Cold calls from contractors

[kenfath]

For the past couple of years we've been getting unsolicited phone calls from people claiming to be contractors. Some 'just happen' to be in my neighborhood and would love to give me a free estimate. Some will ask about my home repair needs or upcoming projects. I usually advise them that there is no such things as a 'free estimate' or I don't have any planned projects. Another twist is to claim they talked to my spouse last month and she was really interested in some kind of improvement. If I'm lucky they hang up, some persist and I have to ask "what part of being not interested don't you understand?"

I'd thought about hijacking the "Why is it so hard to hire someone" thread, but feel this subject was worthy of discussion.

Personally I'd never-ever hire a contractor that makes cold calls. My BS or scam alerter tells me to never do such. I'd like to hear other views on this subject.

 

[ddawg16]

If your phone # is on the DNR list....then report them.

 

[Zelatore]

While I'd love to think it was just an enterprising contractor out beating the bushes to keep his crew running, I'd say that has about as much chance as the tooth fairy visiting me tonight.

The part about 'oh, your wife was really interested' is particularly sleezy.

I'd be shocked if they got any business this way, but then again you know what hey say about under-estimating the general public.

 

[Roots]

If your phone # is on the DNR list....then report them.

+1.

I don't know of any respectable contractors who have to resort to this.

 

[Drew Brown]

If you just tell these people that you would need to ask your landlord before making any changes to the house you rent from him, they waste no time in hanging-up the 'phone. Do this even if you're a home-owner.
We get them here in France and my house is entirely my own. But this is the reaction they get from me because I'll either do a job myself or go looking for accredited businesses to do it for me

 

[laser3kw]

there was a documentory on tv about the "Irish Travellers" "gypsy" contractors that go around doing just that.
click here---irish-travellers-gypsies
I am sure there are others.Around here it is the "driveway seal coaters". The bid your job and then PAINT your drive with gasoline thinned black paint. Looks good for about a month.
click here--"travelers"

 

[welder4956]

A reputable contractor would not need to resort to this to find customers. Customers would be coming to him. Its like trying to find a good restaurant - look for the one with all the cars parked outside and stay away from the ones with an empty parking lot.

 

[Roots]

If you just tell these people that you would need to ask your landlord before making any changes to the house you rent from him, they waste no time in hanging-up the 'phone. Do this even if you're a home-owner.

Clever!

 

[JakeKohl]

Most I've encountered (particularly the door knocking variety) are pretty bad contractors. I've not hired them but I have looked into some of their histories and reviews. Recently, we had one come to door promising that all his workers were "pure God fearing Americans". My wife had fun making him wiggle when she started inquiring about whether his hiring practices were racially and/or religiously biased.

Aaaaanyway...we recently had two guys selling gutters door to door and we're pretty sure they were just scoping out houses. Nobody answered the door two doors down from me and their backyard is pretty hidden. They put a brick through a back door window and took a bunch of stuff.

 

[carterbeauford]

I'd lead them on, say sure we're interested, yeah my wife wants some work done, if they actually show up at your house, have Mike Holmes jump out of a closet and beat their ***.

just kidding. but stop being so polite, these people are scammers, maybe if you called them out on it they'd give up or move on to another neighborhood.

 

[fotoflojoe]

Years ago, some guy toting a clipboard came to my door. When I answered, he looked around at the front of my house and immediately launched into a spiel about how the siding and roof were in an "unsafe condition", and that since he had his guys in the area that day, he would be willing to help me out.

I called my Bull Mastiff to the door and offered him a 5 second head start.

 

[James E]

I know that times are tough but in my neck of the woods, the reputable subs are overwhelmed with work right now. None of them are cold-calling. In fact, if you call them, you're lucky to hear from them within a week.

Almost univerally, door-to-door or telephone sales for any of the building trades are either gypsies/travelers/scammers or big outfits that don't do good work and have high prices and high-pressure sales tactics. Neither are people you want to spend any time with.

Only exception to this rule that I've found is when someone who does regular work for a neighbor comes over to ask if I need any work done. Even then, I expect that service to ask the neighbor if they thought I'd mind if they knocked on my door and were sure that the neighbor would recommend them.

 

[rockchucker]

There is always a wait for a good Contractor. Especially in today's world. They are getting harder to find with illegal labor being so cheap.

 

[Charliekilo]

That DNC thing is worthless and reporting is a waste of time. Reporting gets you the equivalent of "the check is in the mail". Those callers are like the Phoenix that comes back in a different form.

