Posted by: The Backyard Getaway / Category:
A very common practice amongst most companies is using subcontractors to do the work for them, especially since they may not specialize in a certain line of work. Home Depot for example makes it very easy for any of it's millions of customers to come into their store and ask for an estimate for a home improvement project. But what exactly happens once you give them your information? Home Depot do not keep their own crews in house or do any of the work, it is given to a subcontractor that they have selected. The complaints go on for pages and pages online, and range from bad workmanship to waiting months for completion of a simple job. Here are a couple that we came across:
"I've had several clients use Home Depot contractors before with mixed results. The problem is that some of the contractors are great, some are average, and some are bad."
" I do not recommend using Home Depot for kitchen remodeling. The "designers" are glorified sales clerks who are ill informed... They lead you to believe that you are dealing with Home Depot but you really are dealing with other contractors and they act as a go between... They tell you one thing and the contractor tells you another. They will not tell you how much anything costs and they mysteriously come up with a figure..."
I'm not saying that every single subcontractor in the world will do a horrible job, but do be careful on who you select. I used Home Depot as my main example, but they are not the only company that practices this form of business. So how can you avoid this problem? Find out exactly who you are working with and do your own background check.
There are different ways of doing this, ServiceMagic.com and AngiesList.com are two very good sources on reading past reviews from customers on contractors. Also the Better Business Bureau is another way to see what is the current grade that a contractor may have. Get referrals that you can actually speak to, and when signing a contract (and please make sure you do have an actual contract) make sure that it states that no subcontractors will be used.
