ghosting is the new normal

[retire-early]

Yes, I think I was ghosted by my handyman.

I got 2 bids on minor trim work around my french door. $650 by hman 1, $225 by hman 2. Yes, big difference.

Went with hman 2.


Nice guy. Even cut a custom wood piece out of a 2 by 4 to replace bottom of rotted centerpost. I was impressed.

But he ghosted me afterwards when I wanted him to come back to check out a leak coming in from the same french door. He didn't cause it, it was already happening. But he said the new trim would have a 90 percent chance of fixing the leak. I wasn't trying to blame him, just trying to get his expertise concerning how I might fix the leak.

Whenever I call him now, the call goes straight voicemail. Doesn't call me back.

Even if you had paid the $650, there is no guarantee that hman1 would not ghost you.

I am guessing that hman2 saw no upside to continuing working with you.
He may be thinking that you expected him to fix it for free.
Or he may feel that he may be giving you the benefit of his expertise and then have you turn around and do it yourself.

All in all, these guys have projects that pay $$$ so they toss us aside.

I am giving my handyman one more text this Friday, and if he doesn't come through, I am done. It is ridiculous having to beg someone to take my money.

.

.

 

[retire-early]

Family business but multigenerational and brick and mortar.

Even those are only interested in $$$ projects and not a simple front door replacement.
I called a guy who advertised in the monthly newspaper that we receive.
Advertised that he was a family business no subcontractors.
Took my number. Never called back.
That is the reality.

I am extremely frustrated, but nothing I can do about it when everyone is chasing the big projects that pay them tens of thousands of dollars.

.

 

[Major Tom]

I was self employed during my career and I developed a very successful large business and I was able to charge a premium for my work. It was not that my work was better than anyone else's--my work was probably average. What made me so popular was that I did not ghost people. I always returned calls within 24 hours--even if my call was to say I am sorry I have not gotten to your project yet. If I had an appointment and was going to be late I always called.

This is the way to do business, IMHO. If I were a contractor, and wasn't sure if I'd have time on my calendar to fit a job in, I would be upfront with the customer and let them know. Direct, timely, and honest communication is very important to me. I wish that everyone else thought so.

 

[Amethyst]

With such reasonable charges, he may have more work than he can stay on top of.

Doesn't excuse not returning your phone calls, but may explain it.

Anecdotally: The carpenter on our recent renovations, offered me his phone # "if you ever need anything." Well, I needed help with some deck railing, so I tried calling him. Straight to voicemail, every time. I tried texting that #; no response.

A couple months later, he was back at our house to help with another renovation. He apologized for not returning the calls. Said he was overwhelmed with work and family issues. Which is very believable, since he has 5 kids, one of them special needs, and his general contractor boss has told me how hard it is to get good technicians for all the work that's out there these days. Anyway, he gave me the name of a friend who might be interested in the deck railing job, and a suggested hourly rate for me to offer.

Yes, I think I was ghosted by my handyman.

I got 2 bids on minor trim work around my french door. $650 by hman 1, $225 by hman 2. Yes, big difference.

Went with hman 2.


Whenever I call him now, the call goes straight voicemail. Doesn't call me back.

 

[retire-early]

This is the way to do business, IMHO. If I were a contractor, and wasn't sure if I'd have time on my calendar to fit a job in, I would be upfront with the customer and let them know. Direct, timely, and honest communication is very important to me. I wish that everyone else thought so.

The handymen string people along because their current project is keeping them busy, but they are always looking for the next project.
So, maybe my front door replacement becomes Project #2, but if someone calls and their project pays more, I become Project #3 and that new project becomes Project #2.

Of course, he doesn't commit to me that I am Project #2 actually.
He moves the projects like in shell game.

It is not first come first served.
It is who pays the most, first served.

If I was in that line of work, I would hope I would not do work that way.

.

 

[Major Tom]

That explains a lot, retire-early. Thank you for that.

 

[retire-early]

For really small projects like the one I had for replacing three outdoor lights, I had a handyman message me early afternoon telling me that he could come by later that afternoon at 5pm and do the work for $X.
Eye opening for sure.

Not everybody works from home to where they can re-arrange their schedule at the last minute.

 

[retire-early]

I called a handyman who advertised in the monthly free newspaper.
His voicemail announcement said that his schedule is full until Jan 2022.

 

[ivinsfan]

I called a handyman who advertised in the monthly free newspaper.
His voicemail announcement said that his schedule is full until Jan 2022.

