Guys, please help me out with your opinion.
I ordered tiles and had them delivered to the property.
I specifically told the contractor in writing, what tiles were to go on the bathroom floor and walls.
Today he sent me pictures of the tiled bathroom. I was shocked when I saw that he has used random tiles, not the ones I had instructed. By random, I mean I didn’t even buy these tiles, so I don’t know where they came from. He just found some tiles laying around the property and put those up. But because there weren’t enough of them, he then used another tile, so there are 2 types of floor tile, which looks atrocious. They are also beige, a colour I think is woeful, whilst the rest of the colour scheme through the house is white and grey.
I’ve asked him to remove and redo it and he’s not happy and won’t redo it. I don’t know how to resolve this situation.
Yup, definitely a f*ck up...but more on your part than his...
It takes at least a couple days to tile floors and walls -- did you not visit the property at all during this time, or did you not have someone representing you visit the property? It's YOUR project, YOUR business, YOUR house -- which means when something like this goes wrong, it's YOUR fault.
Given your description of the issue, I'm going to guess that this guy is a handyman type, and isn't full-time tile contractor -- professional tile contractors wouldn't make a mistake like this (they would check, double-check and triple-check their work before proceeding). Which means you were probably hiring someone who was less expensive than a professional tile contractor. Nothing wrong with that, but that's just another reason why it's YOUR responsibility to oversee what he's doing and make sure he's not making a mistake.
Now, if I'm wrong, and he is a professional tile contractor, my guess is that he'll be happy to fix this work for free, as a good tile guy would care about his reputation. On the other hand, if I'm right, and you tried to save some money without managing him closely, then I would eat the cost and chalk this one up to a lesson learned. Next time, either hire someone who is more experienced and self-sufficient, manage more closely and/or put systems in place to ensure this doesn't happen (like having a clear scope of work with diagrams/pictures).
Btw, I don't mean to be harsh here -- I've made PLENTY of similar mistakes over the years, but I make fewer and fewer of them as time goes on, as I accept full responsibility and recognize that I'm the one who needs to do better next time...
Next week will be 10 years since I wrote this article -- I read it at least once a year to remind myself that everything that goes wrong in my business is MY fault:
@Jason Snider
You are spot on Jason. After I got over my initial shock, we had a conversation about what happened. Firstly, he had somehow missed the message with my instructions and secondly he used 2 different floor tiles thinking he was saving me money by not buying more.
At least I know to have a more thorough document outlining designs in the future now.
I'm really surprised at how many "this is entirely your fault" responses the OP is getting. People here must tolerate a lot more nonsense out of their contractors than I do.
Seems the opposite to me.
When you learn to accept responsibility for every aspect of your business, you don't tolerate any nonsense, as that nonsense is reflection of your failure.
When you blame others for problems in your business, it's easy to accept the nonsense and chalk it up to, "Well, it wasn't my fault...nothing I could have done..."
Just my $.02...
I see this situation as the OP making some mistakes here, but I also see (if all the actual facts have actually been written here in this thread) that the tile guy was given explicit instructions and failed to follow those instructions. I certainly would hold him or her accountable for it and make him fix it. What possible explanation can he give for using two different tiles, both of which were not either of the selected and provided tiles, and what possible excuse can he give for not fixing the issue at his cost for you?
At this point, you either have him fix it or you fire him and pay another to fix it. Regardless if you decide to pay it twice or once, this will be a good learning lesson for you moving forward.
I'm really surprised at how many "this is entirely your fault" responses the OP is getting. People here must tolerate a lot more nonsense out of their contractors than I do.
Seems the opposite to me.
When you learn to accept responsibility for every aspect of your business, you don't tolerate any nonsense, as that nonsense is reflection of your failure.
When you blame others for problems in your business, it's easy to accept the nonsense and chalk it up to, "Well, it wasn't my fault...nothing I could have done..."
Just my $.02...
The way I exert "responsibility" over independent contractors is by firing their arses if they can't perform.. not by coddling them. I'm not effetely asking "oh what ever could I have done?".. I'm saying they're either fixing the garbage work, for free, or they're fired, for ever.
By the way, nobody worth a crap would even push back on fixing this. It's not whether mistakes will happen (they always will).. it's how they're handled when they do happen. Everyone I have working for me fixes their own screwups without complaint. Anyone who whines, cries, grumbles, and resists when it comes to fixing their own errors has to go.
Nobody worth a crap would make this mistake in the first place.
If there's one thing I've learned after 400+ rehabs, either contractors are professional enough that they don't need their hands held, or they're not professional enough to not need their hands held -- in which case, my project manager will hold their hand the entire way.
The OP hired someone who needed his hand held, but the OP didn't hold his hand. Hence it was the OP's fault that this happened.
As others pointed out the OP made some mistakes however the tiler also made some mistakes.
@J Scott seems to imply that anything short of micro managing places the blame at the OP but I do not agree. Micro managing will ensure no mistakes assuming the OP can micro manage everything.