 

[BC1]

A reputable contractor would not need to resort to this to find customers. Customers would be coming to him. Its like trying to find a good restaurant - look for the one with all the cars parked outside and stay away from the ones with an empty parking lot.

In southern california, all trades are hurting for work. If you didn't know, most general contractors use sales people to bid/sell the jobs and going around to the neighbors while working in a neighborhood is a good way prospect for customers. You can show them what you've done on a neighbors home, it's way better than a picture. And yes, most companies give "free estimates". How the hell else do you know what they'll charge? By the way, you still have to check credentials, but that should be common sense.

 

[Zeke]

Do a search on "Pacific Home Improvement Solutions." These people have 38 registered home improvement sales persons and a boiler room with auto dialers. There is an uproar about them with several saying they are going to take them to court over the calls, or this and that. No one seems to have done anything.

The company is a little over a year old but is owned by a couple that have been in the business before. Even their FB page is full of nastiness which I think they edit (if they can).

Anyway, it's all on the Net, their address, license, etc. You can check the lic # at cslb.ca.gov and see all the names associated.

 

[Tucko]

+1.

I don't know of any respectable contractors who have to resort to this.

I asked my uncle about this once. He runs a residential glass business in Aurora, Co. He told me they actually do get some of their business this way. I was surprised, but he said it works.

 

[rharman]

<snip>
The part about 'oh, your wife was really interested' is particularly sleezy.
</snip>

OR..... "We spoke last (insert month name) and you were kind enough to ask me to call back about now."

"No, we did NOT speak last year and, if we did, all I asked was to be put on your no call list."

 

[ozyborn]

I just had one knock on my door today. Asking about their "Deal for installing windows if they can put a sign in my yard".

I asked him if he hunted. He looked confused and said no, never have. "Good, then I will be the better shot if you ever come back here"

He left quickly... I never cater to cold calls or door to doors

 

[cyamaha2007]

Ive actually had a good experience with it. Wednesday evening a concrete crew foreman knocked on my door asked if i had any work, they were doing a small pour on my street Saturday. Their pour wouldnt hit the min. redimix truck requirement. He quoted me $2 a sqft for a 5in thick driveway. I had to form it but that included concrete and finishing labor. They did a great job

 

[pop pop]

That DNC thing is worthless and reporting is a waste of time. Reporting gets you the equivalent of "the check is in the mail". Those callers are like the Phoenix that comes back in a different form.

Check it out. Your complaint is added to the statistic list of violations and that is the end. Your government at work for you.

 

[Charliekilo]

Check it out. Your complaint is added to the statistic list of violations and that is the end. Your government at work for you.

Figured.

 

[pendragon1998]

Another twist is to claim they talked to my spouse last month and she was really interested in some kind of improvement.

Tell them, "That's funny...I talked to your wife last month and she was pretty interested too."

Seriously, I just hang up on cold calls and telemarketers...or I did back when I had a land line and I got those stupid things.

 

[mechanical]

I wouldn't hire anybody that initiates the calls, too! There's just too many scams around and it's difficult to trust cold-callers. Even telemarketers who sell carpets, rugs, subscriptions and even dish washing pastes, I turn them all down.

 

[mechanical]

And I also report them to http://www.callercenter.com as suspicious so people are made aware of such calls. A lot of people may be already aware but there are still a few who may not be educated about the phone scams yet, so it helps when we share information to them.

 

[KEH]

The "Irish Gypsies, orTravelers" referred to in the post above live just outside of Aiken, SC, in a development called locally Murphy's village after an Irish priest who brought them over from Ireland a long time ago, not sure when. I go by there occasionally, and the area has changed from mostly mobile homes to nice upscale houses. They are "religious" and when they build a house they leave it vacant for a year so the evil spirits can leave and then the priest blesses it and they move in. One characteristic of the houses is that they put a very fancy front door in.

Not all are scammers. Some have the business model of doing a good job and trying to get repeat customers. Others want the single big scoe and move on. Some have been arrested for doing the one man distracts the homeowner while the other sneaks in and robs the house thing.

KEH

 

[wb2vsj]

...

Aaaaanyway...we recently had two guys selling gutters door to door and we're pretty sure they were just scoping out houses. Nobody answered the door two doors down from me and their backyard is pretty hidden. They put a brick through a back door window and took a bunch of stuff.

