I told a gc my thoughts

[grumpydasmurf]

We've been working for this GC for the past 2 years. I sent them an e-mail one slow day and it turned into some work and some headaches. One very odd project we have been working on, the GC's personal home, is huge and has had every design change you can think of. Our roof was cut into on a daily basis. I have never seen a roof with so many vent pipes for ac plumbing etc...

Anyways we completed the secondary roofing to the tune of $7,000. This was just repairs and changes. The payment was due 3 months ago and I had been getting the run around since. All other jobs were paid on time in full no questions. FInally yesterday their assistant, who is a very nice girl, convinced her boss to pay. She said come on in and sign a waiver and I'll give you the check. Well... the numbers didnt match. Actually their check was for my original numbers but minus the 3 months of late fees.

Their accountant was standing near by helping another sub figure out his check and he asked me "Are those for late fees?" I responded "yes". His response was "Our company policy is not to pay late fees."

You can imagine what I told him.

[Rich]

What a crock. In my opinion that's a good way to lose a good subcontractor. In the first place, just paying a sub late is no good.. and then to really turn the knife not pay the fees.
Many GC's don't understand that the reason they get word-of-mouth references is due to the subcontractors who perform the work that they can't. Yeah GC's can come down hard on subs (I know I have many times) but in the end it's in their best interest to have an amicable relationship. That is of course if the sub does good work.
I hope their ears were on fire.

[grumpydasmurf]

I fixed leaks for this guy on some of his rental properties that no other roofer has been able to find. I know I give better warranties than the roofer I replaced.

I think this year I am going to limit my GC work. I have some GCs I enjoy working for but I've experienced too many heacaches with the GC's. At some point last year I thought the opposite and sought out GC's for the repat business factor.

I just can't win.