Licensed vs Unlicensed Concrete Company
You want to do the right thing. You know you may regret hiring an unlicensed Tucson Contractor or concrete company… but why exactly? I’m not going to lie, you can save big bucks finding an unlicensed Contractor. They may even do an outstanding job. For certain small jobs it might even be a wise choice?
That being said here are some horror stories from our customers over the years. There may be one that changes your mind.
The half down no show: I’ve heard this one several times and it breaks my heart. These people have given half down to a smooth talking salesman with a deal too good to be true. It’s beyond unlicensed… it’s criminal and now the customer has serious trust issues and no recourse because the phone number they got off craigslist no longer works. If the price seems too good to be true take extreme caution.
South bound and down: I’ve taken over missing Contractor jobs quite a few times over the years. A reoccurring story line is that the “Contractor” has been arrested and is unable to complete the job. The worst one I recall was where the homeowner was responsible to pay for the concrete (what could go wrong?) which showed up with nobody to place it. Unfortunately they ended up paying far more than if they had just hired us in the first place.
The Injured guest: Here’s a news flash for you… if your Contractor or concrete company isn’t licensed they probably aren’t properly insured. When they fall on a stake and end up in the ER it’s going to have to be turned into your home owners insurance. Why would you want this headache?
Cutting losses: Being a responsible adult usually comes with fulfilling your obligations. If I make an agreement to do something I will do it come hell or high water. Not everyone is like that. We bid on a job a while back and the customer called and said he really wanted us to do the work but had received a bid for half the price. He was hoping I could adjust the price but I couldn’t. He called back a month or more later and asked if we could come and pour concrete into forms that someone else had set? Unfortunately it was a pretty badly botched set up and I had to charge him the original bid amount to start over. The Con-tractor he had hired sent a couple guys over to set it up and then the next week a Finisher showed up and sat in the shade waiting for the concrete to show up for 4 hours. Before leaving the Finisher offered a shoulder shrug to communicate the current status. All attempts to reach the con failed. Best we could tell he realized it was a losing endeavor and decided to cut his losses.
The squeeze treatment: Unfortunately even other licensed Contractors in town seem to use this tactic. The homeowner feels like the project will never end because the Contractor is running around starting 10 jobs at a time to get deposits to fund warranty work or some other unexpected cost. Many in the business, licensed or not, really don’t understand how much they need to charge to not only perform the work profitably but also stand behind their warranties, cover unexpected break downs and deal with unforeseen issues. The result is that your 4 day job gets drug out for several weeks until you get tired of it and call a reputable company.
That company no longer exists: This one really makes people angry and I don’t blame them. Imagine, if you will, calling the Con-tractor that just installed concrete for you 3 months ago. They answer the same old phone number with a different company name….. It’s confusing but you know you are talking to the same person as before. You tell them it’s no hurry but you require warranty work on a small area that failed. Now you hear “I’m sorry, the company that performed that work no longer exists”. Does steam pour out of your ears?…. Sad part is… they are still bidding work at too low of a price with their new unregistered company name and will eventually change names again once word gets out.
In Summary
The scary thing is this stuff happens all the time. We hear new stories far too often. If you think it won’t happen to you, I sure hope you are right. You have a voice in your head that tells you when something sounds too good to be true. Listen to it…. You can’t take back bad choices but you will have an ally in the Arizona ROC if your licensed Contactor screws up https://roc.az.gov/contractor-search
Thank you for reading.
Jon Molden
