Paid in full.

I’m confused by these two statements, which seem to contradict each other:

“This is customer-ain't-payin'-the-balance bad.”

“Paid in full.”

Did you offer a discount on the balance and they declined your offer? Or were you prepared for/expecting them to tell you where you could shove the balance and perplexed and/or pleasantly surprised when they settled up without incident?

The do-over looks good!

Did your crew learn their lesson about doing it right the first time and not having to do the job twice? Did they really think the grey/black blobs were ok?

I assume it was "ain't paying" when the black blobs were there and "paid in full" after the redo.

The repairs look like veins. Pretty slick!

Fori got it right.

My guys are salaried so they could have gotten off at 2:00 on Friday, but they had to work until 5 to fix this. That isn't lost on them, believe me.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC,

While it's laudable that you sent your guys back to fix an obviously defective installation, I wonder how many installations they've made or will make in the future where the defects aren't so readily apparent to a homeowner. What changes have you implemented or plan to implement in your organization, training, quality controls, etc. to ensure every installation is made to an appropriate quality standard?

CRH has a point but I know Joe has a comeback :)

Yikes! If I was the customer I would NOT bring paying in full. I would stare at those spots everyday from 1 inch away. Not cool.

Excellent question Charles. My crew always texts me completed pictures and a customer assessment of the job before I call the customer for final payment. If I've seen good pictures and they've given my crew a check for the balance due, I'm satisfied the job is done well.

My crew on the other coast is required to self audit with pictures. Close ups of edge profiles, sink straps in place, etc. No pictures, no pay.

When I first heard that this customer wasn't happy, I immediately took my guys's side. When they texted the pics, I switched sides immediately. lol.

If a contractor says he never has problems or callbacks on a job, all 5 stars, he's a liar. I put my screw ups on the interwebby for all to see. Why? Because if you're a potential customer, you can see how I act when things go sideways as they inevitably occasionally do. If that has value to you, we are right for each other.

"Yikes! If I was the customer I would NOT bring paying in full. I would stare at those spots everyday from 1 inch away. Not cool."

7854so:

I'm assuming that you're speaking about the pre-repaired spots? If so we agree.

This is not replacing the alternator in your vehicle, a job where there is no subjectivity. Don't forget, I was handed bisected sink insert cutouts, something over which no one has control. Those must be repaired and unlike the alternator job, the repairs are subjective as to how well they are done or not. I can assure you that when these people go to sell their home, a buyer's home inspector is never, ever, going to note that there are repairs at the sink and he's getting paid to find them.

If you are referring to the after-repaired spots, don't worry, it's my job to protect my crew and myself from hyper-fussy unreasonable clients at the initial meeting and I'm really good at it.

Look for the arc under the 3 larger particulates at the edge profile please. Can't be felt and clearly fits the definition of very highly inconspicuous.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC,

Our company does design, new construction, and remodeling. I am keenly aware of inheriting existing conditions and the need to deal with them. However, if the guys driving a truck with your name on it left a job looking like they originally did, it suggests a performance issue. Just curious how you are going to prevent a recurrence.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC - all due respect, you gotta stop saying “interwebby” (you use it often on this forum). Please? It makes you sound either 96 and thinking the internet is too newfangled to know what it is called, or that you’re my 4-year-old grandniece.

@Stax,

Joseph Corlett operates a sink replacement business. I have no idea what his "working system" is. I don't think he has a particularly good command of building code requirements outside of what applies to sink replacements; that is my opinion as a licensed professional engineer. Historically, his posts suggest he delights in any market environment where contractors are in demand relative to their supply. He also tends to minimize the value of structural engineers, if not engineers in general where there are structural questions.

" Historically, his posts suggest he delights in any market environment where contractors are in demand relative to their supply."

I bring readers accurate information on the marketplace. It just happens to favor contractors right now. That's not my fault. When the proverbial shoe goes on the other foot, as it inevitably does, I'll be sure to let readers know.

"He also tends to minimize the value of structural engineers, if not engineers in general where there are structural questions."

