Objects of our (dis)affection
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I appreciated Carol Mithers’ “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not” [Nov. 25], which draws a parallel between a contractor-homeowner relationship and an ill-fated whirlwind romance. As a contractor, I chuckle inside whenever a client (during the “honeymoon”) says she’ll throw a barbecue for the workers when the project is done. I nod politely, knowing that no matter how great a job we’re doing, three weeks down the road she’ll just want her home back and us gone.
I applaud the inclusion of contractors’ stories about problem clients. The media have often portrayed contractors as a band of alcoholic miscreants, who make big promises and deliver marginal-to-poor results. It was refreshing to glimpse the other side of the coin.
Contractors need to counter media-fueled misconceptions by better managing clients’ expectations. Construction is as much (if not more) about people as it is about costs and results. It is more of a process than a product. Until homeowners treat choosing a contractor more like how they choose a mate rather than a minivan, they are doomed to reminisce about their contractor (and take some responsibility for his actions) as they might a former object of affection: “What was I thinking? ... “
Brian McCarthy
Los Angeles
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