Archive for May, 2010

Craigslist, it’s not just for used goods anymore

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

Craigslist is a well used internet site and is definitely a great way to get rid of used furniture and old scrap metal. The odd thing to me is that people will actually go there and choose a contractor to work in their house and do a project. Craigslist doesn’t do a really great job of policing the users and their integrity. Besides being a haven for scammers, and shady contractors, it now is a resource for murderers as you can read here. With all that said why would anyone trust a Craigslist contractor to complete a quality project? It’s a big risk. Don’t believe me, then let’s just look:

This ad says “All floors installed fast and fair!”. Craigslist finally required all contractors to list a license number recently. When you look into this guy’s ad you will see he is unlicensed. Why does that matter? Let’s say that you decide it’s time to save $200 bucks and hire this guy. Day one he starts and walks into your house and starts sanding the floors. Day three comes along and he has just finished sanding and staining your floors. You have to leave the house because you can’t be there and walk on the floor. He decides to leave his sanding dust and used stain rags in a trashbag in your two car garage. You left for the night and your house is secured and Mercedes is parked away safely in the second bay. While in your hotel room you get a phone call at 2am and your neighbor is explaining how your roof and house are up in flames. Think I’m joking, then just read this. A few days go by and after it’s all said and done you realized that you will have to foot the bill to rebuild your house. Why? you find out that this guy is unlicensed and has no insurance to rebuild your house. You find out your policy doesn’t cover unlicensed contractors working in your home. In the end the $200 savings costs you $250,000 or more because of a lapse in judgment.

Consumers please consider the following thought:

Don’t ask what something costs before considering what it is worth from all angles.

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Posted in Hardwood floor refinish, Uncategorized, hardwood floor | No Comments »

Lowest price=Lowest Common Denominator

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

I had a thesis advisor who did a lot to help me avoid one of the common pitfalls that happens to people. He always referred to it as the “lowest common denominator” as a suggestion that people would rather be a minimalist in their ways than really try to achieve the most that they could in every endeavor.

The problem  that consumers don’t realize is that all contractors pay roughly the same cost for materials, unless they are stealing material, which I doubt. Therefore, to have a lower cost the contractor must have a lower labor cost.

To have a lower labor cost either jobs must happen faster or employees must be paid less. HERE are the pitfalls of such a model.

1) Faster jobs-If you want attention to detail on your project, then forget it if the job is a production job that has to be done quickly.

2) Low paid employees- Underpaid employees really don’t want to do the best job, end of story.

Here is my challenge:

If you know the name of a licensed hardwood floor company in Portland, Oregon that is “cheap” and always a low bidder, and has legal employees covered by workers compensation then please give me their name. I want to know their model and secret if their work looks good. I will donate a free premium Glitsa tack mop and cleaning kit once I see the job and you can convince me that their work is really a quality product if I know what finish they used on the floor.

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Posted in Hardwood floor Portland, floor refinishing portland oregon, portland hardwood professional | 1 Comment »

Older businesses can disappear

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

About a year ago following the fallout of the housing market I was reminded by a friend that a company in Vancouver, WA was bankrupt and shutting down. This was significant because this company had all the markings of a “big successful floor business” such as a showroom, tons of vans and crews, etc… In many people’s eyes this is what defines a company that is solid and “real”. Looking behind the curtain though, there is a lot of overhead to maintain this type of business and with just a few unfortunate circumstances this business was gone in no time.

During a recent estimate I was discussing with a customer the gaps she had in her floors in her newly built house. She said she contacted her builder and he had been unable to locate the contractor who installed the floors originally. After talking we both realized that the warranty claim will never be done because the company in Vancouver did the original installation and they are no longer in business. This was just one person I ran into by chance. How many hundreds of people have warranty claims that will never be resolved by this “pillar” of a company?

The point of my blog is to suggest simply that the best contractors don’t need a huge showroom and tons of vans running around to be successful. In fact choosing a smaller and more efficiently operated hardwood floor business may be your best option these days if you want someone to return your calls in six months.

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Posted in Hardwood floor Portland, portland hardwood professional | No Comments »

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