I interviewed at least 5 different contractors for a small remodel of my home in Irvine, and really didn't get a great feeling from any of them...one seemed "fly by night", referenced through a call center, most wanted to jump into the project without working out or explaining the details, another large company with a nice showroom wanted too much cash up front, and in general, all were just too agreeable and optimistic (i.e. cheap salesman talk- "don't worry about it"). Those are all red flags for me, and I was just about to give up on the project for a while, for lack of finding someone that I could really trust.
Well, I was browsing through Yelp, and one company - GPC - caught my eye. They had one Yelp review - an absolutely terrible one - that they seemed to handle (online at least) calmly, professionally, and with reason. At the very least, that thread told me that there were some real people behind the company, engaged directly with the customer, and that they had a stake in the game, and cared.
I always felt that the sign of a good company is not just their ability to deliver good service (which is a given - otherwise don't be in business), it's how they deal with situations that inevitably go wrong. Will they be professional under stress? Will they be reasonable? Will they hold themselves accountable?
So, in my opinion, when it comes to providing complex service like that from a construction company, you don't know if it's a good company or not until you find out how they operate in a crisis. Thus, that one negative Yelp review told me a lot about their character.
So I called them, and a couple days later, Shawn and Kevin showed up at my doorstep. I explained the project to them, and saw that clearly, these were experienced people. They (and especially Shawn) pointed out the pitfalls of some things I wanted to do, and how certain details drive costs up, and that I would need to balance out what I wanted vs. what was practical. In that sense, I felt like he really had my best interests in mind. He even talked me out of a feature that would have nearly doubled the cost of the project (lots of engineering and structural work).
Now, being the suspicious person that I am, Shawn and Kevin were still just two guys coming to my house - If I was going to hand them tens of thousands of dollars, I wanted to get to know them a bit better. So to that end I visted their office - and yes, they do have a REAL office, with real desks, real computers and real filing cabinets. They were working when I arrived, and I blurted out "so what do you guys do all day?". Shawn knew immediately what I was getting at, and showed a set of blueprints on his desk, and explained that he was looking for the right design and size of a particular set of windows. I was good with that - of course, these guys are working the project, not actually swinging hammers.
They explained how they engaged subcontractors (they never hire labor directly - only other subs), how their fee schedule worked, and how to pay as the project progressed. For example, the first step was demolition, which would take two days, and I would need to pay $3000 to get it started. None of this "give me $25,000 up front" stuff. All of the details, such as engineering, permitting, framing, drywall, windows, plumbing, electrical, etc. were listed in their schedule, with approximate milestones and payments, It seemed to me that this method protected both me AND them, which is a good thing. I wrote them at least 6-8 checks during the project, confident that we had momentum without risk.
That said, the project took a LOT longer than I expected, but it was through no fault of GPC. For example, my homeowners's association was slow to approve design, the city took two extra weeks to issue the permit, and then at some point, the framers found termites, and perhaps a couple other issues. I point these things out because I can see how it might be easy for some homeowners to blame the contractor, but hey, stuff happens, and we all need to be flexible.
In the end (I wish I could add more, but Yelp limits the number of characters - I am leaving out a lot of little things that Shawn did to help me out, and he was on site every day), the project was done on budget, with the expected quality. Some of it was up to me (finish work) and some was up to GPC, but we worked together, and things turned out as expected, with minimal confusion, and no nasty surprises. Did I mention that GPC was also NOT the most expensive, not by a long shot?
Anyway, I am so glad that I found GPC and did this project. My family and I get so much more use out of our house and it has really enriched our lives. I can hardly wait for the next project, and you can be sure that I will be calling GPC when I'm ready to get it stared. read more