I needed Mold/Asbestos mediation and was about to sign a contract with Aztec Construction. In the contract draft they stated: " This Agreement is entered into as of December 27, 2021 by and between Stefanie W. (Owner) and Aztec Construction... This Agreement has been negotiated by Scott Birondo, project manager for Contractor.
However, there has not been an agreement negotiated by me with Aztec Construction and Scott Briondo; I only sent Questions to Aztec Construction by E-mail before making a phone call concerning my questions to make the right decision when signing the Aztec Contract. During my subsequent phone call, my questions were never answered - entailing "Negotiation Failure".
I was told by two employees at Aztec that they are not answering my questions. When I asked "why", the answer was, "because you want us to change the text which is construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California." Aztec refuses to contract with you." Their refusal to answer my questions, especially regarding their "Change Order Fee(s) of $200.00" gave me the impression of change order fees as a "profit center". They could have answered my questions and leave it up to me if I want to/or not contract with Aztec Construction due to overall exorbitant pricing in relation to the latter.
However, nowhere in my questions did I ask to change the text, instead, I pointed out a mistake regarding source of water leakage (they could have checked with their Program Manager who discussed the Leakage Source with me, and corrected the text); in addition, making suggestions of word choice regarding certain sections was necessary for the contract to reflect my situation which required situational thinking. As I understand it, their contract was a draft at the time-being.
In addition, 10 Change Order Rules state: "One commonality among all of the re-modelers that were interviewed is their emphasis on constant communication. Prior to the start of work, good communication helps to set expectations. Once the job is under way, it heads off misunderstandings and confrontations." In my case, communication, communication would have prevented the communication break-down which turned out to be a loss for the Aztec Construction business.
What these two employees failed to realize is this: "Not using Feed Back during communication promotes one's perception to be Subjective, not Objective.
Reflecting on their communication consisting of, "not answering my questions, rationalizing their behavior by falsely blaming me for text changes, and defending Aztec Construction's contract text to be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California," made me realize it was defensive behavior. In addition, their pronounced and authoritative tone of voice was very unpleasant and emotionally upsetting - entailing increased heart palpitations and high blood pressure. When experiencing the physical discomfort during the telephone communication, I instantly knew that it was Verbal Abuse. (The meaning of Verbal abuse involves some sort of verbal interaction that causes a person emotional harm, and often prompting them to question who they are. It is a way for a person to control and maintain power over another person. In fact, it is not uncommon for a victim of verbal abuse to feel inadequate, stupid, and worthless. In case of older persons, Elder abuse is a wobbler offense, meaning it can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, and is punishable by up to 4 years of jail or prison. Sep 6, 2021. Penal Code 368 PC defines the California crime of elder abuse as inflicting physical or emotional abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation upon a victim who is 65 years of age or older...)
According to Social Scientists, defensive behavior is reciprocal and tends to escalate, thus, leading to communication break down which should be avoided at all times.
These two employees of Aztec Construction didn't give me a chance to negotiate, i.e., find a way over or through an obstacle or difficult path. Based on my communication experience with them, I recognized that, "they seemed to be 'Peter Principled / On a level of respective incompetence' regarding their communication intellect."
To top it all off, they could have spared me the unpleasant and time consuming experience by stating that Aztec Constructions does not do Asbestos Abatement, thus for me to get a company that does both. read more