ᐅ How did the contractors respond to cancellations?

I’m curious to know how your contractors reacted when you canceled their services.

So far, I’ve had two negative experiences with two contractors: a structural builder and an interior plasterer. The structural builder told others behind my back that I had fooled him, promised him work, and then just ignored him, even though I had clearly told him at the beginning that I had contacted several builders and later informed him in writing that I had chosen someone else. When some acquaintances mentioned this to me, I called the builder again to clarify, and on the phone he said, “No, I never said that.”

The interior plasterer verbally offered me a lime-cement plaster, which I agreed to on the condition that the painter would have a good surface to work on. I spoke with three painters; all said the same or wanted to know how the plaster would turn out in the end. I addressed this with the plasterer, who simply replied, “Then the painters should do the plaster themselves so they can prepare the wall exactly how they want it.”

I inquired about other plaster options and asked the plasterer again if he could do something different for me, because the painters charge quite a lot for the lime-cement plaster. His response was, “I don’t know what to offer you; just look at my construction sites, you’ll see exactly how the layers are built up.”

I thought it over and eventually decided I had had enough, so I canceled with him by phone. He said, “No problem, it’s all good.” A few seconds later, he lost it, hung up on me, and blocked me (don’t worry, he didn’t threaten me with violence, I can handle myself).

I always try to put myself in the other person’s shoes, but can you relate to this? What experiences have you had?

Time is money; customers can sometimes be demanding, but isn’t that part of being a service provider?

Have a great weekend!