Do Ethics and Service Exist Anymore?

ethical
adj.

1. pertaining to or dealing with morals or the principles of morality; pertaining to ethics.
2. being in accordance with the rules or standards for right conduct or practice, esp. the standards of a profession.

Whatever happened to the importance of this word in relation to providing a service in exchange for compensation? I’m not saying it has, altogether, ceased to exist, but in my recent experience, it has become ever-more difficult to find those who make it a priority. This summer I decided to hire out “professional” services to take on the unappealing task of renovating my home. Excited to begin the process, several contractors were interviewed until the decision was made to go with one over the others. I informed the top-scoring (based on my opinion at the time) contractor that I was going utilize his services and was ready move forward with the process. Before signing a contract for the scope of work, he wanted to come over and look at a few interior things prior to starting the job to see just how he was going to go about initiating the remodel. Sounded great! I gave him access to my home one day while I was away at work and expected for him to draw up the contract shortly after his initial inspection.

I came home that evening to a house full of construction workers and an opening where an interior wall had previously been. From what I could tell, nothing had been covered and I had been given no advanced opportunity to move anything (i.e. furniture, blankets or other household items) out of the way; dust was everywhere. Fortunately, it was an interior wall that I wanted taken out, but I was not expecting it to be gone as of yet. The quick-talking contractor smoothed over his hasty actions by pointing out just how good it looked; and, it did look good. So, I forgave his premature actions and talked myself into thinking, Well, you were going to hire him anyway, so let’s not make a big deal out of things and just move forward. This was mistake number one. (My advice should you decide to take it: If anyone “breaks ground” before you have a signed contract – fire them immediately (even though you haven’t actually hired them)).

Never having done a remodel of such magnitude before, we sat down to go over and sign the contract he had written up. It seemed to cover everything and we agreed that any “extras” would be in addition to the contract, such as: new appliances, upgraded fixtures and changes to the scope of agreed upon work. Sounded great! I signed the (in hindsight, what was a very general) contract and looked forward to all the wonderful changes that would soon be taking place around my home. This was mistake number two. (My advice should you decide to take it: Regardless as to how tedious it feels to analyze a contract, go over it with a fine-toothed comb. Try and think of every possible little thing you can (no matter how insignificant it may seem) and add it to the contract before signing).

Nearly everything became an “extra.” Seemed every time I turned around, I was told that I was adding something “extra,” or it was something that was not included in the contract; everything from shelves in a newly added closet, to additional contractor work not previously mentioned, all the way down to a light switch or fittings necessary to connect the kitchen plumbing. Cha-ching! Cha-ching! (Incidentally, the water pressure in my house is much less than it used to be.) The insanity ensued; day after day of dealing with the normal headaches of a renovation – only made worse by a nickel-and-diming contractor. (My advice should you decide to take it: If you happen to find yourself in this predicament (and are still able) stop everything and make an addendum to the contract that spells out, in specific detail, what is expected and what will be provided. If you cannot agree, you might want to settle up on services provided and find someone else to complete the work.)

The next milestone in the process was adding onto the existing house. The foundation (concrete slab) for one part of the addition had been poured and the roofline had been cut. As it just so happened, this took place on a Friday. This means that no work would be taking place for the next two days (the weekend). As if frustrations hadn’t been escalating enough already with the way things were being handled, in comes a weather pattern that released wave upon wave of down-pouring rain over the entire weekend. Now, this wouldn’t have been so bad, but the newly poured slab had a slight tilt, not slanting away from the house, but rather toward it. That Friday night, the first of many steady streams of water raced toward (and into) the house; soaking the padding and the existing carpet. I fought the onslaught with numerous towels and a wet/dry shop vacuum. Unfortunately, it was a losing battle as I was no match for Mother Nature.

I contacted my contractor that night for his help with this highly inconvenient situation, but did he offer to come over the next day to help with a short-term solution? No, he didn’t. I was left on my own to try and temporarily “fix” this unwelcomed, but inherited, situation. I went out and bought several bags of sand to build a short wall with the hopes that it would keep much of the rain from finding its way into my house. But, even with my makeshift sandbag barrier, it was simply no match for the amount of rain that fell that weekend and I was forced to spend Father’s Day battling the elements from inside my house in an effort to keep my entire first floor from flooding. (My advice should you decide to take it: If your contractor refuses to immediately make time to fix a significant problem that he created (even if it is over the weekend) you should fire him and spread the word about his lack of work ethic.)

