Steve Volman Contracting

Description of Work: Steve Volman is a thumbs down. He has a very good crew, about whom I have no complaints, but he is a terrible manager, and when he runs out of time or miscalculates, he blames the client. He's one of those guys who is initially very enthusiastic, but who over-schedules his crew and when he loses interest just disappears, breaks promises, pulls his men off the job without warning, and leaves work undone. He turned a two-week job into a two-month ordeal that involved our living and business space being partially out of commission for weeks on end. He used a legitimate minor problem as an excuse. (A honey bee hive was in one small area of the job site-we had beekeeeprs remove the queen and hive, but strays came back. It was a problem that could be handled easily if four hours of eyebrow-roof work could be done in the morning, but he had lost interest and was on to other things. No one ever got stung.) He wouldn't finish the inside work if the sun was out; he was doing more lucrative jobs elsewhere. He might be fine for big projects, but small clients get treated with indifference, then anger, then contempt. He turned what should have been a pleasure-the installation of a beautiful door and window-into an ongoing headache. He also outright lied, saying that other contractors had contacted him to say I was a terrible client-verifiably untrue, since he was the first contractor I ever hired. We thought his crew were better and more professional in behavior and attitude than he is by far. | |My husband John, the co-client for this project, worked with Steven during the early stages of the planning and design. Steve was so indifferent about this project that he forgot John existed, so after weeks of Steve's boorish and unprofessional behavior toward me, he wrote this letter to Steve. Steve's reply follows. | |Steve, |In 1991 I bought my home. It was in pretty bad shape. The first thing I did was have Penelec install a new 200 amp service and I handled the rest of the wiring from the load center out, including two 220 lines. I used Square-D's. I had to re-plumb the building myself from the submersible pump to every faucet and every drain, the water heater, the washer, and sinks. | |Later I built a loft and, in raw space, I built three offices, from laying the subflooring to finishing the wall board, fabricating moldings and detail work, and designing and fabricating unusually shaped windows and installing built-in book cases. I laid the rug, and wired all three offices with recessed lighting. | |This is all to say that I have built many things and know exactly what I am talking about. | |I understand that you have billed Diana for electrical work. This was added on to the original contract. No estimate was given beforehand and Pennsylvania law states that any change to a contract requires a new contract. Service that Diana asked you to do in addition to that which had already been agreed to in the original contracts-and there was only one real add-on to the projects discussed as far back as July, namely tying electrical service into an existing line-required a new contract and estimate. This was not done. |Technically, I don't see how you can legally charge her for "add-ons;" ethically, of course, that isn't to say she will not pay a fair price for them. However, I know from vast personal experience that running 8 feet of romex thru open studs doesn't cost what you charged. | |You may ask yourself: if I know everything I claim to know, why didn't I do the job myself. I offered to, but because of my full-time job, Diana thought it would have taken too long and interrupted her business life. If I were doing it as my actual job, I could have installed the doors and windows, and built the balcony with some help from my step-son, in about a week. | |Half of the point of hiring you to do it was so that it wouldn't take weeks and weeks, causing Diana to lose income. But you were way slower than I'd have been. Her office life was interrupted for almost two months. Sometimes you didn't show up when you said you would while she had cancelled phone clients because of the potential noise. Other times inside work was still going on weeks later when she had re-scheduled postponed clients. Once I saw her doing a phone conference in the stairwell. You say you lost money. So did she, because of you. | |And: You lost money on this job? That's nonsense and we both know it. | |I know Diana intends to pay you fully for your over-blown bill. She was waiting primarily because she asked you to clarify a few items and you had offered to explain the bill to her. Apparently that was sarcasm, not a genuine offer. Know this-that while you may think that because she's a woman you can tell her just about anything because she doesn't know what's involved, I do. I know precisely what this job required, and how long it should have taken. | |Your behavior has been wildly unprofessional and for each problem you yourself created, you have blamed Diana. | |• I was standing with you when you specifically pushed us to build the balcony-this was actually prior to the first contract. It was never an add-on. | |• One time, you sent your men here and exactly one hour later you called them to another job. I was here and heard that conversation. It was ridiculous. | |• Primer or paint on wallboard is standard. | |• The Pella shipment was not late, it arrived on the exact date you said it would. | |• The roof was something you and I discussed while standing in this room before any contracts were written. I asked if you could do that, and you said, "Yeah, I'll send somebody up there. Probably add another three hundred dollars." So even that was not really an "add-on." | |• I have done all the work on this place for over 25 years. We have never hired a contractor for anything. You write Diana that "other contractors" have contacted you about her. You know that this is an outright lie. | |Our experience with you has been a massive headache, a disappointment, and an outrage. |You are very good with the pitch. You come off as engaged and likeable. Your crew is just fine. But you yourself easily turn into an arrogant bully. You are capable of being directly dishonest. You engage in fraudulent billing practices and you are heedless of the simplest of contractual agreement legalities. | |You and I are roughly the same age group, which means we grew up in the same culture of do-it-yourself optimism and honesty. That may be the values you once represented, but somewhere along the line you turned into a liar with no control over your behavior. This will be my only communication with you. |--John Edwards | |************** |Steve Volman (clearly not realizing that he was writing to his own client) wrote back the following: | |I don't know you and I don't care at all about all your experience. |You only know what she's told you buddy.... Every one of my employees that worked there asked not to be sent back, they were bombarded by bees daily, asked to do more work and fix leaks. Repair roof elect. etc. you have no clue as to the time put in there buddy and why did she not hire you to do it. Everybody says they can do it better and faster. You were not there so why are you involved? Geeze I so regret taking that job as a favor to Pella window co. |Buddy I garuntee (sic) you could not have done that in a week and she is only asked to pay for hours and material |It took weeks because of her. |I should have done original agreement only, door and window and let her get a roofer electrician bee killer painter and deck builder |Who do you think you are buddy , I am so unprofessional that we are booked through next fall |This has become ridicules |And nothing you say means anything to me even your life long resume |Tell her to pay the "quite fair" and get over herself. I am keeping all these bizarre communications to show the crazy behavior I have had to endure |Please don't contact me ever again buddy |***************** |Buddy? As if John was some outsider interfering in the situation? That's how disconnected Steve had become from the job. He himself had not shown up in weeks. If the letter from Steve impresses you with his professionalism, then by all means hire him, but our advice is hire absolutely anyone else. |