Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 26, 2022 1:59 pm Hi All, I feel like I'm stuck, with no one to escalate to and no where to go. We signed our initial Contract with Metricon in May 2021. We've didn't start our Studio M appointments until March 2022 due to delay after delay after delay of Metricon taking weeks and months to adjust designs based on our meetings and taking months to send updated pricing. We're now in the Studio M process and they take 3+ weeks to get quotes/variations back to us. We spend hours correcting their mistakes. We spend hours commenting on their PDFs, inline, to make revisions easier... and they still take weeks to get back to us. I get no communication from our PSM for a week or more at a time. When I do hear back, I get the same rhetoric... I'll work on this ASAP... weeks go by and nothing. I am in utter shock that I have entered into a contract for $800K, and I am doing their job in the pre-site process. I am the one chasing for work to be completed. I am fixing their mistakes. I am in utter disbelief at the lack of Customer Experience from Metricon and they seem to not care whatsoever. I feel utterly helpless as I have no way to escalate above the PSM, nor does Metricon seem to care about escalations. I feel like Metricon knows they have us cornered and trapped and treat us like someone ordering a taco at a taco stand I'm at the point where I feel like walking away from the $35K put down and going to another builder. But if I do this, them I know it will be another year to get back to where we're at. As a first home builder and ready to invest to much... I can't believe how poor the experience is and how little the Builder seems to care. I work in Sales... if I treated a customer like Metricon treats us, I've have no customers. I'm so very disappointed in this experience and can't believe this is what $800K gets me. I just needed to vent Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 3Apr 26, 2022 4:42 pm timlavelle Hi All, I feel like I'm stuck, with no one to escalate to and no where to go. We signed our initial Contract with Metricon in May 2021. We've didn't start our Studio M appointments until March 2022 due to delay after delay after delay of Metricon taking weeks and months to adjust designs based on our meetings and taking months to send updated pricing. We're now in the Studio M process and they take 3+ weeks to get quotes/variations back to us. We spend hours correcting their mistakes. We spend hours commenting on their PDFs, inline, to make revisions easier... and they still take weeks to get back to us. I get no communication from our PSM for a week or more at a time. When I do hear back, I get the same rhetoric... I'll work on this ASAP... weeks go by and nothing. I am in utter shock that I have entered into a contract for $800K, and I am doing their job in the pre-site process. I am the one chasing for work to be completed. I am fixing their mistakes. I am in utter disbelief at the lack of Customer Experience from Metricon and they seem to not care whatsoever. I feel utterly helpless as I have no way to escalate above the PSM, nor does Metricon seem to care about escalations. I feel like Metricon knows they have us cornered and trapped and treat us like someone ordering a taco at a taco stand I'm at the point where I feel like walking away from the $35K put down and going to another builder. But if I do this, them I know it will be another year to get back to where we're at. As a first home builder and ready to invest to much... I can't believe how poor the experience is and how little the Builder seems to care. I work in Sales... if I treated a customer like Metricon treats us, I've have no customers. I'm so very disappointed in this experience and can't believe this is what $800K gets me. I just needed to vent I know your pain. We were stuck in pre-site for almost a year due to mistake after mistake made in the plans and with 3 psms changed within months. I recommend calling the M hotline and ask to speak to your Pre-site team leader to escalate. The hotline will say a return call will be made within 24-48 hours. Unforunately, a callback doesn't always happen so you will need to call back hotline and literally have a go at them to get you to speak to the team leader. This was the only was we found to get all our variations corrected quickly and get handover done to construction team. Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 4Apr 26, 2022 6:53 pm timlavelle Hi All, I feel like I'm stuck, with no one to escalate to and no where to go. We signed our initial Contract with Metricon in May 2021. We've didn't start our Studio M appointments until March 2022 due to delay after delay after delay of Metricon taking weeks and months to adjust designs based on our meetings and taking months to send updated pricing. We're now in the Studio M process and they take 3+ weeks to get quotes/variations back to us. We spend hours correcting their mistakes. We spend hours commenting on their PDFs, inline, to make revisions easier... and they still take weeks to get back to us. I get no communication from our PSM for a week or more at a time. When I do hear back, I