Should I pay these guys?

[Flea]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]I don't mean my question literally, but I do have concerns about work that was done for me. Yesterday I had that new vinyl floor installed in my kitchen. It's a hideous (realtor-suggested) black and white check pattern. When they laid it in, they did so on a slight angle. It isn't perfectly parallel to the walls. It's subtle, but with the square pattern I can't help but notice it. I don't know whether a prospective buyer would.

That, and they left a huge mess. Kneepads on the countertop, big stack of debris in the dining room, canister of glue and trowel on one chair. We were all in a big hurry to get on with our schedules so I didn't notice it at the time, but it was annoying to come home to at the end of my meeting that night.

The mess isn't as big a deal, but the flooring is already glued down and so it would be a huge ordeal to correct it. I'm not sure even I'm up to the hassle much less the guys doing the job.

Is there a customary way of handling this sort of thing? Should I ask for a discount? I haven't paid them anything yet. One of them is an employee of a friend, so there's a potentially weird social dynamic there too. I suspect they showed up so quickly because Da Boss told them so. I don't want to cause any awkwardness with my friend, or get this guy in trouble at work when he seems to have dropped everything to run to my aid. Tough call.[/FONT]

 

[MJS]

I sympathize with you, as I've had my go arounds with numerous workers, typically from the "Big Box Stores", ie: Home Depot, Lowes, and Sears, that have provided with me less than quality customer service.

So, to answer your question....yes, I would definately complain and attempt to get something in return for the poor quality of work.

 

[shesulsa]

I agree.

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

As the floor is noticably incorrectly installed, it should be a simple thing to get a fee reduction.

 

[Ken Morgan]

Did you sign a contract?
Even is you did you have nothing to loose by asking for a break.
If you signed a contract thenyou are oblgated to pay. Then you can take them to court and sue for the work. Two wrongs don’t make a right type crap.
Will people coming to look at your place notice it?
Nice, you want out and you have more crap to put up with…

 

[Flea]

No contract, just the social niceties of a friend-of-a-friend.

Basically, he works for my assistant instructor who owns the company. So if nothing else, at least we can kick his ***. :lol:

There is a big bubble under there too. He did tell me in great detail exactly how he would fix that, plans A, B, and C. So I believe his intentions are pure. I'm fast approaching the point of exhaustion where I just don't care anymore. Give me the quick fix. The stress has me bottom-feeding on TV dinners and pop music.

As I look around, I really only have one or two more spot cleanups other than the floor. I think I'm ready to go live once we move the fridge back in place.

 

[chrispillertkd]

My wife and I are currently looking for houses so to answer from "the other side" definitely have that flooring redone before you pay them anything. I have looked at countless houses that look good until you actually walk through and take a good look at them. Something like what you describe will make a potential buyer think "Why didn't they do it right?" We've passed on houses that have been redone but it was obvious that the work could've been done better.

I don't know if I'd ask for a discount, especially since your friend is involved. But politely inform them that payment will be tendered as soon as the job is completed to your satisfaction (and make it clear that you're sure your friend was unaware of it and that your sure his employees are normally excellent).

Pax,

Chris

 

[Ken Morgan]

My wife and I are currently looking for houses so to answer from "the other side" definitely have that flooring redone before you pay them anything. I have looked at countless houses that look good until you actually walk through and take a good look at them. Something like what you describe will make a potential buyer think "Why didn't they do it right?" We've passed on houses that have been redone but it was obvious that the work could've been done better.

I don't know if I'd ask for a discount, especially since your friend is involved. But politely inform them that payment will be tendered as soon as the job is completed to your satisfaction (and make it clear that you're sure your friend was unaware of it and that your sure his employees are normally excellent).

Pax,

Chris

Agreed. My parents are looking for a house, and when you see poor workmanship, you always ask yourself, "what else have they done half assed?"

 

[jks9199]

Did you sign a contract?
Even is you did you have nothing to loose by asking for a break.
If you signed a contract thenyou are oblgated to pay. Then you can take them to court and sue for the work. Two wrongs don’t make a right type crap.
Will people coming to look at your place notice it?
Nice, you want out and you have more crap to put up with…

It's not exactly that simple.

I'm assuming she signed some sort of contract, which should have stipulated how it would be installed, and what cleanup would be done, and when payment was to be made (often part upfront, part on satisfactory completion). It sounds like they did NO cleanup, and may not have installed it properly. (More on that in just a moment.)

Contact the company or foreman. They should work with you on what should have been done in the first place. There's no excuse for them to have left the mess you're describing; among other things, they left their tools and equipment behind.

Regarding the installation... Many rooms are not at all square. OK -- almost no rooms are truly square. It's very possible that they installed it as squarely as they could have... They should have been able to find a line to run it off of that would have been the least visible when finished. Discuss this with the foreman, as well.

EDIT: Well... since I didn't see the response about the lack of contract... it's definitely not that simple here, since there was no contract. It's a tricky situation, and Flea'll have to weight the friendships involved against the problems.

 

[Flea]

I think my first step will be to consult with the realtor. If he says it's no big deal from a sales perspective, I'll let it go. After all, I don't want to deal with the hassle any more than they do, or the added expense of a new sheet of vinyl.

If it would affect the sale potential, then I'll make a bigger stink about possibly having it redone. In either case, I think a discount is in order, if only for the mess.

 

[Flea]

The floor is in, and results are mixed. My kitchen has some very awkward dimensions and so when he put the fridge back in place he gouged the floor a little bit. He was very gracious about apologizing, and giving me a 25% discount. I'm just going to have to put a throw rug over it, which I would anyway because I don't like the pattern.

The vinyl is weird - it's slippery! Last night I almost shot minestrone out of my nose watching my dog. He jumped forward to herd one of the cats and slid a couple inches. The look on his face was worth a million dollars. The original contractor who stood me up ordered the stuff, and if I'd known what vinyl was like I would have turned it down. I just don't have the funds, time or energy to change it now.

I'm pretty much done. All I really need to do toward prettying things up passably is clearing out a couple more clutter spots. Honestly there's a lot of fear at play holding me back. It's okay, I'm not beating myself up over it; moving is a scary step for anyone and I'm a first-time seller on a tiny budget. Wish me luck!