Would you fire this plumber or am I being rash?

[slackerinabox]

My dad "hired" me to coordinate the remodeling of his investment property and I've been working with a lot of hired help, most of which have been stellar and live up to their reviews.
one 5 star rated plumber just has the worst attitude, i'll bullet list it:
1. He finds a way to insult whnever possible. If something doesn't line up right (toilet seat) it's because i bought a cheap part (I did't), if something doesn't fit right it's not his measurements it's because our house is old (one moment he insults the parts i buy the next moment "this vanity is too nice for a house this old).
2. he left old tenant's toilet in the kid bedroom on newly carpeted floors
3. He's fast and does the job but sloppy - he didn't align a bidet properly, blamed the "cheap part" (nytime's best rated budget bidet) then handyman that was on site was able to fix the problem in 15 minutes (screw was reversed)
4. He left all the boxes, etc. (i'm talking huge ones) strewn around the small apartment meaning i had to spend about an hour breaking things down so the painting crew could get in. every other provider has cleaned up after themselves

I'm relatively new at this so am a bit over my head, annoying personalities are maximized because i'm already stressed.

BUT he's affordable, licensed, and knows his trade.. Dump him mid project or just finish what we started? we're about 1/3rd of the way done with the tasks but he's not in the middle of any one of them (we're waiting on appliances)

 

[lxskllr]

The sloppy work is the only thing that concerns me. The attitude sucks too, but I give people with chops a lot of leeway regarding that. I'm paying for skilled work, not a new best bud. An attitude from a guy that does sloppy work? He better be cheap. Hundreds of dollars cheaper, I'd probably look for someone new. Thousands? I might be willing to deal with the deficiencies, but I doubt I'd use him on other projects.

 

[local]

1 - Meh, that is a contractor.
2 - Did it mess anything up or are you just upset about the situation? If it messed something up blast him.
3 - Fast, Good, Cheap pick two. Looks like you got fast and cheap.
4 - Fast and cheap doesn't usually include detailed cleanup.

I think lxskllr summed it up nicely. Use this as a learning experience because you WILL deal with these kind of contractors again. I am not saying he should be fired just that he has to be handled in a different way.

 

[slackerinabox]

1 - Meh, that is a contractor.
2 - Did it mess anything up or are you just upset about the situation? If it messed something up blast him.
3 - Fast, Good, Cheap pick two. Looks like you got fast and cheap.
4 - Fast and cheap doesn't usually include detailed cleanup.

I think lxskllr summed it up nicely. Use this as a learning experience because you WILL deal with these kind of contractors again. I am not saying he should be fired just that he has to be handled in a different way.

2- well, the carpets are brand new and I specifically said to put things out front or on the vinyl floors (the hardwood was just refinished too) and thought I was clear enough that they were new. yeah, the prior tenant were frat boys and their pee soaked toilet was on the carpet meaning I have to get them steam cleaned

 

[slackerinabox]

The sloppy work is the only thing that concerns me. The attitude sucks too, but I give people with chops a lot of leeway regarding that. I'm paying for skilled work, not a new best bud. An attitude from a guy that does sloppy work? He better be cheap. Hundreds of dollars cheaper, I'd probably look for someone new. Thousands? I might be willing to deal with the deficiencies, but I doubt I'd use him on other projects.

Thanks for the wisdom. Fired the guy .. ok, ghosting him at this point.. hahah. one of the remaining jobs is for a sink and faucet to be connected after the countertops come in and he's being SUPER vague about pricing ("i'm not sure how i'll get 3 appliances hooked up for water... We'll see..." But he's been on site 2 times, he should know what's entailed since he's been under the counter already. Found a licensed well reviewed plumber that gave me a no bullshit price including parts (The other plumber sent me to home depot for parts on my dime), easy decision.

 

[highland145]

I'd fire him but I'm used to my brother's quality work. He's not cheap, $140/hr.

 

[sswingle]

Plumbers must never be happy. Any I have ever had have had complaints such as my supposed cheap parts, or to complaining about tile floors in the bathroom when they had to cut the hole in it larger for a toilet.