I believe in hiring competent people and if there is an error then my penalty for not having enough oversite is usually limited to the lost time and being behind schedule. If it is my mistake, I pay for it. If a competent contractor should have gotten it right then I expect the contractor to fix it.
However, I do not rely on texts without having received a confirmation from the receiver. Some of the people I deal with may think I am micromanaging but if I send a text of something important (this qualifies as important) and do not get a response, I will be sending another text requesting a confirmation.
So contractor/handyman did not see the text. That can happen. Contractor assumed which tile went where. That should not happen. Contractor chose to install 2 different sets of tile without checking with either the OP or the person the OP hired for oversite. That should not happen.
I believe the tiler should fix the issue as they made some incompetent decisions. I believe the OP eats the delay and impact to the schedule and comes away with some items that they could do better for next time (it is a rare rehab were I do not learn something I can do better next time).
No way in this case would I pay the tiler his full rate for initial tile job and pay him again to do it correct. If I had to pay him his full rate for the initial job because we could not work something out, he would no longer work for me. I expect more from the people I hire.
Not micromanaged. Just managed appropriately.
You mentioned that the tiler in this case did something incompetent. As the business owner, if you hire someone who is capable of doing something incompetent, don't you think it's your responsibility to manage them more closely than if they were the type of person not to do something incompetent?
And if you didn't think he would do something incompetent, isn't it your responsibility to be more careful when hiring and to know your employees?
Either you overestimated this person, which is your fault. Or you knew that they had the ability to be incompetent, but didn't manage them, which is your fault. Either way, it's the business owner's fault.
It's your business, which means it's your responsibility if something goes wrong.
I haven't had an issue like this since 2010, when one of my painters painted all the trim in one of my houses a light purple, instead of white. It doesn't matter how something like that happened; as the guy who owned the business, the buck stopped with me. It was my fault. And I decided that it would never happen again.
It's 10 years later, over 300 flips later, most of my projects are in a different state, I haven't been on site on an active project in years, and yet something like that still hasn't happened again.
In addition to having good systems and processes, that's because I manage my projects. More specifically, I hire people to manage my projects. But, I manage them.
And because I accept responsibility for everything bad that happens on my projects and in my businesses, I'm constantly asking myself, "How do I ensure that nothing goes wrong?" And then I make I make it doesn't... And accept responsibility when it does.
Life is easier when you blame others. But it's more successful when you don't.
Yup, definitely a f*ck up...but more on your part than his...
It takes at least a couple days to tile floors and walls -- did you not visit the property at all during this time, or did you not have someone representing you visit the property? It's YOUR project, YOUR business, YOUR house -- which means when something like this goes wrong, it's YOUR fault.
Geeze, if it takes a "couple days" for your guys to tile a bathroom, you need to have a talk with your guys about their productivity. This is a 1 day job. Maybe 2 if you talk 1 day in prep (during which time the contractor may not even have tiles on site) and 1 day in actual tile installation. Putting that kind of expectation and blame on Nat for being a victim here is unreasonable and irresponsible.
Nat, always check with a Florida lawyer. Your best recourse may be nonpayment or a reduced payment. I can't advise you on whether or not that is. Typically in construction law in most jurisdictions, the way it works out is you hire someone to fix the contractor's screw ups and deduct your costs from final payment to the contractor. Personally I work as a consultant in a forensic engineering firm that investigates improper construction in Florida but we're way to pricey for a job this size. If you can get advice from a FL board certified construction lawyer, yeah it'll cost you something like 500 bucks but it will be advice you can use across multiple jobs.
See that's where I paid attention. He only said the bathroom was tiled. Didn't way the grouting was also done. He also said he ordered the tile and had them delivered to the project. That means one of two things, either the supplier royally screwed up and his contractor said nothing or the tiles he ordered were stolen from him. Theft is not his fault for mismanagement or incompetence. This is why he needs to talk to a lawyer, not an online discussion forum.
Nat,
One more thing. Be careful not to libel or slander your contractor if he's licensed while investigating this. Florida has a professional defamation statute that is pretty strict on defamation of professionals who hold a license for the profession they operate in. It's also per se defamation, which means they don't have the burden to prove harm. Florida's a different animal from lots of other states. Again, best course is a lawyer.
Tim
Not micromanaged. Just managed appropriately.
You mentioned that the tiler in this case did something incompetent. As the business owner, if you hire someone who is capable of doing something incompetent, don't you think it's your responsibility to manage them more closely than if they were the type of person not to do something incompetent?
And if you didn't think he would do something incompetent, isn't it your responsibility to be more careful when hiring and to know your employees?
Either you overestimated this person, which is your fault. Or you knew that they had the ability to be incompetent, but didn't manage them, which is your fault. Either way, it's the business owner's fault.
It's your business, which means it's your responsibility if something goes wrong.
I haven't had an issue like this since 2010, when one of my painters painted all the trim in one of my houses a light purple, instead of white. It doesn't matter how something like that happened; as the guy who owned the business, the buck stopped with me. It was my fault. And I decided that it would never happen again.
