Sam Oscar owns a plumbing company. I wrote about him a few years back (see “Why Oscar Plumbing Will Never Make Much Money” in CRACKS, SAGS, AND DIMWITS – LESSONS TO BUILD ON, www.constructioncalc.com, 2006). Sam’s brother-in-law, Frank Meyer, owns a drywall company. Both companies are small and both are perpetually broke. Here’s the Meyer side of the story.
I’ve known Frank Meyer for about five years, though I’ve never had the opportunity to work with him. Frank is a likeable character – a nice guy and a family man. We talked on several occasions about our respective lines of work. From those conversations I gleaned that he has done some impressive jobs and has been in business a good, long time. I could tell from the vehicles he drives that he probably wasn’t rich but seemed to be doing okay – which in these tough economic times is something.
As you get to know people like Frank Meyer you make mental notes and think thoughts like: Next time someone asks me for a drywall guy, I’ll mention Frank.
Well, my good buddy, Ole Van Stroodle, undertook a major remodel this year. Ole does a lot of his own work but subs out certain trades, like drywall. Sure enough he asked if I knew anyone.
“Now that you mention it, Ole,” I said, “I do know a guy. Name’s Frank Meyer. He’s a small-time contractor who’s been around a while. I hate to recommend someone without having actually worked with him before, but Frank sure seems like a safe bet. Here’s his number…”
Ole was grateful and made the call. Frank was on his jobsite the next day.
I got a phone call later that evening. It was Ole. “Tim, thanks for passing along Frank’s name. I really liked him and he knows his trade well. There was one small thing, though. He said he needed a week to do an estimate. Does that sound reasonable? You know, my job isn’t that big; not to mention drywall is smack in the middle of my critical path and I’ve got other trades following with tight schedules.”
“Maybe he’s busy,” I replied. “I suppose a week to do a takeoff and estimate isn’t too far out of line. Did you tell him you’re on a tight schedule?”
“Yes, I made a point of it.”
I started getting an uneasy feeling in my gut that I might have led my good friend down a bad path. “Well, maybe you should have another sub give you a bid? I only know Frank casually, and not in a business sense. Maybe he’s all talk and no action.”
“Boy, if that’s the case, he sure is a good actor,” Ole said. “I’ll give him a week.”
I happened to cross paths with Frank a couple days later. He made a point to sincerely thank me for the referral. I thought about mentioning Ole’s timeframe but didn’t because I shy away from telling businessmen how to run their business.
A week later my phone rang. It was Ole. “Tim, do you have another phone number for your friend, Frank?”
“Um, no. The cell number I gave you is the only one I’ve got. Don’t tell me…”
“Well, it’s not looking good. I’ve called several times. He never answers nor does he return messages.”
“I’m sorry, Ole. Do you want me to try calling?
“No, not really. I don’t want to make this your problem. Turns out my cabinets are running late too, so I’ll give him a couple more days.”
The short ending to this sorry tale is that Frank Meyer is full of bologna. He never returned the calls. Ever! Ole, suddenly in a rush, hired someone else and paid a premium for his “poor planning.” I’ve seen Frank several times since and he didn’t breathe a word about it. I didn’t bring it up either for two reasons: First, slackers like that have nothing but excuses, which I can’t stand. And second, I was so ticked off for making me look bad, I didn’t trust how I’d react when the excuses started flowing. So I just smiled, chatted briefly about the weather and bailed.
But, of course, the thought I was thinking was this: Not only will I never recommend you again; if I even hear your name mentioned in conversation concerning a potential drywall contractor I will go out of my way to tell this story.
Lessons learned:
* Never give a referral unless you have actual working knowledge of the person / company.
* Have some integrity, for Pete’s sake. When you tell someone something, like your timeframe, honor it. And if you can’t, at the very least call well before the deadline.
* If you want to be a slacker, fine. Just don’t let your ineptitude affect anyone else.
* Keep in mind that your actions have ripple effects well beyond one or two other people or trades.
