This is a story about Bob and his $10,000 window. About a year ago, when oil prices
skyrocketed, Bob decided it was time for a new window. He had one old window that was
leaking air and he knew it was driving up his heating bills. "Better get that replaced before
winter," he thought to himself.
Bob called five contractors to get bids. Two were local companies with a lot of signs in his
neighborhood year round so they were easy to locate and he felt they must be doing a good
job or they wouldn't have so many signs up. He also tried a national brand of windows whose
advertisement he had heard on the radio. Finally, he asked around and was referred to a
couple of other guys who offered multiple services.
But the end result was not what he anticipated. First, one of the local companies with all
the signs never called him back. Of the two local guys in the neighborhood, one never called
back and the other, "Joe", promised to be there that very evening. He never showed up, but
Bob called him back anyway and gave him another chance. Joe promised to "stop by" within
the week.
Next, he called the other company with all the signs and the national brand. Both made
appointments with him right away and the local company even sent out an email to confirm
the appointment. So now Bob had three appointments for bids and that seemed like enough.
Within a couple of days the national brand company and the local company both showed
up on time for their appointments. Both salesmen really new their product and were courteous
and informative. Not only did they tell him everything about the windows and their service,
they also showed Bob insurance papers, licenses and advised him not to hire anybody to work
on his home if they weren't qualified or didn't have full insurance protection. Within a couple
of days Bob received clear and well written quotes from both companies and was surprised to
find the local company was 20% lower then the national brand, although he felt the prices
were comparable.
Just one more bid to go - the neighborhood jack-of-all-trades, Joe. Bob showed him the
window in question and Joe looked at it and said, "I can put a new window in for $300. You
buy the window and I'll come and do the work, cash only."
Bob though it was a great deal that would save him money.
"Can you measure it for me?" Bob asked.
"Sure" Joe replied. "Do you have a tape measure?"
Bob thought that was a bit unprofessional but loaned him his tape measure. Joe told him
the measurements and Bob wrote them down. A quick handshake and the deal was set. This
was in August.
Two weeks later the shop where Bob ordered the window called to let him know it had
arrived. He picked it up and then called Joe to set up the installation.
After three days worth of calls Bob finally got Joe on the phone. "Oh yeah," he said, "I
forgot all about that job. I'm really busy now but I can probably be out in a month."
Another month? Bob decided to let it go and wait.
A month later Bob called again and this time it took him almost a week to get an answer.
Once on the phone Joe said, "It's a really busy time of year. I'll get there in early November."
Another month went by.
After several more frustrating phone calls Bob finally got Joe to commit to installing the
window in mid December. It was an icy winter's day the morning Joe showed up.
Joe proceeded to lug the window up the stairs by himself, scraping the walls in the
process. He finally got the window into the room where it would be installed. All the while Bob
was working in his home office. At about 12:30 Joe came to see Bob.
"I need a ladder," he said. "I didn't know I had to put this in from the outside. Do you have
a ladder I can borrow?" Bob showed him his old ladder that he used to clean the gutters.
Joe then lugged the window down the stairs and outside and Bob went back to work. About
45 minutes later Bob heard a terrible crash. He rushed outside to discover that Joe had
attempted to carry the window up the ladder and had made it to the top when the ladder
slipped on some ice and came crashing down. Joe was severely injured.
Bob called 911 and an ambulance came. Joe ended up being flown to a Boston hospital for
emergency treatment.
Fast-forward a few months. Bob receives notification that Joe has filed a lawsuit against his
homeowner's insurance. Bob immediately called him. "No hard feelings," Joe said. "But I'm
hurt bad and I need the money."
Joe ended up getting a whopping $500,000 check from the insurance company.
Then, the insurance company told Bob that he was being dropped from their coverage.
"What!" he exclaimed. "I've been with you for 25 years and never had a claim before!"
He ended up being dropped, had to hire a lawyer and had to pay through the nose for his
new carrier to cover him. In all he estimates this mistake cost him $10,000.
The moral of Bob's story?
Homeowners, take a moment to think before you hire a non-professional or uninsured
company. There are plenty of legitimate companies out there and they deserve your business
when you need them. Sure, it's tempting to go the cheap route sometimes, but always
remember that if you hire a contractor without insurance, YOU are assuming a lot of risk and
it could cost you dearly.
Do the right thing and make sure your chimney sweep, your lawn care company, your
painter or any other company that works on your home is playing by the rules and has full
insurance. You'll be glad you did.