First things first, we want to finish your project. We realise how important your home is and how stressful this process can be so our first priority will and always has been getting things back on track and moving in the right direction. We look for answers, it doesn’t mean we ignore the problems but it does meant that we aren’t going to focus solely on the terrible thing/s that have happened because that isn’t going to get you to a finished home.
This can often mean that we are last woman standing and an easy target, that is something we are well aware of and it can be hard when basically everything has gone to shit. We have had many a teary phone call or an angrily written email – we understand your frustration. We work on your behalf to make sure that is alleviated and that will be through everyone who is still involved in the project moving forward, communicating and not taking chunks out of each other. That is the end of your Public Service Announcement. So, What Happens If A Supplier Goes Bust?
We Look For Solutions
Be solution focused not problem focused. It’s always the best way forward. We all enjoy being able to tell a sob story once it’s been fixed and that’s what we look to do as quickly as possible. Having worked on over 100 projects we know where we are in the cycle and how quickly we are going to be able to get thigns moving. We can work to see what point each bit of work is at and who out of our other trusted suppliers we can call upon to help problem solve with us.
We Talk To Other Suppliers
Back up plan? We look at who was the next supplier on our list for something similar and is that still an option. This often depends on what the item is, it can be a lot quicker and easier to replace a few wall lights than it is a kitchen skylight, for example.
We Mediate If The Supplier Is Still Available
Are they still talking? Great. Are they fobbing you off? Not so good. We have been known to call suppliers like this 3 or 4 times a day and to make sure that we keep clients up to date at every stretch, that way you can at least rest assured that everything is beign done on your behalf – more than you would be able to do as we have a team working on it.
We Work With The Contractor
Often this means that schedules can go a little haywire, we work with the contractors to see how and when we can get things on site and if the project can be adjusted in anyway to make sure we still hit the deadline that was originally set.
We Look At Finances
How much have you lost? Is there anyway to be able to recover any of the funds?
Lots of questions and they are often extremely loaded ones as they aren’t often talking about small numbers. We can sometimes be talking about tens of thousands of pounds – sometimes even more than a reasonable contingency fund (we normally request clients maintain 10% of the build cost as a contingency).
Ultimately these things happen and when they do they are not easy to deal with, no one wants to hear that a supplier has gone out of business. Often these suppliers could have been around for years and be trusted by many, that isn’t always a protection but we will always work tirelessly to make sure that things continue to move forward and we get you to your finished home as quickly as we can.