But that's good that you know upfront and can move on.

 

[retire-early]

But that's good that you know upfront and can move on.

Is it a good idea to replace a front door in the middle of winter?
We had also wanted the transom and sidelight frames painted as well.

 

[ivinsfan]

The handymen string people along because their current project is keeping them busy, but they are always looking for the next project.
So, maybe my front door replacement becomes Project #2, but if someone calls and their project pays more, I become Project #3 and that new project becomes Project #2.

Of course, he doesn't commit to me that I am Project #2 actually.
He moves the projects like in shell game.

It is not first come first served.
It is who pays the most, first served.

If I was in that line of work, I would hope I would not do work that way.

.

Not always true depending of what kind of handyman they are.
If you do plumbing among your projects there can be quite a bit of triaging going on. IE..broken pipes, leaking toilet and stuff. Frozen pipes are a big one here in the winter. If I'm that person I'm grateful for getting moved to the front of the line.


In almost 50 years of farming we've had plenty emergencies and always been grateful for quick service.

 

[ivinsfan]

Is it a good idea to replace a front door in the middle of winter?
We had also wanted the transom and sidelight frames painted as well.

I meant it's good to know instead of playing phone tag and waiting for this person to come..or try to get on the schedule in early Spring.


Worst of all is someone who acts like they can come "next week" but just keeps moving "next week" far into the future.

 

[retire-early]

I meant it's good to know instead of playing phone tag and waiting for this person to come..or try to get on the schedule in early Spring.


Worst of all is someone who acts like they can come "next week" but just keeps moving "next week" far into the future.

I agree it is good to know.

Now that I know, would you schedule a front door replacement in January, or should I give up on the idea until next spring take my chances on finding someone?

 

[retire-early]

Not always true depending of what kind of handyman they are.
If you do plumbing among your projects there can be quite a bit of triaging going on. IE..broken pipes, leaking toilet and stuff. Frozen pipes are a big one here in the winter. If I'm that person I'm grateful for getting moved to the front of the line.


In almost 50 years of farming we've had plenty emergencies and always been grateful for quick service.

I agree about plumbing emergencies, but I am talking about projects that can be scheduled.

 

[ivinsfan]

I agree it is good to know.

Now that I know, would you schedule a front door replacement in January, or should I give up on the idea until next spring take my chances on finding someone?

Have you bought the door? You have a couple choices book the busy guy for early Spring and at the same time spend a little time looking for someone that might do it before winter. If you get lucky I don't see a problem with canceling something scheduled for 6 months from now.


Depends how badly you want that door...and how cold you are in January.


I feel your pain. We've had a local one man tree trimmer scheduled since late June and it's a real circus as in he says he'll be here tomorrow and when you call 3 weeks later tells you he'll come tomorrow. You know how they say tomorrow never comes?

 

[PatrickA5]

I've found that companies with actual offices, receptionists and multiple skilled labor seem to be the best as far as actually showing up. It's the individual handyman type of people that, in my experience, only show up if they feel like it.

The handyman franchises aren't any better. I called a couple of them recently. Didn't answer the phone. Finally got ahold of someone and they said they'd be happy to do it, but are scheduled 3 months out.

 

[5Miler]

I spent the spring (Feb-Mar) soliciting bids for some concrete leveling on my driveway and sidewalk, new gutters with leaf covers and some extensive landscaping including addressing some drainage issues (thus the concrete leveling) and paver walkways.

The concrete leveling went well with one quoting $5500 and the other two telling me I didn't really need much if anything done. One said I could use a bit on the sidewalk and just one pad on the driveway but I wouldn't meet his minimum of $1500. I had him do what I needed and dug up enough other work to meet the minimum. What a spread of bids which is why I always get at least three bids.

The gutters went very well with one crazy high. He was the same company that was high on the concrete leveling as well. The other two were identical bids so happily chose one based on the products the used. Happy camper with their work too.

The landscaping! Total of 5 contractors came out over a period of 4 months. Only one responded with a bid despite repeated calls and halfhearted promises of sending a bid in the next few days. Only bid received was for $12K but I have no real yardstick to measure the true value without other bids so I've been stymied. I'm thinking maybe I need to break the projects down to individual jobs and bid them out that way. I understand they are busy but I have told them just get me on their schedule even if it takes 6 to 9 months. I have much more I need done after the work I've been bidding out, probably close to $40K all said. At this point, I'm leery of hiring someone who I have to beg to send me a bid. What kind of response would I get to actually doing the job or to follow up on any issues. DGF and I have decided we are going to remain in our home and would like to enhance it's livability while we are still young enough to enjoy it.

