Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 05, 2008 4:18 pm The whole building process has taught me about the dangers of ‘yes’ men. These men promise you the world. They nod their heads in the yes direction while agreeing with everything you say. They make grandiose statements and leave you feeling satisfied that everyone is on the same page and you feel safe in the knowledge that you are going to be looked after. They are the ‘Yes’ men - or as you may commonly know them as ‘Building Supervisors’ or ‘Warranty Supervisors’.
Its only when they drive away from meeting with you (in their brand new ford territory's) that you are erased from their minds and the next person recieves the same nodding, smiles and false promises. You then hear nothing further from their offices or when you do try contacting them - surprise surprise they are ‘in a meeting’ or ‘will call you back’ or you hear the dreaded ‘voicemail’ or better still the phone rings out into that black empty hole that you realise – I’ve been duped again! I don’t think its asking too much to expect a return phone call the same day or better still even a return call the following day. Hearing nothing is extremely bad service and its no wonder people get angry. Leaving numerous messages and getting no response is beyond anyone’s joke. We have been in our ‘warranty’ stage for over 3mths now…yes 3 months. The tradesMAN (oh yes, he is a ‘Jack-of-all-trades’…..a painter, carpenter, roofer, plaster all in one) turns up for a few hours a week (by that I mean we are lucky to get 3 hours in one day) and what does he do in those few hours…..takes phone call after phone call after phone call on his constantly ringing mobile. Calls from customers I hear you say?? No, just friends, family and whoever else fits outside the ‘customer’ definition. I’ve about had it with the whole building experience. Nothing in life (so far) has been as stressful and straining on both my personal and professional life. Am I happy with the house?? Yes I love my house!! but all I want is to enjoy what I have paid a HUGE sum of money for and not sit on the couch thinking about all the things that still require attention. Just give me a house to the same standard as your display – just as you promised when I signed up! And for an extra bonus….how about returning a phone call now and again instead of pushing me to the point of becoming “one of those irate people”. I don’t think I’m asking too much. Re: To all the 'YES' men out there..... 2Jun 05, 2008 4:36 pm You’re definitely not asking too much, and yes I agree I think the nodding head and broken promises are experienced by many. If you’re not happy with the service you’re getting I suggest a call to someone higher up the food chain demanding satisfaction.
It’s good that you love your house and are enjoying it, but I have to admit this sort of treatment does tend to tarnish things. Re: To all the 'YES' men out there..... 3Jun 06, 2008 10:53 am Jac
I hear ya buddy..and i totally agree with you. How could the industry be so one sided that demands are out stripping supply. If the same level of service was applied in anyother industry a company cannot survive that long. I am so tempted to get everyone here together who has a built a house and have relationship with tradesmen to start a new company based on open and honest communications and actually deliver....wouldnt that be great? I for one would gladly pay an extra 5-10% premium to have a good building experience rather than gettting treated by builders who reminds me of Seinfeld's soup nazi! Re: To all the 'YES' men out there..... 4Jun 06, 2008 12:04 pm smeagol have relationship with tradesmen to start a new company based on open and honest communications and actually deliver....wouldnt that be great? I've heard of that planet....unfortunately it's not Earth.... I'd just like them to turn up on TIME ! ! ! ! mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: To all the 'YES' men out there..... 5Jun 06, 2008 1:28 pm Jac,
Thank you for that post.....we are now living though our 7th Adenbrook Homes post handover month.......still waiting, waiting, waiting for agreed items to be rectified. We have been feeling particularly hard done by and had forgotten that many, many other people are in the same position as us. It doesn't change the or excuse the situation though. Mark Re: To all the 'YES' men out there..... 6Jun 06, 2008 5:56 pm Jac08 The whole building process has taught me about the dangers of ‘yes’ men. These men promise you the world. They nod their heads in the yes direction while agreeing with everything you say. They make grandiose statements and leave you feeling satisfied that everyone is on the same page and you feel safe in the knowledge that you are going to be looked after. They are the ‘Yes’ men - or as you may commonly know them as ‘Building Supervisors’ or ‘Warranty Supervisors’. Its only when they drive away from meeting with you (in their brand new ford territory's) that you are erased from their minds and the next person recieves the same nodding, smiles and false promises. You then hear nothing further from their offices or when you do try contacting them - surprise surprise they are ‘in a meeting’ or ‘will call you back’ or you hear the dreaded ‘voicemail’ or better still the phone rings out into that black empty hole that you realise – I’ve been duped again! I don’t think its asking too much to expect a return phone call the same day or better still even a return call the following day. Hearing nothing is extremely bad service and its no wonder people get angry. Leaving numerous messages and getting no response is beyond anyone’s joke. We have been in our ‘warranty’ stage for over 3mths now…yes 3 months. The tradesMAN (oh yes, he is a ‘Jack-of-all-trades’…..a painter, carpenter, roofer, plaster all in one) turns up for a few hours a week (by that I mean we are lucky to get 3 hours in one day) and what does he do in those few hours…..takes phone call after phone call after phone call on his constantly ringing mobile. Calls from customers I hear you say?? No, just friends, family and whoever else fits outside the ‘customer’ definition. I’ve about had it with the whole building experience. Nothing in life (so far) has been as stressful and straining on both my personal and professional life. Am I happy with the house?? Yes I love my house!! but all I want is to enjoy what I have paid a HUGE sum of money for and not sit on the couch thinking about all the things that still require attention. Just give me a house to the same standard as your display – just as you promised when I signed up! And for an extra bonus….how about returning a phone call now and again instead of pushing me to the point of becoming “one of those irate people”. I don’t think I’m asking too much. Did you build with Carlisle Homes too?? Also into our 7th month Re: To all the 'YES' men out there..... 7Jun 07, 2008 12:15 am I fully concur with your sentiments....but what are we REALLY going to do about it.
