LOUIS J PONTARELLI REMODELING CONTRACTOR

"REGARDING MY ENCOUNTERS WITH THE MEMBERS, WHEN FIRST MEETING WITH THEM, THEY WERE NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT THEY WANTED. SHE WANTED SOME THINGS THAT HE DID NOT AND VICE-VERSA. I EXPLAINED TO THEM THAT MAKING HASTY DECISIONS WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA. BETWEEN THEIR IDEAS AND SOME OF MY SUGGESTIONS WE WOULD COME TO A CONCLUSION. THEIR 1ST IDEA WAS A FAMILY RM./POWDER ROOM/LAUNDRY RM. WITH AN OPEN 2ND STORY PORCH. THIS THEN CHANGED TO A FAMILY RM. WITH THE POTENTIAL OF A FUTURE 2ND FLOOR BEDROOM. ON MY NEXT VISIT, I RETURNED WITH MY PLUMBING CONTRACTOR TO EVALUATE THE JOB. A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER THEY CALLED ME AND SAID THEY WANTED TO LEAVE THE LAUNDRY ROOM IN ITS PRESENT LOCATION AND PUT IN A FULL BATHROOM. ON A RETURN VISIT WITH MY CONCRETE CONTRACTOR, THEY ENLARGED THE ADDITION TO A FAMILY RM., BEDROOM WITH CLOSET AND FULL BATHROOM. I'M JUST TRYING TO SHOW A PATTERN OF CHANGES WHICH ARE PART OF ANY JOB DECISIONS. THIS IS WHY I GAVE THEM A "BALLPARK" PRICE WITHIN $2,000 TO $3,000. I TOLD THEN I WOULD GIVE THEM A TYPED, DETAILED PROPOSAL WHEN THEY DECIDED WHAT THEY WANTED. THEY TOLD ME THEY HAD NOT YET SOLD THEIR HOUSE IN N.J. AND WOULD GET BACK TO ME AT A LATER DATE. THEY WERE VERY UNDECISIVE ON WHAT THEY WANTED. I TAKE PRIDE IN MY BUSINESS AND FOR THEM TO SAY I WAS UNPROFESSIONAL AND LATE WITH MY ESTIMATE IS ABSURD."

"AT MY INITIAL MEETING WITH THE MEMBER, HE REQUESTED A WOOD REPLACEMENT WINDOW BY WEATHERSHIELD WITH TRUE DIVIDE APPLIED GRIDS. AFTER PRICING THIS WINDOW AT TWO DIFFERENT SUPPLIERS, I CALLED HIM BACK WITH A QUOTE PER WINDOW INSTALLED. HE INDICATED TO ME THAT THE PRICE SOUNDED HIGH, AND THAT HIS NEIGHBOR HAD INSTALLED SOME OF THE SAME WINDOWS TO HIS HOUSE A FEW YEARS BACK BUT HE WAS NOT HAPPY WITH HIS WORK. HE REMEMBERED THE SUPPLIER'S NAME, SO I CALLED AND GOT A BETTER PRICE THAN MY SUPPLIERS. I CALLED HIM BACK WITH A 2ND QUOTE. HE SEEMED PLEASED, BUT DID NOT COMMIT. I CALLED HIM BACK A FEW WEEKS LATER FOR THE 3RD TIME (AFTER MY INITIAL MEETING) AND ASKED IF HE WAS STILL INTERESTED. HE SAID I COULD SEND A PROPOSAL IN CASE HE DECIDED TO DO THE JOB. AT THIS POINT I HAD THE FEELING THAT I WAS WASTING MY TIME. HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD I SPEND ESTIMATING A JOB OF 12 WINDOWS?"

"NO EXCUSES FROM ME. I SHOULD HAVE MADE MORE OF AN EFFORT TO MEET WITH THE MEMBER."