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Dealing With Contractors Teaches Valuable Lessons About Business

Written by: Tim Knox

Article Overview: The experience of dealing with contractors and other entrepreneurs is an interesting one as it highlights some key business issues. Planning, scheduling, customer satisfaction and accurate budgeting are just some of the things that play an important role in ensuring a successful business.

Dealing With Contractors Teaches Valuable Lessons About Business

Earlier this year I was convinced by my loving wife and adoring kids that if I truly loved them I would have a swimming pool installed in our back yard. Now, I personally believe that if God had meant for humans to spend time in the water he would have given us gills instead of ears and fins instead of fingers and flippers instead of toes, but who am I to argue with the wishes of the water lusting women in my life? Hence the large cement pond that now exists in my backyard.

The experience did introduce me to an interesting class of entrepreneurs collectively called, "contractors." I don't mean to generalize, but the contractors I've been dealing with are a stereotypically bunch who drive really big pickup trucks and wear worn work boots and dirty jeans and torn t-shirts and sport three-day whiskers and go by names like Buddy, Bubba, Junior, Earl, and of course Tiny, who was the largest guy on the crew.

Side note: naming a fat guy Tiny is like naming a three-legged dog Lucky or a one-armed man Lefty or a bald guy Harry. Sure, it's funny at first, but then the joke, like the seat of Tiny's pants and the fuzz on Harry's head, wears thin.

So I gave my wife the OK for the pool and the contractors started coming out of the woodwork. There was the pool contractor, the concrete contractor, the landscaping contractor, the fencing contractor, the dirt removal contractor, the pest control contractor, the electrical contractor, and the plumbing contractor and contractors whose specialty I've forgotten.

Then the fun began as the contractors started to disrupt our lives. And the one question that kept going through my mind throughout the entire ordeal was this: how do these guys manage to stay in business since they apparently don't give much thought to the usual rules of business, ignoring little things like scheduling, punctuality, employee management, licensing, quality of work, etc.

Now I mean no disrespect to the contracting industry as a whole. I'm sure there are many upstanding, honest, hard-working contractors in this world who take great pride in their work and do business by the book and give more than a cup full of tobacco spit about their customer's satisfaction. Then there was the crew that took up residence in my backyard for the better part of the summer.

From them I learned a few valuable lessons about the contracting business that I'd like to share with you now. If you've ever dealt with a contractor of any kind I'm sure these lessons will ring familiar to you.

When a contractor says, "Yes, sir, we'll be out first thing in the morning," he really means, "Well, sir, if you're lucky we'll be out here at some point over the next 6 to 12 months and we won't bother calling to let you know that we're not coming or to reschedule. We'll just show up and act like everything is alright and work a few hours before we disappear on you again."

When a contractor says, "Yes, sir, that's probably gonna be about a thousand dollars," he really means, "Well, sir, I have no idea how much that's gonna cost, but I can guarantee you it's gonna be way more than you expect to pay. We'll start at a thousand dollars and work our way up, how's that?"

When a contractor says, "Yes, sir, we can get ‘er done in about a week," that really means, "Well, sir, I can't predict the future. The thing will be done when it's done, period."

When a contractor says, "Of course I guarantee my work," he neglects to add, "If you can find me..."

Contractors are like renegade entrepreneurs, they want to be in business for themselves, but on their terms. If you and I approached our businesses with the same lackadaisical attitude we wouldn't be in business very long.

Here are the lessons learned. When you offer a bid on a job, honor its terms. When you promise a price, don't go over it. When you set an appointment with a customer, be there on time. When you commit to a schedule, stick to it. When you get the job, finish it. When something goes wrong, fix it. Now how hard is that?

So, now that I've ticked off every contractor within firing distance, let me say this: according to my deeply-tanned wife and shriveled up kids the end result was worth the hassle.

Even I have to admit, the pool turned out great. My wife is happy. The kids are happy. The contractors are happy. And I'm told that I should be happy because my family is happy and that's what counts.

I do feel better now. Venting to you always makes me happy.

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Article Tags: bald guy, cement pond, concrete contractor, dirty jeans, electrical contractor, employee management, fencing contractor, flippers, fuzz, loving wife, one armed man, pest control contractor, pickup trucks, plumbing contractor, pool contractor, punctuality, removal contractor, whiskers, women in my life, work boots



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300 rules! - 300 was my favorite movie of 2007 and Kevin you did a great job in highlighting the Business Lessons from the Movie.
Are You a Businessgirl or a Businesswoman? - One thing that has irked me off and on for 30 years is the tendency of people - both men [i:2wryyhvf]and [/i:2wryyhvf]women, to refer to women, whatever their age, as 'girls' rather than women. College basketball announcers, coachers and players do it, as do the fans. These are 'girls' who are between the ages of 18 - 21, that's women in my book. Tennis players and announcers do it. John McEnroe called 'em girls and just when I was getting annoyed at him for being a bit of a male chauvanist, they interviewed player Lindsay Davenport - 30 years old, and she referred to 'em as girls as well. The Bond "girls" were girls up until the 90s, I admit, doing nothing more than providing someone for Bond to bed and rescue, but in the last few installments the "girl" has been more of a power player...nevertheless she's still a 'girl'. And of course there was the TV series The Golden Girls - which I liked by the way, but which featured mature women calling themselves girls And now here it is in the 2000s, and we get this: The Girl's Guide To Starting Your Own Business, by Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio. Their photos are on the cover - presumably the photo is of them and not models - and they are definitely women, not girls. And what "girly" chapter titles do they give us? "The Scary Stuff" (financial matters) and a chapter on ACTING Like an Adult. (Caps mine). So popular was this book, apparently, that they've now come out with a sequel: The Girl's Guide to Being a Boss (Without Being A Bitch): Valuable Lessons, Smart Suggestions, and true stories for succeeding as the CHICK-IN-CHARGE. (My caps) and once again I was tempted to take the book and throw it across the room. Let's indulge in [i:2wryyhvf]all [/i:2wryyhvf]the cliches, shall we? So I'd like to hear from other businesswomen out there. Do you find yourself referred to as a girl? Do you mind it? Do you like the culture that still propagates that mindset?
Re: Template of Service Agreement/Contractor Agreement - Shimmy- I, too, would be happy to share my template contract for a service provider. But beware, a template agreement may not be sufficient to properly address your needs. Some key differences between Employees and Service Providers: 1. Tax Status. Employers are responsible for withholding tax on employee's earnings. Independent Contractors are responsible for reporting their income/taxes. There is a significant reporting burden and liability associated with this. 2. Confidentiality/Intellectual Property. Often times, employee handbooks will specify an employees confidentiality obligations and many states impute a duty of loyalty. Contractors are under no such obligations absent a written agreement. Same thing for IP/Creative works. The copyright Act draws a sharp and significant distinction between employees and contractors when it comes to ownership of creative works. 3. Liability for tortious acts. Generally an employer is liable for the tortious acts of its employees under the theory of respondeat superior. An entity hiring a contractor may/may not be liable, but without a written agreement for the contractor to indemnify/defend the hiring entity, their may be little recourse against the contractor. There are many other subtle differences too numerous to mention. I hope you find this helpful.
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.


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