My specification meeting ended early and the next meeting to resolve structural changes started early. We wrapped everything up by 4:30. Once again I made the short trip to my office to return phone calls and look over my schedule through the end of the week. The office manager left promptly at 5 p.m.
As I started to read and sort my e-mail, I looked up from my computer and noticed a couple walking up to the office entrance with a fat, rolled-up set of plans. “This can’t be,” I said out loud. I greeted the visitors at the reception area. It was the Stapletons. My comments to them can be summarized as follows:
- Our production schedule at Dixon Builders is full until next spring. We won’t solicit or take on projects that we cannot fully manage and supervise.
- I cannot prepare an estimate for you by next Friday. It usually takes us several weeks to thoroughly generate an estimate that determines a contract amount. I find it very difficult to conceive that anyone could prepare an accurate estimate that quickly.
- Are your plans and specs 100 percent complete? We will not start any project until everything is designed, defined, and spelled out. Beginning the project with open-ended details just leads to problems between owner and builder.
- How many builders have you spoken to? And how do you know that this is a $3 million project? Has anyone prepared an estimate or is it all verbal? And by the way, we don’t do cost-plus, only fixed-price projects here at Dixon.
Just to satisfy my curiosity, how come you waited this long to contact us? You’re looking for a prom date at the last minute. Their responses:
- We’re not holding our project back for any builder!
- Several builders we interviewed looked over the plans for several minutes, and they all said they could do the project cost-plus for our budget amount of $3 million.
- The $3 million budget came from a builder in Phoenix we had been working with, who had to bow out of the project. He realized he could not properly build a project in Flagstaff, 150 miles away from his office.
- Dennis, this is your last chance. We’ll leave these plans here so you can work on a price by Friday.
“No,” I replied, “please don’t leave those plans here. Our schedule is full. We cannot comply with your timetable or your project needs. But thank you for considering us. If something changes, give us a call.” We shook hands.
At that, the Stapletons turned and left my office with their plans. I felt empty, somewhat befuddled, and inadequate. Regret crept in. Had I just chased away a potential client? I really was trying to be professional in this somewhat ridiculous scenario.
Several days went by. At about 9 on a weeknight my wife and I were relaxing in our den when the phone rang and our 12-year-old appeared (I’m already a little off-key because my son’s bedtime was at 8). “Dad, there’s some guy on the phone for you and he says it’s real important.”
“Hello? Dennis, this is Mike Stapleton. I just wanted to let you know that my wife and I have thought about what you told us, and we think you’re right, especially after reviewing the situation with our architect. What really got us going was the fact that other builders looked at our plans for several minutes and were ready to jump in and sign a $3 million contract. That convinced us that we were taking the wrong approach to our dream home. We want to know if you’ll give us another chance? We’re gonna have this home a long time, and if we have to wait several months to begin, so be it. And besides, we’ve got lots of open-ended details to resolve, as you called them. We’d like to make an appointment at your earliest convenience to discuss the process.”
I was dumbfounded. I found a convert in the marketplace. “Sure! Just let me know a couple of days ahead the next time you’re coming to Flagstaff, and we’ll set up an appointment.”
I wound up building a home for the Stapletons, and I consider them one of the 10 best clients I’ve ever built for. And just think, it almost didn’t happen due to impatience and schedules on both sides!
Dennis A. Dixon is an author, contractor, and speaker with 21 years of experience in the building industry. You can e-mail him at dixven@aol.com.
