contractors, vendors, project payment
TLDR: Company did shoddy work that is beneath my standards. Should I make the contractor come back and do it the right way even though he has to take a loss?
Here is the long version:
I have a problem that I hope people can help brainstorm perspectives. Here is my eperience. I've been doing this for a small bit now (10+ years) so I know a small amount of construction but as an investor, I'm not an expert.
Here is the problem:
New contractor. Steam systems are a dying business so it's hard to find people who know what they are doing. My usual vendor couldn't schedule so I vetted and picked the best one I thought was the best of the worst. (Is it me but is it harder to find good plumbers these days? Plumbers that will do things the right way?) Scope of work was installing a large section of steam piping. The final result looks terrible. I know quite a bit about how complex steam can be. It's hard. But the steam part isn't really relevant here. It's the poor workmanship. I'm never going to hire this company again (not because of one bad crew but I now notice more red flags now from this small business.
But I'm a terrible businessperson because of my morality, integrity, and kindness As I get older, these values get stronger. I hate it. I don't want to hurt people even though they caused me harm. I feel the middle class is getting shadier as things get tighter so I don't necessarily blame them. I feel sympathy even though he tried to screw me. (I get screwed so many times a week.) (Btw, dont tell me that integrity in real estate is important. It's such a shady industry like so many others.)
Simply said, the pipe work is shoddy. That alone can't violate a contract but there a few things that are clearly wrong so I can get them to come back and fix them. My options:
1. Should I make them redo the entire work? Tear apart all the pipes and start fresh. Make them come back with a different crew and do it the right way? They will obviously take a loss for the job. I can't legally force them to produce beautiful work that I love. (It actually makes me proud and makes me work harder.) I can only force them to correct the areas so they meet the the manufacturer's specs. But there is a good chance that I can demand and push the owner to start all over when I send over pictures of the final work.
2. Or, should I let it slide and make them just fix the outright things that will allow the system to function properly. It'll last a quite a while but not anything close to #1. It's not in public view but I'll see it a lot as I pass by it.
Which option would you pick and why? I know I should do #1. My partner isn't facing the same moral dilemmacorrectly reminds me that I dont want to get into a stressful situation that will last for days while I have so many other projects going on in which makes me totally busy and stressed. Stop sympathizing, make the quick decision and tell the owner about the idiot crew and force him send his best crew to do it correctly.
When I was younger, I would have picked #1 right away. It wouldn't be that stressful for me because I saw the world much more simply back then. Force the owner to come back and do it the right way. It's not my problem that his crew did a poor job. Why should I care that they did a bad job and take a loss?
But I think this is the reason why the US is falling faster as the middle class takes a nose dive. Everyone is trying to scam each other in the middle class because money is so tight. (Obviously, the .1% has taken it all. eg. The Walmarts own 40% of the US's wealth. It makes me sad that the white middle class ala Trump is fighting against the wrong enemy- China outsourcing and Mexican labor. They are fightint for the table scraps and the two sides really hate each other. Don't they notice that Alice Walton built herself her own "personal" museum with untaxed foundation income that she didn't contribute a penny to?)
Sorry for the long rant but it demonstrates why I feel for the small plumbing company and how even such seemingly black and white decisions that only involves $5,000 (It's alot but it's not going to put anyone out of business) is hurting my productivity. (It's important to me to make correct but quick decisions to get things done.)
But I want to do the right thing. Even though I'm not that wealthy, money as I get older has lost its glamour.
Which course of action would you take?