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huggytree
05-25-2009, 08:48 AM
I hired a relative to do my website & logo design....i paid 2-3x what i should have and got a product which was horrible.

i hired one of my contractors to remodel my powder room & laundry room....their workman ship was extremely bad...i did call them back to repair the worst of it, but let 90% of the flaws go...they are a great customer of mine and i couldnt say much....i feel their work was sooooo bad i cant refer them much anymore though...he seemed to do the worst job ive ever seen him do on my house....i figured he was giving me a deal and felt rushed.

now were probably going to remodel our kitchen this year...im considering hiring a complete stranger..ill get a referral from friends...i want to be able to fire this person if i dont like the work....i would have definately fired my relative w/ the website..when i had it redone they laughed at it....this is what my relative does for a living...i think i could have done better.

i have an uncle who is a contractor and i refuse to work with him...i dont want the trouble of dealing w/ relatives.

Patrysha
05-25-2009, 09:16 AM
I don't blame you for feeling that way since you've been burned in the past.

You don't owe your family a living even if you do need their services...especially if delivery of those services is going to be substandard. I expect better and I would've raised a stink about it...because I am like that. Even my children know what standards I expect them to meet when they do odd jobs for me for business (the household stuff is different, but work stuff they have to do as well as anyone else I might hire...they just do animations and photoediting and odd jobs like uploads and copy and paste work for me so far...only the older ones so far)

I know if I didn't work for and get referrals from friends I would have very
limited chances of working in town since most of my clients become friends over the course of the process.

I haven't worked for family though. Most of them don't quite get what I do and only one actually has a business that could use what I do, but he's been about to sell it off and retire every summer for the past five years (he says it every year that this is his last year) so I've never approached him about it.

huggytree
05-25-2009, 02:05 PM
my complaint is that when its someone you know you cant tell them 'you did a horrible job..your fired!'

if i would have told the contractor that i would be losing $15k+ in business per year.

the relative who did my website knows im wasnt very happy...our relationship is always tense....we dont discuss anything about my business now.

SteveC
05-25-2009, 07:00 PM
You need to tell people when they screw up... because if you don't they won't know. I tend to always buy from my customers whenever possible, however I still demand value and great service... if I don't get it, I tell them and as I know them all, they go out of their way to fix it... I imagine your contractor would have done likewise if you had mentioned it, if you didn't the main man might not even know how bad it was, and might be thinking how good a job they did.

As to the website, well family should always come first... so forget what has happened and move on... business is business when all is said and done.

And here is a tip, from the onset tell them that you expect first class work and that you will not accept anything less... so they need to price for this accordingly.

Business Attorney
05-26-2009, 11:24 AM
I think the remodeling of the powder room and the creation of the website are two different problems. The flaws with the powder room would probably be obvious to any competent contractor - uneven tiles, sloppy mitered joints in the woodwork, whatever... The contractor would probably recognize and acknowledge the flaws when they are pointed out.

The website, on the other hand, is much more subjective. I have met (and, in one unfortunate case, hired) "designers" who are proud of their 1990's-style web designs that would make most real designers gag. Some people who design small business websites for a living seem to have no design sense at all, and not much knowledge of SEO or marketing either. Telling them that their work is unacceptable is akin to telling them that they should go into a different business or at least go to design school and learn the basics of good design. They simply don't even know enough to understand that their designs are just plain bad.

Paper Shredder Clay
05-26-2009, 11:48 AM
If you value your relationship with your family or friend don't hire them and don't loan them money. Please continue to read though. If you have money and they need money, do like Dave Ramsey says, give it to them, try to help them make good decisions but don't loan it to them. I think the same thing goes for hiring family or friends, don't do it. UNLESS you know they are hardworking, passionate about their work. And if your personalities are compatible to work together. Don't strain your relationship.

KristineS
05-26-2009, 12:50 PM
If you can't speak with someone openly and honestly about the job they've done for you, then you probably shouldn't hire them. It is harder to work with friends and family because there are feelings involved, but the fact remains it is your hard earned money paying for the job. If you didn't get what you paid for, then you have the right to speak up.

Blessed
05-27-2009, 11:59 AM
I fired a friend once and then hired a friend to replace her. The first friend and I aren't friends anymore - she never got over being fired.

She was my assistant and worked about 10 hours a week. I was the managing editor and office manager of a twice weekly newspaper at the time. She came in one day, I said "hello" and then reminded her of what I needed her to do that day and she screamed at me and threw a little hissy fit in the front office - because she was "sick and tired of everyone always telling her what to do", in front of my boss and a customer - if she had done it in a back room we might have been able to overlook it, but not out front, with a customer in the office and another one or two on the phones, all of whom heard her ranting and raving. When she was finished with her fit she stomped off to the courthouse a couple of blocks over to do the copying I needed her to do and when I had finished with the customers I was helping, my boss said "Jenn, you know what you have to do." so I went over to the courthouse, thanked her for what she had finished, asked for her time card and told her she'd get her last check in the mail. Then she disolved in tears and begged and pleaded for a second chance and I had to be firm and say "sorry, see you later."

A couple of weeks later another friend came and asked if I still needed part-time help, since none of the temps we had tried we working out we gave her a chance and everything worked out fine. At work I was her boss, away from work we were friends - and we're still friends.

My point... some people can work for and with friends and family, some can't - people who can keep the roles separate - be professional at work and treat each other like they do everyone else and then be friends/family away from work can do it. Other people who can't keep their "worlds" separate can't do it.