Exactly why I have security cameras all around my house. (At least I can go back and see what they took ) We have had way to many cold calls this year. Three by the same tree-removal crew in two months. Gives me an uneasy feeling.

 

[James E]

Ive actually had a good experience with it. Wednesday evening a concrete crew foreman knocked on my door asked if i had any work, they were doing a small pour on my street Saturday. Their pour wouldnt hit the min. redimix truck requirement. He quoted me $2 a sqft for a 5in thick driveway. I had to form it but that included concrete and finishing labor. They did a great job

Sure, I would consider something like what you're talking about because it makes sense (I'd sure as heck talk to the neighbor about the concrete guy before I committed, though). The contractor is (hopefully) legit and has a valid reason for knocking on my door.

But situations like that are different than the kind of cold call the OP is referring to. The true "cold call" is just an annoyance to me.

 

[mike_81]

In canada we have issues with people calling from oversea's trying to sell us Duct Cleaning Services.

I tell them I have no ducks but they can wash my dog if they're interested.


lately, id just pass the phone to my 3year old son.

 

[raddksn]

years ago i lived in a 5 story apartment building. i was getting 3-4 calls a week about replasment windose, alwayes told the woman i rented and was not interested. had enough of the calls so made the appointment for a estamet the estemater was not happy but the calls stoped

 

[wedge40]

Another twist is to claim they talked to my spouse last month and she was really interested in some kind of improvement.

My reply to this would be "Thats quite a trick, since she passed away two years ago"

Wedge

 

[Roots]

years ago i lived in a 5 story apartment building. i was getting 3-4 calls a week about replasment windose, alwayes told the woman i rented and was not interested. had enough of the calls so made the appointment for a estamet the estemater was not happy but the calls stoped

That's awesome!

 

[coljar]

Here's what they hear if they get past the caller ID and we accidently answer the phone............CLICK

 

[BFBOB]

There's only one reason they keep making those calls: It works. I used a phone room in my business for about 5 years, setting appointments for salesmen. We did lots of business. We also did good work and delivered what we promised. I shut down the phone room when the DNC laws came in - they made it essentially impossible for a small operation to work efficiently enough to make a profit AND follow the law. Ten years later, we still get referrals from people we sold through those cold calls.

And yeah, I'm on the no call list. Call it hypocricy if you like.

 

[Mike14k]

Only time I did this....

sprinkler crew just finished my neighbors and stopped to ask if I needed any sprinklers. I already had a nice, working system but had them add onto it on my acerage next to the house since they had a trencher sitting on their trailer.

I'm still fixing leaks in the system. Called the number on his biz card, he said he'd be out, then ignored all my calls afterwards.

Best part... it's a small town, so I'll run into them somewhere.

 

[m_hatcher]

Me and my wife were looking into purchasing a repo a few years back and since we were gonna gut it immediately, I called a few contractors to come and take a look and do some estimating.
The first company showed up and did their thing, thanked me and said they would be in touch when it was done.
The 2nd company showed up, looked around, threw out stupid high numbers on the spot and then said that it was not profitable for them to remodel the entire house and that if I still wanted a estimate that it would cost $1000 and if I chose them for the job that it would come out of the cost of the job.
We ended up not getting the place due to location issues but the 2nd company was certainly not in the running for the job if we had.

 

[James E]

...lately, id just pass the phone to my 3year old son.

That's a great idea!

My three year old is going through a phase where he thinks it's hilarious to talk about poop and pee pee. Maybe instead of breaking him of that habit, I'll just give the phone to him whenever a telemarketer calls and tell him that the guy on the phone really wants to hear about poopie.

 

[niget2002]

That's a great idea!

My three year old is going through a phase where he thinks it's hilarious to talk about poop and pee pee. Maybe instead of breaking him of that habit, I'll just give the phone to him whenever a telemarketer calls and tell him that the guy on the phone really wants to hear about poopie.

My 3 year old is in the 'why' faze.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[theoldwizard1]

My daughter just called, very upset !

The A/C didn't work the other day so they called a local HVAC place. A sales guy shows up the next day, says the water heater vent is "unsafe" (it had been inspected by a certified energy auditor) and they would have to fix that before doing anything with the A/C. Then he says she needs a whole new furnace, A/C and water heater for $5,000. Sure the furnace is old and not the most efficient, but it is safe (cleaned and inspected less than 2 years ago).

Worse, this is the second time in less than 5 years that a HVAC person tried to scam her (previous one actually rigged the blower to run 100% of the time).