Rant over.

 

[Amethyst]

Give him a call and set up something for spring. You don't know when he put that message on his phone. If he's popular, his calendar could have filled up past February by now.

I agree it is good to know.

Now that I know, would you schedule a front door replacement in January, or should I give up on the idea until next spring take my chances on finding someone?

 

[Amethyst]

We, too, have had problems getting quotes for smaller landscape jobs. And as I posted earlier, one guy ghosted us in the middle of the job, after requesting and receiving the lion's share of his payment.

The only solution I have found, if I can't do the work myself, is to pay top dollar. I now call one of the bigger landscaping outfits that charge a lot. They seem willing to come out for a smaller job, when they are doing other jobs nearby.

I spent the spring (Feb-Mar) soliciting bids for some concrete leveling on my driveway and sidewalk, new gutters with leaf covers and some extensive landscaping including addressing some drainage issues (thus the concrete leveling) and paver walkways.

The concrete leveling went well with one quoting $5500 and the other two telling me I didn't really need much if anything done. One said I could use a bit on the sidewalk and just one pad on the driveway but I wouldn't meet his minimum of $1500. I had him do what I needed and dug up enough other work to meet the minimum. What a spread of bids which is why I always get at least three bids.

The gutters went very well with one crazy high. He was the same company that was high on the concrete leveling as well. The other two were identical bids so happily chose one based on the products the used. Happy camper with their work too.

The landscaping! Total of 5 contractors came out over a period of 4 months. Only one responded with a bid despite repeated calls and halfhearted promises of sending a bid in the next few days. Only bid received was for $12K but I have no real yardstick to measure the true value without other bids so I've been stymied. I'm thinking maybe I need to break the projects down to individual jobs and bid them out that way. I understand they are busy but I have told them just get me on their schedule even if it takes 6 to 9 months. I have much more I need done after the work I've been bidding out, probably close to $40K all said. At this point, I'm leery of hiring someone who I have to beg to send me a bid. What kind of response would I get to actually doing the job or to follow up on any issues. DGF and I have decided we are going to remain in our home and would like to enhance it's livability while we are still young enough to enjoy it.

Rant over.

 

[Koolau]

Well, the "good" news is that sooner or later, this uncharacteristically go-go economy and pent-up Covid demand will subside. THEN it will be our turn to ghost the H-men and C-tractors. Not that I would do that, but it's a nice fantasy. YMMV

 

[retire-early]

I texted with someone's cousin who reportedly was a carpenter.
He texted he could come by after work today.
I messaged a photo of the front door.
Taking a page from advice I got from someone here about dealing with no-shows,
I asked him to text me when he was ready to come and I would give him my address.
Needless to say, he did a no-show.

 

[Sunset]

Guess I was lucky:

• I called a plumber at 2:30, then emailed him telling him I had used him before and needed a sewer line unplugged.
• He called me back at 3:30, I told him the tenants phone, name and address.
• I emailed the tenants to expect a phone call.
• Plumber showed up at 4:30, two guys, did the job and emailed me the invoice ($237).
• I paid him via e-transfer at 5:30.

I have no idea if $237 total was expensive or cheap, he said it was his flat rate for unblocking a sewer pipe, but I figure just to have a plumber show up is expensive.

 

[Amethyst]

Everybody: When you interview 3 or 4 contractors and finally decide on one, do you call all the others to tell them they didn't win the bid?

If you don't, is that ghosting?

 

[target2019]

Everybody: When you interview 3 or 4 contractors and finally decide on one, do you call all the others to tell them they didn't win the bid?

If you don't, is that ghosting?

If you have the time, it could pay off to call someone back and say thanks. I think you need 2 or 3 potential contractors for each specialty.

 

[street]

It is hard for me to understand people that want the work and advertise for work, just to ignore people that want you. I don't think that way or could operate that way. A courtesy call if to busy only takes a few seconds.

I have often thought about doing some handy many small contracting jobs. From cement to building and or fixing I have the experience and have done it to be able to do smaller jobs. I think there would be a constant work schedule that wouldn't fit my schedule thou. I always love a challenge and miss that part in ER.