Bad Reputation

JoeBergess

I work for a renovation & design firm in a rural area as an operations manager. I have been in this position for nearly 3 months. (Yes, THREE WHOLE MONTHS). Full-scale kitchen & bathroom remodels have been the companies speciality. We have a lot of potential in the area, as being the only company that can complete full-scale interior renovations from start to finish.

However, the problem I am seeing, is the reputation. This company has the reputation of being expensive, and doing bad work 50% of the time. There are jobs that went very well, but they are few and far between. The problems mainly stem from poor follow-up/follow-through.

For instance, I went out to look at putting a cabinet in a friend's house a few days ago. The only reason she called me, was because she knew me. The company had remodeled her kitchen & bathroom back in 2005. As she was explaining the absolute NIGHTMARE she went through, I began to see issues that had never been corrected. Her dishwasher was never anchored to either the cabinets or the countertop so everytime she opened the door, the whole dishwasher fell out. She called and called, and could never get anyone to do anything about it. A YEAR later, she had another contractor fix it.

This was one among many issues. The granite countertops did not match one another at the seam because the first piece had to go back because of mismeasuring. The shower turns on when you turn the tub faucet on. Nothing was EVER done.

And this is one of many jobs.

I need advice: Can anyone give me some ideas & tips on how to turn this buisness and it's reputation around? HELP!

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Joe

Ed the Roofer

Unless the administration is aware of and willing to do something there is nothing you can do to change their minds.

You can suggest, and see if they are ameniable to doing written post job follow up surveys, with the intention of ethically folowing up on legitimate punch list items.

Why did your freind sign off on and pay in full for the work if items needed correction? Some of the blame falls on the consumer in general for not opening their mouth and also on the contractor for not soliciting the communication that would encourage constructive criticism.. Some may be afraid to see if there is any items the HO wants corrected in fear of opening a can of worms, but the downside is the after completion negative pr reputation.

Ed

thom

Your title (operations manager) makes it sound like they hired you to fix these problems and make sure they don't happen in the future.

Many of the problems will turn out to be little annoyances that could be fixed with minimal effort. Some will take significant effort and $. Your job is to make sure these things don't happen under your watch and probably deal with ongoing complaints from previous projects.

Good luck. This is where you show your stuff. You can make it run smoothly or make a mess.

Boogga

Start from the ground roots. Sounds like the company needs a proper management system happening. Checklists on follow ups and during construction phase quality assurance systems etc. Work out who is doing what in the company (especially follow ups/follow throughs) and have them keep responsibility. People who just mismeasure and stuff up at that early stage should be wipped. That puts the entire construction of that kitchen in jepardy. He/She needs correct tutoring on how to do their job or their manager needs tutoring or how to do this. Either way, there's a lot of work needed to be done here.

Ed raises a good point here.....Why did your friend sign off on and pay in full for the work if items needed correction?. I agree that the owner should have spoken up!

Or if you have some money behind you, start a mirror image company doing the same or similar tasks and open the business next door to your former boss. You'll kick their arse when you do it better than them! Sounds simple but that's a general lead there.

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"It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees"

Gordo

Joe,

We always brief the client before the remodeling process begins. We make them aware of possible delays and the effects of change orders.
Kitchens remodels, by their very nature, can be a long drawn out process due to special order items and lead times for cabinets. Usually a cabinet will arrive damaged which results in another 2-4 week delay.

Bottom line, the more information you provide to the client.....the better. Keep in touch and FOLLOW UP!

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Looks like some pros were here.

boman47k

These problems may be why you are the new guy in your position! If you do not know your full responsibilities in this position, find out. May make some mad, but act quickly and be the one to stay in your present position if you choose to. If not, the mirror image company, if possible, sounds like a great opportunity as it sounds like very little competetion. I had to get away from the last few I worked for for similar reasons.