Let’s face it… The worst thing to happen when your building your kit home is hiring a tradesman who is just downright hopeless at what he does. You’ve been looking around to get a painter for ages and all you could find was this one guy who was willing to do the job when you wanted and at a reasonable price…
So you thought it would be OK…
BIG MISTAKE…
So what can you do to rectify the situation?
Well let’s pose a possible situation and brain storm the solution: Bob is a painter, he has painted a few rooms in the house and you notice that the walls have a few run lines on them. Not very good at all, they stand out like a saw thumb to you and me! but not to Bob.
So you ask Bob if he can re-do the areas with the run lines, but he refuses, or just continues with some stupid excuse to avoid fixing the problem… Or even worse, says he’ll have to charge more!
Now I know what you’re thinking: Fire his arse!
But think about it. Time is money, and you already know how hard it is to find a good tradesman, thus you hired this guy. So what are you going to do to get this kit homes paint up to the quality it should be?
The key here is to remember that time and money go hand in hand, and the real goal we have is getting the job done asap. We want these kit homes to be built quick smart.
2 SOLUTIONS: Bob must understand the problem, and feel responsible or at least impelled for some reason to fix it.
1 – Let the issue go (for the time being) and let him continue with the job till he asks for either a progress payment or the final payment of his work on the kit home. Don’t hinder the overall progress of the job. When the bill comes in, provide a list of the final touch-ups, and promise an immediate payment on the day they are all done. If he won’t do it, you won’t pay, or you can agree on a smaller payment, giving you sufficient finance to get someone else to do the touch-ups. Remember to keep the original paint tins with YOU, not Bob, or you’ll be painting more than you thought, trying to match the colours.
2 – Buy Bob Beer. Never underestimate the power of a nice gift. But don’t buy it once then ask him strait away. Buy about 3 six packs over a few days, then on one of days you’re having a drink with him. Let him know you’re stressed about the run lines, and wait for the offer.