It's 10 years later, over 300 flips later, most of my projects are in a different state, I haven't been on site on an active project in years, and yet something like that still hasn't happened again.
In addition to having good systems and processes, that's because I manage my projects. More specifically, I hire people to manage my projects. But, I manage them.
And because I accept responsibility for everything bad that happens on my projects and in my businesses, I'm constantly asking myself, "How do I ensure that nothing goes wrong?" And then I make I make it doesn't... And accept responsibility when it does.
Life is easier when you blame others. But it's more successful when you don't.
I agree the op should have provided more oversight but good managers delegate and do not micromanage. Sure if you micromanage you can ensure that things execute correctly (If you have the bandwidth to micro manage everything). But having to manage at that level places a ceiling that does not have to be there.
The op should have made sure the text was received but the tiler had great errors that should not occur. A tiler should be sure what tile they are to lay Before starting and, if not sure, should ask. If the tile is not enough to cover the area, the tiler should ask what should be done before continuing with a second type of tile. If you cannot rely on this level of competence then you have not delegated the work to the tiler and there is no ownership by the tiler.
Management training includes taking responsibility but it also includes delegation which includes assigning ownership.
The OP made mistakes, especially not confirming the text had been read, but the tiler (who OP otherwise indicated was competent) made some incompetent choices. OP can pay for that incompetence (which even if they do not pay the tiler for their labor, they pay for the incompetence with schedule impact and cost of tile) or they can hold the tiler responsible for their incompetence and not pay the tiler. I would have made sure the text was received, but regardless I would hold the tiler responsible for their incompetence because doing otherwise would require a level of micromanaging that would be burdensome.
We have a difference of opinion. I do not expect that I will convince you of the benefits of assigning ownership and responsibility. You will not convince me that efforts need to be managed to the level that the tiler is not expected to know he is laying the correct tile before starting to lay the tile and, probably worse, chooses to continue the tiling job with a second type of tile without consulting anyone.
You don't have to convince me of the benefits of delegation. I used to manage a 300 person product organization for Microsoft, so I believe I'm pretty well versed in management.
But, there are lots of ways to do things, and if everyone is getting the results they want in their business, that's all that matters! Just trying to give some insight into what's being working for me...
At this point, regardless who takes blame for it, and if what was stated in this thread is actually what happened, any competent tile installer would check with an owner on which tiles go where, in what pattern and with which grout color (I also agree that grout is part of a tile job). Since the installer appears to have royally screwed this job up, I don’t see why he or she would have a problem fixing it for you. If not, this tile installer is certainly not worth keeping as they don’t respect the business you are giving to him. So regardless who takes full responsibility for the screw up and which party we all think is to blame, ultimately it needs to be fixed so either tile guy ponies up or you eat it and never hire him again. That’s how I would work it.
@Tim Wieneke
Some place there is half a reply. The phone just pushed it somewhere. Oops!
So.
Your scope of work, of the specs, as I call it, are the law! No matter what you say, if it's not in writing, it gets done by someone else.
Remember, that you usually get what you pay for, or even what you deserve.
There is a reason we use blueprints. There is a reason the spec sheet lists where everything goes, and how it is to be applied.
Mistakes happen. I once cut the top of a door for size. Just because the boss said" just cut the basted door already"! He put an x where the cut was to be, and it was cut wrong!
It was an $800 mistake I would have had to eat, if my boss would not have given me the bad instructions, and his mark was on the piece I cut!
I have seen pink bathroom ceilings because someone wrote Bathroom ceilings on the wrong can! That was fun to watch. Different job, same boss.
Sorry, verbal instruction is a failure. Just about any "flipping" show can show you that.
So, eat the mistake. Next time write things down and go over everything with your superintendent.
@Tim Wieneke
Some place there is half a reply. The phone just pushed it somewhere. Oops!
So.
Your scope of work, of the specs, as I call it, are the law! No matter what you say, if it's not in writing, it gets done by someone else.
Remember, that you usually get what you pay for, or even what you deserve.
There is a reason we use blueprints. There is a reason the spec sheet lists where everything goes, and how it is to be applied.
Daniel,
I follow you. However the way the OP writes it, the OP is the one who ordered materials to be delivered to the job site. It's not just a question of who wrote what specs.
"I ordered tiles and had them delivered to the property.I specifically told the contractor in writing, what tiles were to go on the bathroom floor and walls."
Everybody jumped to the second sentence and jumped on Nat for "mismanagement" when they didn't really consider what is in the first sentence. Nat managed the materials order and had them delivered to the job site. Once they were on site they were Nat's property. The way it reads the contractor took Nat's property from the job site and substituted them with materials obtained somewhere else. That's not mismanagement. It sounds like Nat was just flat robbed. You can't manage or mismanage someone stealing from you. To beat up on Nat for being the victim of a potential crime is ridiculous.