It was finally time for the kitchen cabinets to be installed. My contractor asks me for a large draw so that he could pay up his workers and pay off some materials. Now, the original agreement was for me to hold out 10% of the money until the entire job was complete. However, this fast-talker convinced me that once the cabinets were in, that the rest of the job would go quickly and that there was really no need to hold out so much. At this point in time, I just really wanted it all to be over and I wanted this project to be complete. So, reluctantly, I made the draw which left me only owing about 3%. I know, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice (or many more times) shame on me.

I met him on my way home from work one afternoon and gave him the money. This was mistake number three. (My advice should you decide to take it: Never EVER pay anyone for anything unless (and until) you are 100% satisfied with the work.) When I got home, the cabinets were not what were expected. They were all around smaller than the cabinets I had, originally. I told him that if this was what he ordered for me, then I wanted my original cabinets back. This kicked off what would be the largest, and most time-consuming, bane of the entire project.

My contractor basically disappeared. He ignored phone calls and texts. He didn’t return voicemails. I had to contact his laborers to get in touch with him. He stated he was having phone issues (which very well may have been true) but if you own your own business and you have an incomplete project, you should find ways to get in touch, and maintain communication, with your client(s).

As a result, the cabinet company and I were left to work it all out between ourselves. The contractor, basically, snubbed us both and walked away from making any more payments to the cabinet company. I was expected to use the last 3% I was holding out for the contractor to get the cabinets redone to an acceptable compromise because my contractor had already spent all of the money I had given him (insert repeated face-palms here). Luckily, the cabinet company was understanding and handled things (all things considered) ethically; even though they didn’t have to – they were put squarely in the middle of a bad situation.

So, there are still a few minor items that need to be taken care of around the house which are part of the original contract. The contractor, when we talk (which remains rare) attempts to nickel-and-dime me for things that he should be paying for (especially since he’s signed off stating that I have paid him in full). They’re small things at this point, but nevertheless, it is work that  is still unfinished and will possibly remain that way.

As much as I wish that were the end of the story, I am now in the midst of another debacle with another contractor, though this is for a concrete patio and a retaining wall to complete the outside of the remodel. I decided to not use the same contractor who did the interior renovation due to all of the headaches he has caused. Here’s a quick rundown of what I’m going through with this other contractor:

• Agreed upon: 30” high retaining wall, 50’ long
  • What I got: 22” high at one side and 18” high on the other
    • Never asked me about lowering the height
    • Asked me to pay for the additional concrete to level out the height
      • The excuse: “We didn’t order enough and were running out of concrete”
• Agreed upon: A specific style of rock-looking face for retaining wall (very elegant looking)
  • What I got: Large stone carvings reminiscent of being in a cave.
    • The excuse: He didn’t have one
  • On one side, the stain was brushed on and not too dark
    • On the other side, the stain was sprayed on and much too dark.
      • The excuse: “We were running out of time”
• Agreed upon: Flagstone looking patio
  • What I got: Nothing like the picture I was shown
    • The excuse: “Nothing ever looks exactly like a picture”
• Remaining Issues:
  • Jagged edge on the back of the top of the retaining wall
    • The excuse: “Just use some extra topsoil to go all the way to the top of the wall so you can’t see it”
  • Stain flakes off easily
  • Stain on side of house (did not clean up well)
    • The excuse: “Just use an S.O.S. pad – I didn’t have one’
  • Contractor used my (brand new) wheelbarrow instead of his own
    • The excuse: “Sorry about that – I shouldn’t have done that”
  • Residual landscaping issues which will create grass and irrigation problems

In summary, I’m not sure how this will all turn out in the end, but I do know one thing – In the future, I will read and reread contracts thoroughly and cautiously before ever signing them and I will do additional research, on my own, so that I will have a better understanding of what should be included and what specific questions I should ask. Being that ethics seem to have gone by way of the dodo bird, you just can’t be too careful who you trust to do work for you; no matter how important.

At least that’s my opinion.

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