get the same rhetoric... I'll work on this ASAP... weeks go by and nothing. I am in utter shock that I have entered into a contract for $800K, and I am doing their job in the pre-site process. I am the one chasing for work to be completed. I am fixing their mistakes. I am in utter disbelief at the lack of Customer Experience from Metricon and they seem to not care whatsoever. I feel utterly helpless as I have no way to escalate above the PSM, nor does Metricon seem to care about escalations. I feel like Metricon knows they have us cornered and trapped and treat us like someone ordering a taco at a taco stand I'm at the point where I feel like walking away from the $35K put down and going to another builder. But if I do this, them I know it will be another year to get back to where we're at. As a first home builder and ready to invest to much... I can't believe how poor the experience is and how little the Builder seems to care. I work in Sales... if I treated a customer like Metricon treats us, I've have no customers. I'm so very disappointed in this experience and can't believe this is what $800K gets me. I just needed to vent Metricon "Love where you live" - I still wear the polo shirts from time to time. Hey they are comfy. I refuse to say anything bad about that time in my life other than I was given $13 to paint an alfresco roof. Architectural Homes & Duplexes - specialising in custom designing homes to your budget Get a Free Onsite Consultation Today or send a PM for information, questions or advice. Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 5Apr 26, 2022 7:29 pm I use those old polos (rag bag) to wipe up Hydraulic oils spills from plant/machinery leaking on concrete slabs... So much for free advertising gimmicks. I also have a laugh at the industry that once paid $20 a lead, soon it'll be $20 a Click... happy days? go figure Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 6Apr 26, 2022 7:45 pm StructuralBIMGuy I use those old polos (rag bag) to wipe up Hydraulic oils spills from plant/machinery leaking on concrete slabs... So much for free advertising gimmicks. I also have a laugh at the industry that once paid $20 a lead, soon it'll be $20 a Click... happy days? go figure that will be my next step, wiping up spilt oil. too funny Architectural Homes & Duplexes - specialising in custom designing homes to your budget Get a Free Onsite Consultation Today or send a PM for information, questions or advice. Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 7Apr 26, 2022 10:14 pm Sorry to hear about your experience. I was working with a smaller and fairly reputable builder last year and they were also very slow in responding. I gave them the benefit of the doubt as they were flat knackers, but sometimes it would still be nice to get a quick response that they've received your information (at least). There are some serious issues with this industry (first time for me) for consumers and covid appears to have exacerbated this. Can I ask some details about the build for it to be 800k? Seems like a lot even with the price rises (for Metricon anyway). Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 8Apr 27, 2022 9:41 am Hey stonesthrow - It is a pretty expensive build, but we have customised a lot in order for it to meet our requirements... some of those are:
Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 9Apr 27, 2022 10:03 am Unfortunately, there's no rush to start/complete projects that have healthy margins The builders will wait it out until materials become readily available and trades come back into the fold with reasonable rates. Expect further delays and additional prices increases. If you walk out you loose $35k, 12 months, no design and back to square one... its a big call... vent as much as you like Others need to be better prepared. my2c Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 10Apr 27, 2022 10:44 am Your experience is all too common and you can expect everything to get worse. Information I received yesterday is that one of the mid tiered builder is advising customers of seven month delay in frames. As I write this there are builders going broke on fixed price contracts, their customers won't get their houses finished. You can thank our useless and incompetent and corrupt politicians for the current state of affairs Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 11May 19, 2022 12:47 pm timlavelle Hi All, I feel like I'm stuck, with no one to escalate to and no where to go. We signed our initial Contract with Metricon in May 2021. We've didn't start our Studio M appointments until March 2022 due to delay after delay after delay of Metricon taking weeks and months to adjust designs based on our meetings and taking months to send updated pricing. We're now in the Studio M process and they take 3+ weeks to get quotes/variations back to us. We spend hours correcting their mistakes. We spend hours commenting on their PDFs, inline, to make revisions easier... and they still take weeks to get back to us. I get no communication from our PSM for a week or more at a time. When I do hear back, I get the same rhetoric... I'll work on this ASAP... weeks go by and nothing. I am in utter