tricks are unnecessary and just plain wrong.
I do think it’s funny that the product the article starts out with is that same old lighthouse paint crap that has of late made the rounds as “liquid vinyl” and if the author had thought about it; if a product is that good, why isn’t it for sale at the local hardware store? Simple, because it’s no good.
I know it’s silly to take issue with a 50 year old article, but I get aggravated with people that don’t seem to get the idea that sales is a profession like any other, except that most other professions rely on salespeople to make their money no matter the product or service.