Poor standard of work

BigBrother

I've had a painter/decorator come into my house to do some work. I specifically asked him to smooth or replace the old woodwork due to old lumps and bumps of paint present. They came in to do the preparation and simply roughened the old paint and applied some gloss and expected payment for that. I have told them I'm not happy so far and they haven't addressed my initial concern which is that I want a smooth finish. I have refused to pay them until they come back and do the prep work properly but they're refusing to come back out until the first invoice has been paid so we're at a stalemate here. We're at a point where I don't have the confidence in them completing the job if I pay them and they don't have the confidence to come back until they have been paid. They are now threatening to take legal action now, which I'm confident they will lose because they haven't done the work I have asked for.

What do I do now?
Pay them and hope they will come back and rectify the issue?
Find someone else?

jk0

Builders eh? Have you heard the old saying: 'If you want a job done properly, do it yourself'?


You'll never get a builder to do a job the way you ask. Unless it is put in writing and the builder agrees in writing, he will do it the easiest way for him.


I doubt there is any paper history you could rely on in court, so pay up IIWY.

Doozergirl

jk0 wrote: »

Builders eh? Have you heard the old saying: 'If you want a job done properly, do it yourself'?


You'll never get a builder to do a job the way you ask. Unless it is put in writing and the builder agrees in writing, he will do it the easiest way for him.


I doubt there is any paper history you could rely on in court, so pay up IIWY.

Nice bit of generalisation there!

I'm not sure how bad your skirting is, but if it's ordinary skirting, it's often cheaper to rip it off and replace it.

I would say write to them, explain that you are happy to pay for a job well done and that you feel that they may have misunderstood the brief you set, which was a perfect finish. You will be happy to pay once that has been achieved.

You may need to consider whether what was quoted was a fair price for a perfect finish or not. It may not have been if their idea of finished and yours are evidently not the same.

jk0

I was just googling that saying, and this came up which tickled me:


https://www.quora.com/Is-it-true-that-if-you-want-something-done-right-you-have-to-do-it-yourself/answer/Robert-Wilson-610

Doozergirl

jk0 wrote: »

I was just googling that saying, and this came up which tickled me:


https://www.quora.com/Is-it-true-that-if-you-want-something-done-right-you-have-to-do-it-yourself/answer/Robert-Wilson-610

I didn't find that funny at all. I started to read it, found it highly offensive and skim read the rest to see if he was joking. He wasn't.

My life would be hell if he were right, and yet it isn't. So perhaps Robert Wilson, with his superior attitude and his incomplete BA in philosophy, needs to change his philosophy. Who uses a title that they haven't even earned yet?!

Some people are better at some things than others, some people are more qualified, some people are more passionate, but it isn't 1% that do a proper job naturally at all. Most people want to do a good job, get paid for it, have happy customers and go home happy at the end of the day, because most of us are motivated by something other than greed.

He gives no actual experience of having employed someone to do a job for him, ever, but he may find that what he thinks comes true, because
a) he never grants the people he chooses from to employ with enough intelligence to do the job properly and fails to discriminate.
b) people with *emotional intelligence* will work him out before they need to start work and refuse the work. Because people in the main want to do a good job and work with good people.

You create your own reality. Be positive of mind, expect good things, treat people well and you will be grateful, attract similar people, do good work and be happier for it.

maisie_cat

Did they quote for doing carpentry as well as decorating? What do you have in writing and how much was the job?
Ripping out and replacing woodwork makes the painting element quicker than sanding it silky smooth and certainly creates less dust & mess. I does cost more and take more time because there are new materials as well as mitres and scribed joints. There is curing time for caulking & adhesive so it isn't a quick paint job.
I am very fussy when it comes to a smooth paint job so I do it myself

System

Doozergirl wrote: »

snip

safe to say, Robert is a moron

Risteard

Doozergirl wrote: »

I didn't find that funny at all. I started to read it, found it highly offensive and skim read the rest to see if he was joking. He wasn't.

My life would be hell if he were right, and yet it isn't. So perhaps Robert Wilson, with his superior attitude and his incomplete BA in philosophy, needs to change his philosophy. Who uses a title that they haven't even earned yet?!

Some people are better at some things than others, some people are more qualified, some people are more passionate, but it isn't 1% that do a proper job naturally at all. Most people want to do a good job, get paid for it, have happy customers and go home happy at the end of the day, because most of us are motivated by something other than greed.

He gives no actual experience of having employed someone to do a job for him, ever, but he may find that what he thinks comes true, because
a) he never grants the people he chooses from to employ with enough intelligence to do the job properly and fails to discriminate.
b) people with *emotional intelligence* will work him out before they need to start work and refuse the work. Because people in the main want to do a good job and work with good people.

You create your own reality. Be positive of mind, expect good things, treat people well and you will be grateful, attract similar people, do good work and be happier for it.

It's also ironic that the author of that is incapable of correctly spelling the word "technician".

dunroving

Risteard wrote: »

It's also ironic that the author of that is incapable of correctly spelling the word "technician".

He was perfectly capable of spelling it correctly ... but only 40% of the time.