shock that I have entered into a contract for $800K, and I am doing their job in the pre-site process. I am the one chasing for work to be completed. I am fixing their mistakes. I am in utter disbelief at the lack of Customer Experience from Metricon and they seem to not care whatsoever. I feel utterly helpless as I have no way to escalate above the PSM, nor does Metricon seem to care about escalations. I feel like Metricon knows they have us cornered and trapped and treat us like someone ordering a taco at a taco stand I'm at the point where I feel like walking away from the $35K put down and going to another builder. But if I do this, them I know it will be another year to get back to where we're at. As a first home builder and ready to invest to much... I can't believe how poor the experience is and how little the Builder seems to care. I work in Sales... if I treated a customer like Metricon treats us, I've have no customers. I'm so very disappointed in this experience and can't believe this is what $800K gets me. I just needed to vent 100% !! I can relate to your experience, as my journey is similar to yours.. These delays are a pure outcome of trying to grow with too little investments in way of resources.. every variation & drafting work takes 6+ weeks & you go through the same cycle for errors.. feels like they may not have as many resources they require to handle this scale !!! I signed mine in Aug 2021 & now in May 22, we are still couple of weeks from receiving our approvals.. I am hoping to go onsite by July / Aug (originally, we'd April in mind) !!! Through my sales consultant (he's a champion), I connected with the sales manager & pre-site team's manager.. that helped us to fast track things a bit.. Good Luck !! My build post here: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=103852 Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 12May 19, 2022 12:50 pm RameshN timlavelle Hi All, I feel like I'm stuck, with no one to escalate to and no where to go. We signed our initial Contract with Metricon in May 2021. We've didn't start our Studio M appointments until March 2022 due to delay after delay after delay of Metricon taking weeks and months to adjust designs based on our meetings and taking months to send updated pricing. We're now in the Studio M process and they take 3+ weeks to get quotes/variations back to us. We spend hours correcting their mistakes. We spend hours commenting on their PDFs, inline, to make revisions easier... and they still take weeks to get back to us. I get no communication from our PSM for a week or more at a time. When I do hear back, I get the same rhetoric... I'll work on this ASAP... weeks go by and nothing. I am in utter shock that I have entered into a contract for $800K, and I am doing their job in the pre-site process. I am the one chasing for work to be completed. I am fixing their mistakes. I am in utter disbelief at the lack of Customer Experience from Metricon and they seem to not care whatsoever. I feel utterly helpless as I have no way to escalate above the PSM, nor does Metricon seem to care about escalations. I feel like Metricon knows they have us cornered and trapped and treat us like someone ordering a taco at a taco stand I'm at the point where I feel like walking away from the $35K put down and going to another builder. But if I do this, them I know it will be another year to get back to where we're at. As a first home builder and ready to invest to much... I can't believe how poor the experience is and how little the Builder seems to care. I work in Sales... if I treated a customer like Metricon treats us, I've have no customers. I'm so very disappointed in this experience and can't believe this is what $800K gets me. I just needed to vent 100% !! I can relate to your experience, as my journey is similar to yours.. These delays are a pure outcome of trying to grow with too little investments in way of resources.. every variation & drafting work takes 6+ weeks & you go through the same cycle for errors.. feels like they may not have as many resources they require to handle this scale !!! I signed mine in Aug 2021 & now in May 22, we are still couple of weeks from receiving our approvals.. I am hoping to go onsite by July / Aug (originally, we'd April in mind) !!! Through my sales consultant (he's a champion), I connected with the sales manager & pre-site team's manager.. that helped us to fast track things a bit.. Good Luck !! Good luck indeed. Read the news lately? Dark matter scientist, can breathe underwater, mind reader and can freeze matter just by willing it. Trust me, its in my sig. Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 13May 19, 2022 6:57 pm Noname RameshN timlavelle Hi All, I feel like I'm stuck, with no one to escalate to and no where to go. We signed our initial Contract with Metricon in May 2021. We've didn't start our Studio M appointments until March 2022 due to delay after delay after delay of Metricon taking weeks and months to adjust designs based on our meetings and taking months to send updated pricing. We're now in the Studio M process and they take 3+ weeks to get quotes/variations back to us. We spend hours correcting their mistakes. We spend hours commenting on their PDFs, inline, to make revisions easier... and they still take weeks to get back to us. I get no communication from our PSM for a week or more at a time. When I do hear back, I get the same rhetoric... I'll work on this ASAP... weeks go by and nothing. I am in utter shock that I have entered into a contract for $800K, and I am doing their job in the pre-site process. I am the one chasing for work to be completed. I am fixing their mistakes. I am in utter disbelief at the lack of Customer Experience from Metricon and they seem to not care whatsoever. I feel utterly helpless as I have no way to escalate above the PSM, nor does Metricon seem to care about escalations. I feel like Metricon knows they have us cornered and trapped and treat us like someone ordering a taco at a taco stand I'm at the point where I feel like walking away from the $35K put down and going to another builder. But if I do this, them I know it will be another year to get back to where we're at. As a first home builder and ready to invest to much... I can't believe how poor the experience is and how little the Builder seems to care. I work in Sales... if I treated a customer like Metricon treats us, I've have no customers. I'm so very disappointed in this experience and can't believe this is what $800K gets me. I just needed to vent 100% !! I can relate to your experience, as my journey is similar to yours.. These delays are a pure outcome of trying to grow with too little investments in way of resources.. every variation & drafting work takes 6+ weeks & you go through the same cycle for errors.. feels like they may not have as many resources they require to handle this scale !!! I signed mine in Aug 2021 & now in May 22, we are still couple of weeks from receiving our approvals.. I am hoping to go onsite by July / Aug (originally, we'd April in mind) !!! Through my sales consultant (he's a champion), I connected with the sales manager & pre-site team's manager.. that helped us to fast track things a bit.. Good Luck !! Good luck indeed. Read the news lately? For us they took deposit 7-8 months back. Confirmed studio mar 2022. Instead came back they can't build. Good luck! Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 14May 19, 2022 7:08 pm An article today in the financial review where they stated they're still taking on a high volume of clients and are financially stable. Believe what you will. Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 15May 20, 2022 8:47 am If you are in NSW my theory is that they don't have the insurance capacity to start your build so they need to finish other jobs in 2022 before they can start new ones. This happened to me when I was the GM in 2014-2015. I could be wrong but why else delay client's builds? if you cant start new jobs your cashflow dries up. It's a spiral I promise everyone, that if you are pricing jobs correctly, there are no delays for key trades. We have concretors, bricks, bricklayers, roofers, electricians etc chasing us for work, but our rates are higher. I feel really bad for customers who get caught up in this, but the volume housing market is a ponzi scheme which needs a clean out, so whilst there will be short term pain, hopefully in the long term it is the medicine we need. Architectural Homes & Duplexes - specialising in custom designing homes to your budget Get a Free Onsite Consultation Today or send a PM for information, questions or advice. Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 16May 20, 2022 11:15 am Ashington Homes I feel really bad for customers who get caught up in this, but the volume housing market is a ponzi scheme which needs a clean out, so whilst there will be short term pain, hopefully in the long term it is the medicine we need. unfortunately as in all ponzi schemes, there will be losers. Dark matter scientist, can breathe underwater, mind reader and can freeze matter just by willing it. Trust me, its in my sig. Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 17Jun 20, 2022 1:13 pm timlavelle Hi All, I feel like I'm stuck, with no one to escalate to and no where to go. We signed our initial Contract with Metricon in May 2021. We've didn't start our Studio M appointments until March 2022 due to delay after delay after delay of Metricon taking weeks and months to adjust designs based on our meetings and taking months to send updated pricing. We're now in the Studio M process and they take 3+ weeks to get quotes/variations back to us. We spend hours correcting their mistakes. We spend hours commenting on their PDFs, inline, to make revisions easier... and they still take weeks to get back to us. I get no communication from our PSM for a week or more at a time. When I do hear back, I get the same rhetoric... I'll work on this ASAP... weeks go by and nothing. I am in utter shock that I have entered into a contract for $800K, and I am doing their job in the pre-site process. I am the one chasing for work to be completed. I am fixing their mistakes. I am in utter disbelief at the lack of Customer Experience from Metricon and they seem to not care whatsoever. I feel utterly helpless as I have no way to escalate above