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RUN LIKE HELL (and don't look back)

Being a home performance contractor, or any contractor is being in the service industry.  If you want to grow your business, it is important to take care of your customers and provide excellent service and delivery of your products to create raving fans or simply to stay out of trouble.  That being said, I don't think the customer is always right and have done over 1000 audits and retrofits with many experiences with homeowners that bend the truth to their convenience to take advantage of us.  I would like to think I have been around the block and seen sabotage and deceit from my own crew and auditors to the homeowners I am trying to help, although I am smart enough not to say I've seen it all.  I will say if we mess up, crack the drywall or something else, I am quick to take responsibility, fix it and make it right but there is a definite line between our mistakes and a client being unreasonable and I will defend my team against senseless claims.  This list is by no means an excuse to get out of doing good work, cleaning up, or being professional.  Here are some tips for home performance contractors, auditors and crew members to help cover your bases in this industry.  

Homeowners

I have walked away from jobs under the situations below.

1. If a homeowner sounds too happy, goes too fast or is in a hurry (likely a combination of the three), I would suspect something is wrong and use precaution when accepting to do an audit or any work for them.  
   
2. If a homeowner wants to trade services instead of paying you actual money, use precaution.  We actually Googled this homeowner's name that tried to pull that sh** and he came up as a notorious E-bay scammer... no thanks!
3. If, despite your efforts to involve the homeowner during the audit, there is little involvement or caring what you do or say, use caution. I would make it a point to spell out everything you are going to do during the install, what's on the contract, what the rebates are, how many people are coming to the house, how long it will take and anything else related to the job.  The last thing you want is you thinking, "that was easy!" and the homeowner later unhappy because they didn't know what they were getting into.

Sales Staff / Owners

1. Have a signed contract.  No matter how trust-worthy that nice old lady is having a signed contract and approval for work goes miles.
2. If the homeowner wants to add additional work or side work during the job, don't proceed unless you have a signed changed order with the estimate all spelled out.
   
3. Set expectations before your sell the job. I tell the homeowner the work is a dirty job, crawling around in attics and crawlspaces and blowing insulation and that have mitigation protocols to minimize dust and stay clean (which your crew should follow to the letter) but we would be at the house all day cleaning up every spec of dust.  Here I like to under-promise and over deliver, but I have been in homes where we could not make the homeowner happy no matter how many times we vacuumed a room and were cleaning his dog's hair more than our dust.

Crew / Auditor

1. Walk through the house and take pictures of existing leaks, cracks in the ceilings, walls or anything else imperfect in the house before you start work.  This way you have some proof who really cracked the drywall one week after your work is done.

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