Why don't they want my money?
Contractors, that is. For some reason they don't seem to be interested in it. Is this profession in such high demand that they just sit around waiting for customers to beat down their doors and stuff hundreds in their pants? I don't get it.
See, we're trying to remodel a bathroom. New tile, granite counter-top, new shower stall, new fixtures, vessel sinks, vanities, mirrors, lights, and toilet. We've already picked out most of the fixtures and materials. For the service of installing all this junk, I'm fully prepared to pay a substantial amount of money.
So I've contacted a couple contractors. In both cases, they quickly set up an appointment and came out to our house personally. They looked at the space, discussed our ideas, offered some suggestions, even took measurements. They each said they'd look some stuff up and get back to us. Then they proceeded to disappear off the face of the planet. And I'm not whining about them not getting back to me in a week or something - we're talking *months* during which I've left several phone messages and offered contact via phone or email, with nary a peep. What the hell?
And that's only half of it. I've got lists of more people, gotten from some of the suppliers we've been at looking for materials. But since I really hate cold-calling people to begin with, I'd like to know more about them first, so as not to be asking someone who strictly does tile work to install our shower or what have you. So, I figure, I've got names, phone numbers, and sometimes businesses - this should be trivial to look up on the internet right?
Nope. Not at all. With well over a dozen people tried, I have not gotten a *single* useful hit other than yellow-pages entries with nothing more than an overly-broad category, and community directory entries obviously culled directly from said yellow-pages and never touched by a human being. So not only does not a single solitary one of these people have their own web page, nobody has even *mentioned* them in a way that turns up in Google. My mind is boggled. I don't think I've come across another industry in the last decade with such a complete and utter lack of online info.
Has anyone else had experience in this area? Are I doin' it wrong, or what?
(Note: I am vaguely aware of Angie's List. It looks like you have to subscribe to a friggin' newsletter to actually access anything useful. Why has nobody made a million dollars by throwing together a free, open, searchable contractor review site and serving ads alongside it?)
See, we're trying to remodel a bathroom. New tile, granite counter-top, new shower stall, new fixtures, vessel sinks, vanities, mirrors, lights, and toilet. We've already picked out most of the fixtures and materials. For the service of installing all this junk, I'm fully prepared to pay a substantial amount of money.
So I've contacted a couple contractors. In both cases, they quickly set up an appointment and came out to our house personally. They looked at the space, discussed our ideas, offered some suggestions, even took measurements. They each said they'd look some stuff up and get back to us. Then they proceeded to disappear off the face of the planet. And I'm not whining about them not getting back to me in a week or something - we're talking *months* during which I've left several phone messages and offered contact via phone or email, with nary a peep. What the hell?
And that's only half of it. I've got lists of more people, gotten from some of the suppliers we've been at looking for materials. But since I really hate cold-calling people to begin with, I'd like to know more about them first, so as not to be asking someone who strictly does tile work to install our shower or what have you. So, I figure, I've got names, phone numbers, and sometimes businesses - this should be trivial to look up on the internet right?
Nope. Not at all. With well over a dozen people tried, I have not gotten a *single* useful hit other than yellow-pages entries with nothing more than an overly-broad category, and community directory entries obviously culled directly from said yellow-pages and never touched by a human being. So not only does not a single solitary one of these people have their own web page, nobody has even *mentioned* them in a way that turns up in Google. My mind is boggled. I don't think I've come across another industry in the last decade with such a complete and utter lack of online info.
Has anyone else had experience in this area? Are I doin' it wrong, or what?
(Note: I am vaguely aware of Angie's List. It looks like you have to subscribe to a friggin' newsletter to actually access anything useful. Why has nobody made a million dollars by throwing together a free, open, searchable contractor review site and serving ads alongside it?)