Another thing to make you go HMMM

[BayView]

This'll no doubt ignite the "get a problem" and "who cares?" brigade. Go for it.

I don't really have a problem with it, and I don't really care - just chuckin' it in for some discussion and a vent.

At the end of the day I'll just move on and find my own answers and results.

The scenario is me calling a local builder who I found out built a house near to where we are building. The style and colour of the concrete blocks he used is very appealing to us.

I asked the owner what they were, but they didn't know as they had not long ago bought the place, but they know who the builder is, and gave me his number.

So, I called him up to ask the brand, colour and price etc, but the call went to message bank.

A week later (today) still no return call.

Um; I know why - there is obviously no direct coin incentive in it for him.

Or, to give him the benefit of the doubt, he's gone to Port Douglas for a holiday and didn't take his phone with him...

Silly me to think tht he might have a modicum of decency to return the call.

I obviously handled it wrong - I should have said I am interested in building a house and could you please call me to discuss it.

How many seconds before my phone would have rung then?

 

[Kristine..]

G'Day Mark

Dunno. I tried to contact a Mt Eliza builder recently

Sent two emails through his website

Sent two emails directly to him

Left four phone messages on the office number

Finally faxed a paper fax - twice!

Considering this was a named referral from a builder who has built for us before, and who is well known to this builder, I considered this to be a very poor response

But wait! It gets better!

The Mt Eliza builder told me how he was 'definitely very interested' in our project, and forwarded our email to two designers / architects he commonly uses as he doesn't have his own design department

Neither of these people replied

So I forwarded the email again, still no reply

On the second forward, the architect replied by email saying that he was booked up for at least three months. The drafting service is yet to reply.

I guess there must be a building boom on. It's easy to forget that today's casual enquiry may be tomorrow's customer.

You will probably have to ask your own builder to drive past the house you like and he will probably be able to identify the bricks

cheers
Kristine

 

[WinstonWolfe]

I was getting annoyed with a builder who was quoting me for a duplex a few years back. As nice as pie and easy to communicate face to face but impossible to get on the phone.

A local developer told me he is like that with everyone and don't take it personally....said he once saw the builder's mobile message bank holding over 60 entries from one morning...

 

[oracle]

This'll no doubt ignite the "get a problem" and "who cares?" brigade. Go for it.

I don't really have a problem with it, and I don't really care - just chuckin' it in for some discussion and a vent.

At the end of the day I'll just move on and find my own answers and results.

The scenario is me calling a local builder who I found out built a house near to where we are building. The style and colour of the concrete blocks he used is very appealing to us.

I asked the owner what they were, but they didn't know as they had not long ago bought the place, but they know who the builder is, and gave me his number.

So, I called him up to ask the brand, colour and price etc, but the call went to message bank.

A week later (today) still no return call.

Um; I know why - there is obviously no direct coin incentive in it for him.

Or, to give him the benefit of the doubt, he's gone to Port Douglas for a holiday and didn't take his phone with him...

Silly me to think tht he might have a modicum of decency to return the call.

I obviously handled it wrong - I should have said I am interested in building a house and could you please call me to discuss it.

How many seconds before my phone would have rung then?

Get your wife to make that call from her mobile or different number with the message about wanting to build a house (make it a mansion ). And when he calls back ask him to call you to discuss further.

Cheers,
Oracle.

 

[wanelad]

If it was just one call, he may possibly just over looked it and forgot to get back to you why not just give it another try

 

[Aaron Sice]

sometimes people don't have the capacity to even answer queries, they are that busy.

or are practically begged to take on work, and when they fall behind because they're overloaded, they're held to ransom or threatened.

may not be you, but the bloke before and after you.

food for thought.

 

[Dazz]

a modicum of decency

Marc,

Your expectations are way way too high.

Lower them right down to the very basic gutter type stuff like I do, and then you're never disappointed - except with rabid lefties...

 

[Ausprop]

when you get 100's of calls and you msg box fills faster than you are emptying it then it can become too much. Whislt this call wasn't one of them, there is an attitude developing in this society that one must be alaways contactable and return all calls immediately. If I went to a greek island for 3 weeks some of the people that constantly ring me woul dhave a hernia

i would dearly love to get rid of my mobile too...

 

[Sheryn]

Something about Tuesdays

A few years ago I was talking to the wife of a Builder and she said they had numerous phone calls each week and they only reponded to people who phoned on Tuesdays as they had heaps of work.

Trying to return phone calls to 50 + potential clients or enquires each week was difficult as everyone wanted free information or a free request eg. can you come and look at this block of land and tell me what I can build.

50 x 10 minutes = 500miutes / 60 minutes = 8.333 hours just replying to people mostly wanting information that they didn't want to pay for.

PRIORITY was communicating with subbies and project building 4 sites at the same time.


On another note...
Our accountant does not take phone calls on Tuesdays as it is her down and tails up day to clear in tray each week.


Regards
Sheryn

 

[Jacque]

So, I called him up to ask the brand, colour and price etc, but the call went to message bank.

A week later (today) still no return call...

Come, come Marc. You are talking about BUILDERS here - like most tradies, I expect to make at least 2-3 calls before I get to reach them and have a conversation. Even then, they're often on the roof, in a trench, or (in one case) on a ladder when they answer your call and have no way of recording details (especially if your no. is blocked) Try and try again, is my motto. Just keep calling the guy on a daily basis and you're guaranteed to hear from him. If it was a mobile, text him as well. And, as Dazz as said so well, lower your expectations..... best of luck

PS: Why not take a pic of the bricks and post them up here? Someone might just recognize them.

 

[Aaron Sice]

when you get 100's of calls and you msg box fills faster than you are emptying it then it can become too much. Whislt this call wasn't one of them, there is an attitude developing in this society that one must be alaways contactable and return all calls immediately. If I went to a greek island for 3 weeks some of the people that constantly ring me woul dhave a hernia

i would dearly love to get rid of my mobile too...

amen.

i was sick for a week and the world imploded.

 

[craigb]

Guys there is gee i am busy and then there is i am flat out and then there is i have no ballance in my life, i am on line at 3.23 am my work load is enormouse and its getting bigger, as i drown in work and somone is too lazy to go to the brick showroom to look at some bricks type of busy, Sorry its SOoooo Not important , to return the call, as it would slip so far down the prioroty line and somply forgotten,

 

[BayView]

PS: Why not take a pic of the bricks and post them up here? Someone might just recognize them.

Bloody good idea.

Will do; thanks.

 

[jane1111]

In these situations I get a friend to call and as u say leave a message that we r interested in building a house . Getting friend to ask the question when they call back .

 

[.toe]

One time a colleague became my boss and said 'You know, you get to a certain level where it becomes less productive to personally carry a phone'. He's out of the game now.

On another note I get plenty of inquiries for information. I'd have said best thing to do in this situation is to send the builder a request for info by email, along with a photo of the bricks and the address. He'll see it when he's attending to this business anyway. It'll take him 3 seconds to reply because he won't have to talk to you if he's busy. If you have more questions send them in your 'thank you' reply, he'll appreciate that you were brief earlier.

 

[BayView]

On another note I get plenty of inquiries for information. I'd have said best thing to do in this situation is to send the builder a request for info by email, along with a photo of the bricks and the address.

Great. Now I have to call him back to get his email address.