ᐅ The contractually agreed construction manager will not be provided by the building company.

Hello everyone,

We found our construction company through recommendations. After comparing several providers, we ultimately decided on this one. An important factor was to have the same site manager as our acquaintances, who highly praised him. We made sure this was contractually agreed upon.
Now we have received the order confirmation from the company, and the next day we were informed that the requested site manager is not available, as he has recently settled in Bavaria and would have to travel 5 hours to reach us. However, there are two alternative site managers in our area.
This is not a minor issue for us and immediately reduces our trust in the project from the start.

Question: As clients, do we have to accept this? Can or should we already demand compensation? If so, how much? Or is there nothing we can do?

Thank you and best regards!

What damage are you seeking compensation for?

Gerddieter schrieb:

What kind of damage are you seeking compensation for?

For the construction manager contractually guaranteed, who is now not being provided. He was a key factor for us in choosing the supplier.

silvermaster schrieb:

For the contractually guaranteed site manager, who is now not being provided. He was a key factor for us in choosing the contractor.

The site manager is an employee of the company. Personally, I wouldn’t worry too much about that, since they are basically just an assistant.

Who is overseeing the project on your behalf? Have your acquaintances recommended any independent construction supervision, or are you naively relying solely on the “site manager”?

Changing the site manager has not caused you any damage that you can claim compensation for.

You can insist on compliance with the contract, but if that is not possible, then it is not possible. In that case, you might (possibly) question the entire construction contract, although you probably did not choose that contract solely because of the site manager.

And as @nordanney already mentioned, the general contractor’s paid site manager is an employee of the company who ensures that things primarily run well for the general contractor and, from the client’s perspective, is "replaceable."
Gerddieter

I don’t think it’s that simple in this case. The construction manager was contractually guaranteed and apparently still works for the company. If he were no longer employed there... then it might be a different situation.

Although, even then, it would be possible to buy out the construction manager. But if he is still working for the company, legally it probably can’t be dismissed with “That’s too much for us.”

The company cannot guarantee something contractually and then refuse to deliver because it causes too high costs. That is part of business risk.
It would be even worse if the company could guarantee branded products and then simply switch to their own brand, claiming it is of equal quality...