Remodeling: Where did Customer Service go?

Homeowners have been scared of remodeling – especially lately – for many reasons, and unfortunately many good reasons!  Many of those reasons can be wrapped up into the question posed in this article: Where did Customer Service go?

The stories are sadly both atrocious and frequent.  There is the neighbor who had the case of the missing contractor.  A friend has the Family Circus visit her dining room, complete with muddy footprints on the upholstered dining chair.  The shutters are the wrong size, the dormer is leaking again, the change orders piled on, the project cost more than desired, and the list keeps growing.

I believe the biggest travesty of lost customer service is the mis-handled expectation.  Many businesses are moving too quickly to allow for correct Customer Service.  Oh yes, names could be published, but that isn’t the point of this piece – you know who they are.

With building technology changing, energy concerns growing, and economic maps re-arranging, today’s homeowner has many questions and sadly few answers.  Blindly throwing money at anything is rarely the answer.  Having a well planned project coupled with a professional team is the answer that many owners are experiencing.

It is time for homeowners to be professionally represented by highly trained Design & Build professionals that are acting in the best interest of the homeowner.

But, how can you tell if the team is professional?

I recommend reading the list of what you can expect from a Professional Project Handler.  This boils down to three questions for me.  1) Did the person listen to me, 2) can they prove it, and 3) do they have a system that repeats this process?

Next time we’ll address those three questions and what that means to you.

In the meantime, do you want to avoid the mistakes others have made? Sign up for the FREE list Top-Ten Biggest Mistakes Homeowners Make.  It will make a difference for you!

Tags: customer service, home improvement, home improvement mistakes, home improvement scam, remodeling
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