Referring others

I frequently get asked about other types of work while out working on the roofs. Things that I don't do like sheetrock work, painting, etc. I've always been a bit weary about referring other companys or individuals and refused to do so for the last several years until this year.

I started recommending a guy around the first of the year and he was doing a good job as far as I could tell. Well, the phone rings the other day and its one of my clients who I referred to him. She's not too happy with him or his work and giving me an ear full about it.

Although his work is no responsibility of mine, it's still the same old song and dance. Like when a client asks for a ballpark price without a site visit stating "I won't hold you to it". Yeah, right. So basically, he cost me this referring client and all I did was try to help both of them.

Seems in the end, it always falls back on me and bites me in the butt. :blink:

Well, doing only repair work these days, I find myself stumbling across many other types of small home repairs that the home owners can't seem to find anyone to do.

I spent my whole life working strictly on roofs but now I'm seeing the dollar signs on all these other repairs.

On one hand I feel like I'm too old to start learning these things but on the other it seems to make sense for me to start doing some of this stuff.

Like you guys, in the past I would just trade it out for roof work, get a small finders fee or just give it to them but as Vaa stated none of that is really worth while.

Is it true that you can't teach an old dog new tricks?:laugh:

Years back, there was a framer/builder guy that I worked with. He had given me a couple of roofs on additions that he had done and I had hired him for carpentry a half-dozen times.

He passed me on to his customer to do the tile roof on the addition he was framing. His customer was not only a deadbeat, but pure evil. I later read in the paper that he was sent to prison for molesting his granddaughters. I had to crash Easter dinner with his family to get paid.

Later, in talking to John, he admitted that he knew what an A-hole this guy was before he ever gave him my name. I never used John again for carpentry, maybe I was unfair, but it pissed me off he got me involved.

I hear you. Have had that happen to me also. I've had some subtrades do work for me and they were great and then you refer them to your client and they suddenly turn into the contractor from hell.