ᐅ General contractor, customer service, and communication extremely frustrating

In December 2020, we signed a turnkey contract for a single-family house with a regional general contractor. Due to site development and other delays, construction only started in November 2021. Even before that, we noticed that communication was very slow. Questions went unanswered for ages; scheduled phone appointments were simply missed, and so on. When we finally managed to have a phone call, we expressed our frustration clearly but always politely and professionally. Our general contractor explained everything with too much work, constantly changing schedules because of company XY, and of course, COVID-19. From his perspective, our questions were not important. That might be true to some extent, but for us, it is impossible to know, since the schedule and who is supposed to do what when remain completely unclear. On the other hand, it is reasonable to expect answers to questions about a high six-figure project within a reasonable time. Our impression is that he simply doesn’t care and basically says: “That’s how it is, deal with it.”

As a side note: So far, there is nothing to complain about the work itself; even our independent construction supervisor has no objections. However, there are still frequent questions and occasional requests for changes (recessed spotlights, sliding doors, things like that). When it takes 3 to 4 weeks to get a response — mind you, just any kind of response, not even an answer — the frustration grows enormously. We asked for a list of subcontractors; this was promised again two months ago after several reminders, but we still haven’t received it. We have questions about the further schedule, when the house will be ready to move in — we’ve long stopped believing in the contractually guaranteed construction period; the standard excuse is COVID-19. We just want to know what the realistic timeline is. No sign of life for three weeks now. Two phone appointments were scheduled since then but simply passed without cancellation, rescheduling, or any comment. We have no idea when it might be finished, because the entire interior finishing still needs to be done. The fact that we also need to plan ourselves — vacations (for our own work such as painting), terminating the rental contract, and so on — are again things that, from the general contractor’s point of view, are not important. But they are important to us. Without wanting to sound arrogant, we are the CLIENTS and have paid everything fully and on time so far, so I expect my questions to be answered.

We understand that everyone’s order books are overfull and many companies probably don’t even know how to manage everything anymore. But is this kind of behavior really the standard in the construction industry now? How do you deal with people or companies like this?

Fleckenzwerg schrieb:

In December 2020, we signed the contract with a regional general contractor for a turnkey single-family house. Due to site development and other delays, construction only started in November 2021. Even before that, we noticed the communication was very slow. Questions remained unanswered for a long time; scheduled phone calls were simply not kept, and so on. When we did manage to have a phone conversation, we clearly but always politely expressed our frustration. Our general contractor blamed everything on too much work, constantly changed schedules due to company xy, etc. Of course, also COVID-19. From his perspective, our questions weren’t important at all. That may be true to some extent, but for us it is impossible to know, since the schedule, who is doing what and when, is completely unknown. On the other hand, one would expect to have questions answered within a reasonable timeframe for a six-figure project you commissioned. Our impression is that he doesn’t take this seriously and essentially says: "It is what it is, deal with it."

As a note: there is nothing to criticize about the work done so far; even our independent site supervisor has no complaints. But there are frequently questions and occasional change requests (built-in spotlights, sliding door, those kinds of things). When you have to wait three to four weeks for a reaction (just a reaction, not even an answer) to your questions, frustration grows enormously. We asked for a list of subcontractors; this was promised again two months ago after repeated requests—but we still haven’t received it. We have questions about the further schedule, when the house will be ready to move in—the contractually agreed build time is a lost illusion; the default excuse is always COVID-19. We just want to know what a realistic schedule looks like. No sign of life, again for three weeks. Twice phone appointments were scheduled since then, but they just passed without cancellation, rescheduling, or any comment. We have absolutely no idea when it might be finished, as the entire interior fit-out is still to be done. The fact that we also need to plan ourselves—vacations (for the work we do ourselves, like painting), terminating our rental, and so forth—is again, from the general contractor’s point of view, not important. But it is for us. And, not to sound vain, we are CUSTOMERS and have paid everything properly and on time so far, so I expect my questions to be answered.

We know that all order books are full and many companies may no longer know how to manage everything. But is such behavior really the new standard in the construction industry? How do you deal with people or companies like this?

I can relate to this. We also submitted our building application in December 2020. Construction started in November 2021. It took 9.5 months to get building approval. Communication with the regional general contractor... I would rate it a 4 out of 10. But I recommend hiring an external site supervisor. I always discuss technical questions with them and whether everything is okay. Since the construction company performs all tasks very well—to an excellent standard—I have never had any complaints.

Fleckenzwerg schrieb:

We asked for a list of tradespeople; it was promised to us again two months ago after several reminders – but we have not received it.

From a commercial perspective, I don’t think you are entitled to it either: scheduling of work and workforce is the contractor’s responsibility, and it is up to them whether to use their own staff or external subcontractors. What is owed is the completed work by the agreed deadline – that’s all.

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https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

11ant schrieb:

From a business perspective, I don’t think you are entitled to this either: scheduling the work and workforce is the contractor’s responsibility, and it is up to them when and where they use their own staff or external assistants (“subcontractors”). What is owed is the completed work by the agreed deadline – that’s all.

I wouldn’t emphasize that. We received a construction schedule including all trades with contact details. This allowed questions to be directed more specifically without having to go through the general contractor first, who would then contact the trade and relay the information back. Additional work was also agreed upon directly with the trade.

Neubau2022 schrieb:

We received a construction plan including all trades with contact details. This allowed us to direct questions more precisely without having to go through the general contractor (GC), who would then pass them to the trade and back. Additional work was also agreed upon directly with the trades.

However, this kind of "skip chain of command communication" directly between the client and subcontractors is something not every GC "likes"—and I can completely understand why. This bypass is not "smart" for any party involved, especially with clients who frequently change their special requests quickly and up to the last minute. With such anarchic communication, chaos regularly ensues because detailed plans circulate in outdated versions. This drives site managers crazy ;-(

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https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

Don’t worry about it. In my 10 years on forums, I’ve rarely seen communication described as good or satisfactory.
We customers are just one of many building couples. We only see ourselves. The general contractor (GC) is either busy or on site.
They have a schedule for the number of construction sites…
Your file gets attention when it’s your turn.
And yes: they don’t really care about what’s important to you. What matters to them is coordinating the trades, making sure everything runs smoothly and in sync. They don’t care which tile is laid… after all, they’re not interior designers 🙂
Also, not every site has a detailed schedule, because things might change. Especially with COVID, some tradespeople were sidelined: where two teams used to work, now only one comes.
Yes, this is frustrating.
Apparently, you can reach someone by phone… maybe the questions are just asked the wrong way. Don’t ask “Why don’t we hear anything…?”
Instead ask: “I need the plumber’s phone number and when they will come” and “When is the screed layer applied, and how does the drying process work?”

Then there’s less unnecessary back-and-forth and the GC can actually answer:

Fleckenzwerg schrieb:

When we finally got through on the phone, we clearly but politely expressed our frustration. Our GC always blames it on having too much work,

Because accusations don’t help in this situation—they distract from what really matters.
Now, since we don’t know what kind of GC this is, we can’t really assess anything further…