We all log in to this forum and create our own little blogs and vent our spleens about how our respective builders are treating us poorly but in the end it seems to do no good as completion dates get ignored, warranty items get dragged out and the supervisor/construction managers just consider us to be whiners who can be "managed". Isn't it time that we collectively do something about this...of course it is, but I'm clueless has to how to get something effective going as the next person. Does anybody have any decent ideas how we can do this? Re: To all the 'YES' men out there..... 8Jun 07, 2008 12:46 am Whilst the current building boom continues, and there is always a "next customer" waiting at the door, the whole industry has us over a barrel. When demand outstrips supply there's no incentive to treat customers with decency because they are not reliant on you to give them a positive recommendation for the next customer.
That may be a cynical viewpoint but I can't see any other reason why you see the continual perpetration of unfair, *******, or plain stupid practices that this forum documents in volumes. The solution....dunno....but this forum serves as an important function of creating informed customers. You shouldn't create the biggest investment without educating yourself. Learn from other peoples issues, read your contracts, know your drawings, find out what your rights are, never assume, acknowledge that building companies are not going to give you an even break, don't get emotional, don't accept substandard product, tell SS's CSR's or whatever stupid acronym you're not happy, document and photograph everything...and ask questions. It's a pity that this is the way it has to be...... Jac08.....excellent post by the way.....I sometimes feel that I become one of "those" sort of customers when all I expect is simple customer service.....and it's not limited to the building industry. mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: To all the 'YES' men out there..... 9Jun 07, 2008 12:47 am louie772 I fully concur with your sentiments....but what are we REALLY going to do about it. We all log in to this forum and create our own little blogs and vent our spleens about how our respective builders are treating us poorly but in the end it seems to do no good as completion dates get ignored, warranty items get dragged out and the supervisor/construction managers just consider us to be whiners who can be "managed". Isn't it time that we collectively do something about this...of course it is, but I'm clueless has to how to get something effective going as the next person. Does anybody have any decent ideas how we can do this? if a number of you have same issues with same builder then a class action may be worth considering however be ready to dig into your pockets for legals. Builder will try to drag it out as long as possible knowing his pockes are deeper then yours, they will only settle if it is cheaper for them then by not. sorry facts of life in such contractual matters even though they may be alledgedly in breach of contract. Re: To all the 'YES' men out there..... 10Jun 07, 2008 12:48 am Can't do much until the govt has the balls to get the builders in line. An alternative is to start petitioning the govt to do something about it but I can't see this happening as I read in the vic building commission survey that about 90% of people are satisfied with their build. Until there are enough people power I just can't see any change.
The next best alternative are blogs and forums which can help people to make decisions whether to build with that particular builder base on other people's experience etc. Builders can only survive on the amount of demand for their products, therefore our decision to build with a particular builder when we know they are bad would only keep encouraging them not to change. Re: To all the 'YES' men out there..... 11Jun 07, 2008 1:15 am Belgrave Can't do much until the govt has the balls to get the builders in line. An alternative is to start petitioning the govt to do something about it but I can't see this happening as I read in the vic building commission survey that about 90% of people are satisfied with their build. Until there are enough people power I just can't see any change. The next best alternative are blogs and forums which can help people to make decisions whether to build with that particular builder base on other people's experience etc. Builders can only survive on the amount of demand for their products, therefore our decision to build with a particular builder when we know they are bad would only keep encouraging them not to change. sounds a bit like the dribble you see on ebay "sellers prefer paypal" same spin and BS!!! Don't get me started on ebay grrrrrrrrrrrr Re: To all the 'YES' men out there..... 12Jun 07, 2008 8:02 am to_do_list You shouldn't create the biggest investment without educating yourself. Learn from other peoples issues, read your contracts, know your drawings, find out what your rights are, never assume, acknowledge that building companies are not going to give you an even break, don't get emotional, don't accept substandard product, tell SS's CSR's or whatever stupid acronym you're not happy, document and photograph everything...and ask questions. Well said ... I'm going to print this bit in big bold letters and stick it on the fridge! ... and may be I'll stick another copy on the builders port-a-loo, with the heading 'Owner's Game Plan' Re: To all the 'YES' men out there..... 13Jun 07, 2008 8:38 am Duminda to_do_list You shouldn't create the biggest investment without educating yourself. Learn from other peoples issues, read your contracts, know your drawings, find out what your rights are, never assume, acknowledge that building companies are not going to give you an even break, don't get emotional, don't accept substandard product, tell SS's CSR's or whatever stupid acronym you're not happy, document and photograph everything...and ask questions. Well said ... I'm going to print this bit in big bold letters and stick it on the fridge! ... and may be I'll stick another copy on the builders port-a-loo, with the heading 'Owner's Game Plan' You are of course assuming they can read . . . Re: To all the 'YES' men out there..... 14Jun 07, 2008 8:44 am Peter_OZ You are of course assuming they can read . . . A question. Im in Queensland and building a new home. We managed to reach practical completion 6 weeks ago but we haven't heard any date for handover yet. Who should we… 0 6106 This is one of the reasons I decided to go overseas for my double glazed windows. As the builder indicated, he's worked on many upmarket builds, these were the most well… 13 19552 4 14628 |