In December of 2010, my roof started leaking – a most inopportune time as I was preparing to travel for Christmas, preparing cakes for a charity bake sale, trying to conquer a huge learning curve for a new job in a new discipline and all other things that regular life brings. I went on the Homestars site and started calling contractors that were highly rated. I was amazed at the unprofessionalism of some people who did not even return my calls but I got a few responses. In one instance, I made an appointment and while I was on my way to the property (about 10 minutes before the appointment) the person called to say that he just got a big job and could no longer do my job. Apparently, he had gone to the site and then realised this! I later learned that that term, in translation, means “I don’t want to do your job”. I also found out that because my house was in a row in the downtown core, most people did not want to touch it as the work involved in moving material etc was intense. My next appointment was a representative with a major renovation chain store centre. They turned up and quoted a huge amount of money which included all the frills of insurance and warranties and guarantees. My next appointment was with Terry. I was, of course, expecting another similar response from the first guy, assuming that the only reason the chain store rep turned up was because he had to! Terry turned up and I immediately ended my search. I will summarize the things that set Terry above all others, including other types of contractors that I’ve used:
Timeliness: He got to the house before I did (I was five minutes late) and by the time I turned up, he commented on using a gauge of timeliness of arrival to measure the seriousness of the homeowner. I knew this was a serious person.
Knowledge and thoroughness: He then climbed on the roof and, in great detail, explained several different options and gave me the potential price range of each. He also pointed out features on other non-emergency parts of the roof and made suggestions about timelines in which they should be done. I felt informed and, because of that, was comfortable with the decision I eventually made.
Professionalism and reliability: I asked him about next steps. He assured me that he would get the job done within the next few days and that he did. It was a relief, especially with my timelines.
Of course, as you imagine, I followed up with Terry again this year. I called him in August of this year to follow up on the aforementioned non-emergency parts of the roof. What I loved about Terry is that when he sent the quote, which I initially thought was high, he did not get defensive or aggressive when I called to question it as I find people tend to when their prices are questioned, but he actually took the time to explain the breakdown. I was fine with it. What I found very professional was that Terry was busy and did not try to make any promises he could not keep. There was one part of the roof that had been attacked by racoons so there was some degree of urgency. He was up front and honest about timelines, promising to fit me in once openings became available and, again, was able to pull through for me. In all of this, I preferred to wait until Terry was ready than even think about enlisting the services of anyone else. Terry is now my go to roof person and I will definitely recommend him to anyone I know that needs roof work.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $0.00