HOME IMPROVEMENTS Contractors hail poll reflecting fewer complaints

Consolidation and education are improving work, an industry observer says.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Last year, the home-improvement business got whacked by a 2x4 in a consumer complaint survey. This time around, it got off comparatively light with a mild smack.
Even this marginal upgrading has some contractors clicking their steel-toed boots for joy.
"On the surface, there are several things happening in the industry that mean contractors are getting better," says Mike Turner of The Home Service Store, a company that oversees contractors on repair jobs.
Turner sees a trend of general sophistication among home-repair companies, a signal to him that things are looking up.
"When the industry becomes more sophisticated, it means we are becoming more professional and better able to meet consumer expectations."
Impact of consolidation
Behind the sophistication is a consolidation of repair companies that has forced less-prepared companies -- and shady contractors -- to the sidelines.
In theory, bigger companies can offer a wider range of services and have the clout to guarantee work and closely supervise workers.
All of which, according to Turner and HSS, is to the benefit of consumers.
"We demand high levels of professionalism because that's the direction this business is headed, and it happens that the larger companies can dictate these greater expectations throughout their ranks," Turner says. Even big-box hardware chains are screening contractor installation services to find contractors who share the mantra of quality service and professional demeanor.
The third element boils down to education of consumers and contractors alike.
To lay all industry image problems at the feet of the contractor misses the consumer's role in how a project ultimately turns out.
Turner says the burden is on home-repair industry trade groups to help homeowners understand that clearly communicated expectations are coveted by aboveboard contractors.
"You have a train wreck coming if both sides don't clearly communicate," says Turner. "It can be as simple as a homeowner complaint that 'you didn't clean up the job site every day,' while the contractor can legitimately contend 'you didn't ask me to.'"
Looking ahead
Still, winning over consumer confidence has the home-improvement industry looking for long-term answers.
"The whole delivery system of the entire industry is driven by small independent contractors, and our entire industry, both big and small firms, needs to pull itself up by [its] bootstraps," Turner says.
"It's not like buying tires at 15 different stores. A home-improvement project is a one-of-a-kind job, and that's how our industry needs to approach things."
The annual national survey, conducted by the Consumer Federation of America and an association trade group, reported that automobile sales in 2003 replaced home improvements in the uncoveted No. 1 spot of consumer complaints.
XE-mail questions on homeowner-contractor relations to david.bradley@aphouseoftheweek.com. The Home Service Store is a home-improvement management organization that provides property owners with a full range of home-improvement services and project guidance. For more information, call (866) HSS-6060 or visit www.TrustHSS.com.