 

[Midwayman]

1 and 4 don't really concern me. 2 and 3 do. Sloppy will bite you a year down the road when something starts leaking because it wasn't done right and you have to paid to have to done right and stuff repairs from damage. 2 just seem negligent. I mean if it was on plastic sheeting, whatever. Directly on carpet. WTF.

I'd probably cut him off when current work is finished.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

The plumber seems indifferent to how his or her work is seen. Sloppiness, especially the part of toilet on new carpet, alone would get him fired. Today's tradespeople are shitty, IMO, and this comes from personally trying to find a decent one (good ones are impossible to find in my area).

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Sounds like a dick from the start.

I got a really damn good plumber that always does quality work. He isn't the cheapest, but I don't mind paying extra knowing a job was well-done.

He was also well-informed and noticed my toilets were a part of a class-action lawsuit because they were known to burst and leak over-time. So I got him to replace the toilets as well.

 

[JulesMaximus]

It's a shit job but somebody has to do it. Honestly, I wouldn't fire him unless you have someone else lined up to take his place immediately. Time is money and if the units aren't done on time it is going to cost your Dad money and then it might be you out looking for work.

 

[snoopy7548]

This guy may be affordable, but you will eventually have to hire somebody more competent (and more expensive) in order to fix his mistakes. The worst mistakes are the ones that get covered up. I would at least watch him like a hawk and constantly check his work.

 

[BudAshes]

Depends, if you have another reliable plumber lined up then go for it, but if not you may have trouble getting anyone competent to show up.

 

[slackerinabox]

Plumbers must never be happy. Any I have ever had have had complaints such as my supposed cheap parts, or to complaining about tile floors in the bathroom when they had to cut the hole in it larger for a toilet.

That's actually kinda valid. I've never met a plumber I like - vague to a frustrating degree, jobs taking longer than expected because I'm fairly certain they fucked up (like the time I was getting a tub drain fixed and heard an "oh shit!" followed by an hour of them trying to fix out a lost and vital screw.. i suppose empathy is warranted - it is a "shitty" job...

 

[slackerinabox]

It's a shit job but somebody has to do it. Honestly, I wouldn't fire him unless you have someone else lined up to take his place immediately. Time is money and if the units aren't done on time it is going to cost your Dad money and then it might be you out looking for work.

Haha, as far as me being 'out looking for work' - 1000% doing this for free. i'm actually losing money based on feeding the crew and random pocket tips. long story short dad has cancer, treatment's going well but he's in his 80s and weak - not gonna charge him a penny in his time of need. but i have longterm play here, manage all of his properties, improve them and compensate myself from the increased rent roll. but gotta do this one right first...

As for time is money - lowes fucking up on the delivery of all my appliances gives me some breathing room and NYC has lots of qualified plumbers looking for work right now. It was easy.

 

[slackerinabox]

This guy may be affordable, but you will eventually have to hire somebody more competent (and more expensive) in order to fix his mistakes. The worst mistakes are the ones that get covered up. I would at least watch him like a hawk and constantly check his work.

Yeah, I wasn't even looking for affordability - I got some estimates that were half of his, but I'm not going to risk a leak and ruining the new fancy floors I put in over saving a buck, so his license and reviews got him the gig and it's not really cheap labor (i mean, as an example installing a shower head for $100? I know I can do it in 5 minutes but I paid him because it's a 100 year old+ house, I'm not going to be responsible if the shower pipe snaps during my DIYing)

so yeah, I really had no intention of cheaping out (his rates just happen to be a good 15% lower than most). Moot point though, was able to find a qualified pro who was able to be more clearer with process and pricing on the biggest of the remaining tasks .

speaking of the toilet and carpet. this morning i was please to find weird crawling bugs on the carpet near the spot he dumped the old fixtures. fun times.

 

[slackerinabox]

Him and his assistant also don't wear masks re: covid.. was a minor annoyance I chalked up to religion (very eastern european fellow) but the more i think of my dad with the compromised immune system getting something due to the jackass being inconsiderate...