Return now to Castle Rock, Colo. You may recall a situation I noted in my May/June 2003 column (“Judgment Calls”) that involved footprints in the concrete walk and drive discovered during orientation. Well, the service adventures of these homeowners only got worse.
As I reported, the offending concrete was ultimately removed and replaced—in January. If this were a soap opera instead of a column, at this point you would hear suspenseful music followed by a commercial. Anyone who builds in a part of the country that has four seasons knows what’s coming.
Time passes. The homeowners travel back and forth between the U.S. and their second home in Amsterdam. Upon return from one of their stays in Europe, they notice that the single stone of driveway that was replaced had developed some chips along the edges. Unconcerned at first they go about their lives. But the deterioration continues and begins to include the entire surface of this part of the drive, revealing a significant amount of aggregate. The balance of the drive, incidentally, showed no sign of this condition. The walk to the front door likewise was fine. Several months go by, and the damage becomes serious.
The homeowners reported the problem on the year-end warranty list. When the builder’s warranty office called to set an inspection appointment, the homeowners were alerted over the phone that there was no warranty on concrete. The inspection superintendent repeated that policy at the inspection: “Concrete is not covered by the warranty.”
The homeowners persisted. Another call to the warranty office resulted in an inspection by the concrete contractor—the person who will have to do the work and stand the cost if the concrete is replaced. His conclusion: “Well, the walk was poured from the same batch of concrete, and it’s OK. So what you have here is damage from road chemicals.”
The homeowners, who had not even been in the country, could not have parked their car with all four tires perched on the drive’s one stone, thus sparing the rest of the drive from damage. Pursuing the issue further the homeowners pointed this out to the concrete contractor and suggested, “Perhaps the finisher did something wrong? Or could it have been the night temperatures—it was January when the work was done.”
“Absolutely impossible,” Mr. Concrete replied. “What you need to do is wash off the tires in the street, you know with a hose and all, to get that road salt off before you pull into your drive. Besides, concrete’s not covered by the builder warranty anyway.” (I swear this is true.)
Undaunted, the homeowners made another call to the builder and were successful in getting an appointment with the head of the service department. The previous conversations were repeated with this third individual. The conclusion this time was, “We’ll look at it again in the spring.” Translation: Maybe you’ll forget about it, and besides by then your warranty will have expired.
By now the builder had begun construction on the adjoining site. Upon return from another month in Amsterdam, the same homeowners noted some excavation had occurred around the power pole for this neighboring home. They further discovered there was no electricity in half of their home—the half with the refrigerator. The puddle on the hardwood floor in the kitchen had pretty much dried up. But the damage it left showed clearly how far melting ice can travel. The contents of the refrigerator had grown into interesting colors and shapes requiring several hours of cleanup.
The next morning another call to the builder’s warranty office produced a heavy sigh. Clearly the builder believed he had a difficult homeowner here. “You’re actually out of warranty,” he said. “As a courtesy I’ll ask the superintendent to stop by, but it’s unlikely this is our fault. You should contact your homeowner insurance company.”
So here we are: Superintendent and homeowners, standing at the end of the drive with the single spalled stone, staring at cut wires that now stick up from the 3-foot-deep hole alongside the temporary power pole next door. The superintendent looked right at this and said with a straight face, “We haven’t touched this. This has nothing to do with your electrical problem. Did the office mention that you are out of warranty?” The superintendent departed, mumbling about demanding customers and the unrealistic expectations of today’s home buyer. “They just want everything perfect!”
That afternoon the utility company representative arrived, invited by the homeowners. This gentleman determined that the problem—which by now the homeowner has discovered involves the cable TV as well—was caused by the excavation next door. Another call to the builder’s warranty office. The head of warranty will come out, the same person who was going to review the concrete problem again “in the spring.”
Confronted with the physical evidence, the testimony of the utility company rep, and relentless homeowners, this head of warranty surrenders. “I guess we’re responsible for this. We’ll take care of everything. And we’ll replace that one piece of your drive as well.”
The electrician restored power. The cable TV company restored the cable TV. The hardwood floor company inspected the damage to the floor. They have been instructed by the head of warranty to do “whatever it takes” to make the floor right.
Some naive industry newcomers might conclude at this point that these homeowners will now be content and think highly of this builder. Not so. What the homeowners will remember is the repeated knee-jerk reactions, the failure to investigate fully and promptly the decisions made from the warranty desk, the condescending “courtesy” inspection, the illogical answers—in other words they’ll remember the battle to be treated fairly. If you were these homeowners’ next builder, what could your company do to restore trust and respect for the home building industry?
Carol Smith offers customer service assessment, consulting, and training programs for home builders. She can be reached at csmithhomeaddress@att.net.