the PSM, nor does Metricon seem to care about escalations. I feel like Metricon knows they have us cornered and trapped and treat us like someone ordering a taco at a taco stand I'm at the point where I feel like walking away from the $35K put down and going to another builder. But if I do this, them I know it will be another year to get back to where we're at. As a first home builder and ready to invest to much... I can't believe how poor the experience is and how little the Builder seems to care. I work in Sales... if I treated a customer like Metricon treats us, I've have no customers. I'm so very disappointed in this experience and can't believe this is what $800K gets me. I just needed to vent Hi timlavelle Yeah, a lot of owners have complained about Metricon. A lot of building disputes also involve Metricon. You should weigh the pros and cons of continuing with Metricon until the end of the project, and then seeking redress with the Office of Fair Trading and maybe NCAT; or if it will save you money longterm if you cut your losses now and shift to a different builder. Maybe talking to a specialist construction lawyer could help, as they would know how these cases usually go. Cheers John Get sound legal advice. We manage Building Disputes, Construction Contracts, Security of Payment. PM for queries. https://www.contractsspecialist.com.au/articles/ Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 18Jun 20, 2022 2:14 pm Egdissapointedowner admitted a drafting error, and won't fix it so bad. My builder's biggest drafting mistake saw them use timber beams where Steel T lintels were meant to be on 3 sides of the façade and they didn't pick it up until the roof was on. They highlighted it to me and gave me two options. 1. Minor change to the façade aesthetic 2. Original plan Option 2 would require them to build temporary stud wall to support the roof while the de constructed the section of the façade, ordered a specialised crane in and had the work recertified. They were honest with me that option one was preferred as they wouldn't need to pay for it, but option two would be done at no cost to me if i chose to go with it. I chose option 2. they didn't bat an eyelid and it was done without any further discussion on the matter. Dark matter scientist, can breathe underwater, mind reader and can freeze matter just by willing it. Trust me, its in my sig. Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 19Jun 20, 2022 2:22 pm Egdissapointedowner Noname Egdissapointedowner admitted a drafting error, and won't fix it so bad. My builder's biggest drafting mistake saw them use timber beams where Steel T lintels were meant to be on 3 sides of the façade and they didn't pick it up until the roof was on. They highlighted it to me and gave me two options. 1. Minor change to the façade aesthetic 2. Original plan Option 2 would require them to build temporary stud wall to support the roof while the de constructed the section of the façade, ordered a specialised crane in and had the work recertified. They were honest with me that option one was preferred as they wouldn't need to pay for it, but option two would be done at no cost to me if i chose to go with it. I chose option 2. they didn't bat an eyelid and it was done without any further discussion on the matter. I'm surprised they let you know. Sounds like a good builder, who did you go with? I won't ever be using metricon again, would like to know some better options Boutique. Dark matter scientist, can breathe underwater, mind reader and can freeze matter just by willing it. Trust me, its in my sig. Re: Disgruntled with Metricon and Pre-Site Manager process 20Jun 20, 2022 10:22 pm Egdissapointedowner stonesthrow Sorry to hear about your experience. I was working with a smaller and fairly reputable builder last year and they were also very slow in responding. I gave them the benefit of the doubt as they were flat knackers, but sometimes it would still be nice to get a quick response that they've received your information (at least). There are some serious issues with this industry (first time for me) for consumers and covid appears to have exacerbated this. Can I ask some details about the build for it to be 800k? Seems like a lot even with the price rises (for Metricon anyway). My home is 800k but it's huge. It is over 500 square metres. We got top range bench tops, tiles, extended rooms, insulation upgraded carpet special lighting, upgraded doors ect., square set plaster reveals. It adds up very very quickly. Their base prices are very deceiving. Wow how many people living in the house? Upgrading bench tops is a huge cost. I'd rather put that money into good quality windows. If you need to pay for a project manager you would be well advised to just engage a builder who would take full responsibility for the build. As opposed to you OB where… 5 15403 Thanks very much! And would the landscaper/contractor generally involve the engineer or is that something the client would do? Thanks for your help 2 10428 Just to makea point about this, an approach that some people have found sucessful in negotiating these rises down, Is to provide some workings to the builder, specifying… 4 82220 |