ᐅ General contractor, customer service, and communication extremely frustrating
Created on: 6 May 2022 16:50
F
Fleckenzwerg
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?
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?
H
HilfeHilfe7 May 2022 10:17What many people don’t understand is that a general contractor (GC) does not primarily focus on communication or marketing but on building houses. If they deliver good work, as your external site manager says, that’s great! Otherwise, no GC has 3,453 people in administration, and yes, the pandemic, inflation, and especially managing tradespeople, materials, and their own staff is difficult enough. And no GC can survive financially on a single project. They always have many projects in the pipeline.
I find the description quite intense. Regarding some topics:
On-site selections during the construction phase seem at least unusual to me. We had a major selection appointment with the general contractor, where everything was discussed in detail. After that, you receive an execution approval (large plans for the craftsmen) that you also have to sign. What is written there is how it will be done. Changes after approval are not so easy to make. For us, a few things were still handled informally on site in agreement with us, but that was about it.
Exceptions to this: With the electrical and plumbing trades, there were separate site inspections where all details were discussed. The agreements also had to be signed by us. Prior to that, appointments were scheduled and kept.
I assume our need for follow-up questions wasn’t that high because we discussed and documented most things in advance.
Regarding questions: We didn’t always get an immediate answer. Our site manager was overwhelmed at times. If nothing came back, I asked again a day later, and usually, I got a response. During the final inspection, we saw how often his phone rang—I almost felt sorry for him.
By email, our general contractor’s team was always easy to reach, and most of the time, responses came very quickly. Calls were sometimes more difficult. But nothing I would complain about—especially in the context of your descriptions.
Subcontractor list / schedule: I believe you’re not entitled to this (as @11ant rightly said), but we did get a photo of it. I printed the photo on A4, it looked terrible but was usable. I can imagine why some general contractors don’t want to release it. In the last few weeks, some things have been shifted here and there. If the client is involved, you have to pass on every little change to them. Neither do they need to know, nor do you as site management have the time or desire for that communication overhead.
Completion of your build: I would insist more firmly that you get an answer about that. During Corona (2020), we accepted it as a valid excuse, but by now, you shouldn’t be able to dismiss every contractual obligation because of Corona. The contractor also signed the contract with you during the pandemic (in our case, the signature was prior). What does your contract say about deadlines / when they have to finish? Regarding consequences and what you can do about it, you might need legal advice.
On-site selections during the construction phase seem at least unusual to me. We had a major selection appointment with the general contractor, where everything was discussed in detail. After that, you receive an execution approval (large plans for the craftsmen) that you also have to sign. What is written there is how it will be done. Changes after approval are not so easy to make. For us, a few things were still handled informally on site in agreement with us, but that was about it.
Exceptions to this: With the electrical and plumbing trades, there were separate site inspections where all details were discussed. The agreements also had to be signed by us. Prior to that, appointments were scheduled and kept.
I assume our need for follow-up questions wasn’t that high because we discussed and documented most things in advance.
Regarding questions: We didn’t always get an immediate answer. Our site manager was overwhelmed at times. If nothing came back, I asked again a day later, and usually, I got a response. During the final inspection, we saw how often his phone rang—I almost felt sorry for him.
By email, our general contractor’s team was always easy to reach, and most of the time, responses came very quickly. Calls were sometimes more difficult. But nothing I would complain about—especially in the context of your descriptions.
Subcontractor list / schedule: I believe you’re not entitled to this (as @11ant rightly said), but we did get a photo of it. I printed the photo on A4, it looked terrible but was usable. I can imagine why some general contractors don’t want to release it. In the last few weeks, some things have been shifted here and there. If the client is involved, you have to pass on every little change to them. Neither do they need to know, nor do you as site management have the time or desire for that communication overhead.
Completion of your build: I would insist more firmly that you get an answer about that. During Corona (2020), we accepted it as a valid excuse, but by now, you shouldn’t be able to dismiss every contractual obligation because of Corona. The contractor also signed the contract with you during the pandemic (in our case, the signature was prior). What does your contract say about deadlines / when they have to finish? Regarding consequences and what you can do about it, you might need legal advice.
N
Neubau20227 May 2022 10:35kati1337 schrieb:
I find this description quite intense. A few points regarding some topics:
On-site material selections during the construction phase are at least unusual in my experience. We had one large selection appointment with the general contractor (GC), where everything was discussed in detail. Afterwards, you receive an execution approval (large plans for the subcontractors), which also needs to be signed. What is specified there is how it will be done. Changes after approval are not that easy anymore. For us, a few things were still adjusted informally on site, in agreement with us, but that was about it.
Exceptions to this were separate site walks with the electrical and plumbing trades where all details were discussed. The agreements also had to be signed. Appointments for these were arranged in advance and kept.
I assume our need for follow-up questions was not too high because we discussed and documented most things beforehand.
Regarding follow-up questions: We did not always receive immediate answers. Our construction manager was also overwhelmed. If nothing came through, I would ask again the next day, and usually, a response followed. During the final inspection, we saw how often his phone rang, and I almost felt sorry for him.
By email, the GC team was always reachable and usually responded quite quickly. Phone calls were sometimes difficult too. But nothing I would complain about—especially considering your descriptions.
Subcontractor list / schedule: I believe you are generally not entitled to see these (as @11ant correctly stated), but we did receive a photographed copy. I printed that out on A4, it looked terrible but was usable. I can understand why some GCs don’t want to share this. In the last few weeks, changes get shifted here and there. If the client is involved, every small change has to be passed on to them. Neither do they need to know, nor does the site management have the time or interest in this communication overhead.
Regarding the completion of your build: I would be more assertive in demanding a response. We accepted COVID-19 as a valid excuse in 2020, but by now, not every contractual obligation can be dismissed because of the pandemic. The contractor signed the contract with you during COVID (ours was signed beforehand). What does your contract say about deadlines / when they must complete? For consequences and options you have, you may need legal advice.
This all depends on the general contractor and the trades. With our trades, we can make last-minute changes as long as it doesn't affect the building permit or structural engineering. For example, relocating drywall or choosing tiles instead of parquet flooring. I have to say they are very flexible about this. Additional costs are then billed directly to us by the respective trades.
HilfeHilfe schrieb:
What many don’t understand is that a general contractor (GC) does not focus on communication or marketing but on building houses. Exactly! Three thumbs up!
Fleckenzwerg schrieb:
This is a regionally operating GC. That’s actually quite likeable, That’s already a good sign. Nevertheless:
Fleckenzwerg schrieb:
We don’t do that. We send specific questions by email. They just remain unanswered. A somewhat smaller regional provider often isn’t sitting all day, or even in the evenings, in front of digital media.
If you want something, you have to bother them by phone or show up in person.
“Show up” could also mean at the house itself… whatever. There are professions that are not available 24/7 or reachable digitally.
Let me give you a tip for a three-part series: I don’t know if it’s available on streaming platforms like Mediathek, Prime, or Netflix (probably not), but it’s on DVD; Once in a Lifetime – The Semmeling Family Builds a House. Dieter Wedel included many truths in this entertaining satire – it applied back then, and much of it still applies today.
goalkeeper schrieb:
You probably don’t have our general contractor in mind anymore… ;-)Rarely… I rarely write 😉There are occasionally positive reports, but not often.
P
Pinkiponk7 May 2022 11:59goalkeeper schrieb:
You probably don’t have our general contractor in mind anymore… ;-)Off topic, just joking: ;-) With @ypg it’s like with site managers. You get attention when it’s your turn, but you can’t expect continuous, uninterrupted focus. 🙂Similar topics