Charles, you're fibbing again. I don't have anything against engineers, I have a thing against arrogance and hero worship. I've bailed enough engineers and architects out of trouble to know that you guys put your pants on one leg at a time, just like we blue collar boys do. I'm smart enough to know when I need an engineer and when I don't and I'm grateful for their services.

Its getting hot hot hot in here, not to pile on Joe all due respect :)

Heres the takeaway,

the fact your "Guy" was willing to go home and call it good gets him fired and the ones working side by side w him evaluated immediately especially in a sub situation. Its your name at stake and Kudos for the fix but the game was over well before you saved the day.

My 2 cents

My guys have installed two more sinks since this one to rave customer reviews. No one's getting fired, believe me. I'll wag my finger at 'em if it'll make you feel better.

“the fact your "Guy" was willing to go home and call it good gets him fired and the ones working side by side w him evaluated immediately especially in a sub situation. Its your name at stake and Kudos for the fix but the game was over well before you saved the day.”

This sounds really righteous, but not practical, not understanding the reality of today’s contractor workforce, and does not make good business sense. Perhaps where @Mint tile Minneapolis is located is different from the rest of the country and not experiencing trades workforce shortages. Your idea is to fire people you’ve trained and who are experienced (despite this error), and then go searching for their replacements, hoping you can find someone to hire, then spending time and money to train them, with no assurance they’ll be better than the ones you’ve employed for quite some time. And there is also the chance that firing the head “Guy” for the one error is bad for the morale of the remaining guys, and since there is so much work to go around, they’ll jump to someone else.

So, the business owner is effectively starting over with a new unknown workforce that he may not even be able to get. To @Mint tile Minneapolis, that is the better solution than training the existing employees not to make the same error on the next job. That’s an unrealistic world you live in.

Thanks, my sentiments exactly.

ha ha good stuff

I'm not sure what motivated this post other than a need to perform some act of penance.

I may be in the minority, but I'm with @Mint tile Minneapolis on this one. To accept a really bad call from a trained "professional" employee is to allow your company's brand equity to be lowered to whatever quality "help" is currently available. I don't know if it's due to the employee's lack of knowledge, skills or motivation, but I wouldn't want my company's reputation riding on workmanship like that shown.

The employee exercised bad judgement. I'm not sure keeping him is good judgement.

Yeah Charles, and you've never "exercised bad judgement". Post one of your screwups if you've got the balls, or perhaps you'd have us believe you never make any. And since when is any cosmetic a "really bad call"? The customers had a beautiful functional sink 8 hours after we got there.

The guy who did this is the second best replacement sink tech in the country and you'd have me fire him. Ask the Patriots about letting Brady get away and get back to me please. Geesh.

Joe,

If you employ the second best sink repair guy in the country and he thinks the defective installation was okay, it doesn't speak well of your quality standards.

He never thought the installation was cosmetically okay. We fixed it promptly. That speaks volumes about my quality standards.

Joe,

I really don't know what the point of your post is. Perhaps a vignette of a day in the life of Joseph Corlette. Here's what you posted:

"however, you can't use near black methacrylate to fill the four spots in a white/gray estone as my crew has done here. This is customer-ain't-payin'-the-balance bad. It was too late in the day for a do-over, so we went back yesterday."

The title of your post is "Fixing a Fair Callback" It's obvious the client wouldn't accept the workmanship presented. If your repair guy never thought the repair was cosmetically okay and intended to fix it, it's not a call back due to a customer's refusal to pay, it's a one-day job that became a two-day job.

Heee......Heee.......

Joseph Corlett operates a sink replacement business. I have no idea what his "working system" is.

Charles:

The point of my post is to contrast how I operate vs. how so many contractors apparently operate as evidenced here on Houzz. There are responsible reputable contractors that take care of legitimate customer concerns in a timely and professional manner.

Your constructive criticism as to how I could improve my 4.65 customer satisfaction rating (out of a possible 5) based on over 400 reviews over 12 years is always appreciated. Thanks.