Whatever happened to pride in craftsmanship?

[Matata]

Mini rant coming up that will bore most of you but I''ll feel a bit better

I''m having the bedroom redecorated. Spent $$$$$ on really nice fabric for custom drapes & sheers. The sheers were installed yesterday and at first blush they looked great. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the bottom hem was not only stitched crooked, and I mean, really really crooked, but the d**mn length varied from 2 inches above the floor to 1/2 inch! And, there''s a thin horizontal line running through the sheers that they did not match when they sewed the panels together -- kind of like when you don''t pay attention to matching the pattern when installing wallpaper. The seamstress had to take the drapes back because they forgot to install the thingy at the top that keeps the drapes from sagging on the clips. The old drapes were from Target and they were better made!! Phoned my interior decorator today and of course she''ll make it right but it''s aggravating that subcontractors just don''t seem to care about the quality of their work.

When we had laminate installed in the living room, she marked with a big blue "X" the spot where the electrician was to install a floor plug, then talked to him about the placement and he still installed it in the middle of the room. Sooo, all the laminate had to be replaced just to get the plug repositioned.

A different electrician installed the new dining room chandelier off-center in the room and then tried to bill me $300 for 30 minutes of work.

There have been so many things that have had to be redone two or three times since this project started a year and a half ago. It takes an emotional toll. What galls me the most after the lack of pride in workmanship is that these people are HUNGRY now. There''s very little work happening in this community due to the economic downturn and, I guess I''m just crazy, but I thought they''d be happy enough for the work and do a good job. Their chance of getting referrals from me is zilch.

Well, hell, this didn''t make me feel better so now I''m gonna try the old stand-by vodka tonic.

 

[DiamanteBlu]

OMG - you are not crazy! I cannot believe the lack of pride that people have in their work. Pour a vodka tonic for me!

We are looking to move and that will require construction to our specs - both inside and out. DH intends to pepper the contract with penalty clauses if they do not perform to standard [which will be spelled out - real pain in the butt]. I don't know how else to keep on top of the crappy workmanship other that stringent, measurable specs with penalty clauses if they do not perform. [Yes, I am the one that wanders around with the tape measure and level. I have made contractors redo a bunch of stuff - when they couldn't explain why they were off spec.] Not sure if DH will be worse but he will egg me on! LOL!

You deserve to get what you paid for - to spec!

 

[Matata]

DiamanteB....good luck with the construction. Seems the only way to guarantee the job is done right is to be there everyday to keep an eye on things which is impractical or inconvenient for most of us. Now that I''m retired, you can bet I''ll be here when any future work is done and I''ll be breathing fire down their necks. I want to redo the master bathroom and kitchen but I need to take a break from this havoc. When the carpet installers came, they started talking on their cells phones (personal calls) the minute they stepped foot in the house. The master bedroom should have taken a couple hours and it was turning into a half-day. I finally had to tell them to shut off their phones, get the carpet installed, and get the heck out, geeeeeeez.

 

[DiamanteBlu]

Sigh . . .

I fully expect that I [if not both of us] will be there to breathe down the necks of the workers on a continuous basis . . .

 

[ladypirate]

OH MY GOSH YES. We just had our walls textured a couple of months ago--they had to redo it 3 times because of wallpaper underneath (that we said we would remove initially but they told us to leave it). When they put the stuff on, it all bubbled up. It meant that we then had to spend way longer removing it than if we had just listened to our guts and done it to begin with. I was so mad.

 

[MissGotRocks]

I feel your pain - it is so hard to get good work done. You''re right - you''d think in these times that folks would bend over backward to do a good job but it''s just not the case. The joy of something new is quickly tarnished by realizing it''s not right and then having to wait through a re-do. Here''s hoping it''s all finished soon - and enjoy that vodka tonic!

 

[Hera]

There's too many things that went awry that maybe the decorator needs to supervise more and/or communicate more effectively to get the job done properly. I would think most would be present at these installations from what I've seen.

 

[ckrickett]

My dad does pool construction and he tells me horror stories of how he has to fix everyone''s work because they are just worried about "getting it done" and not doing it the way it should be done or good at all.

You are not crazy, and yes not many people care about the quality of their work anymore, they just want to make a buck.

times like this I bust out my bottle of Cab and go to town.

 

[Kay]

I feel your pain. We re-modeled most of our house between 2003 and 2005 (totalling re-did kitchen and baths, new flooring throughout house, added a room, etc.). I had to force the contractors to re-do a lot of work. We had very detailed plans drawn up, but the guys would just put things (like windows) wherever they thought they should go.

My personal pet peeve is when things are off center (and not in an artistic way). The tile guys thought it was okay to install the tile on the walls of our walk-in shower and tub surround by starting with a whole tile on one side and ending with a cut tile on the other side. I actually had to explain to the contractor that they needed to install the tile with either the center of a tile or a grout line centered in the middle of the wall and work out from there so the partial tiles at the ends would be the same size. It seemed pretty obvious to DH & I, but the contractor looked at me like I was crazy.

I recently looked at a house that had a tile area above the fireplace. A light fixture was installed through the tile, and it was about 2-3" off center with the fireplace. I couldn''t believe the owner accepted that work.

 

[Steel]

Big fat ditto here and may I also add:

What ever happened to an honest days work for an honest days pay; why does it seem everybody overcharges?

DH and I are so sick of poor quality overcharged work that we end up doing it ourselves. We are guaranteed a job well done and it saves a ton of £££. The trouble is we end up doing more and ourselves, and it gets tiring....

 

[perry]

When people buy almost everything based on lowest cost (or near lowest cost) - and routinely accept that it is not exactly what they want. When children (and adults) are taught that having winners and loosers is a bad thing - it hurts egos - thus clases are no longer really graded - and you pass just for participation.

Why would you expect people to develop pride and the skils to to have craftsmanship.

Craftsman (and woman) still exist - but they do not come cheap. They typically charge twice the lowest cost labor rate.

I don''t have a clue on how america thinks that they are going to develop new craftsman (and woman) given the way our modern education system and "me first" culture.

Perry

 

[PinkTower]

Matata,

My first thought is that the designer is at fault.
You are paying a premium for them to be the ''middle man.'' They should have a better relationship with the workroom they choose to deal with in this economy than to have subpar drapes installed in your home. If have to deal with these mistakes, why is the designer getting a commission?

I use a general contractor and pay the 20% markup for all the work done in my home. To me, it is worth it, because he deals with the subcontractors so much that they have a long term relationship. The subs give a general contractor a better price than they would give a homeowner for the same job, so the markup ends up being less than 20%. Also, he told me the other day that people are thrilled right now that are building homes, because the jobs are all coming in underbudget. Lumber is cheap now. Drywall is cheap now. Labor is cheap now.

For example, my boss just had her house painted. The same estimate by the same company that was 13,000 two years ago was just over 6000 now. You are right, people are hungry. They are doing their best work to get referrals and jobs. I would find myself a different designer.

Pink