At MK Remodeling & Design we understand that customers enjoy saving money. That’s why we are thorough in the planning process, take the time to answer your questions, and work to deliver the best experience possible, so that your project is handled efficiently and on schedule.
In the pursuit of saving money, some customers have taken it upon themselves to purchase their own building supplies. More money in their pockets, right? Not exactly.
The risk associated with customers getting their own supplies is a topic on MarkupAndProfit.com.
In theory, it’s supposed to work out. The customer provides supplies, the contractor uses supplies, the job is finished, everyone wins.
In practice, however, it doesn’t work like that.
First, customers don’t always know how much of a supply to get. Let’s use tile as an example. A customer orders tile as part of a new flooring project. They come up short. Now the job comes to a screeching halt while more tile is ordered. Or worse, that tile is discontinued. Now the customer must choose between having mismatched tile in his or her house, or tearing up the existing tile and starting from scratch. Expensive problems all around. And if the customer orders too much? Well, the market for second-hand tile is non-existent.
Second, most customers don’t have the experience to recognize a good supply from a bad one. All supplies look great on your computer screen. But an experienced contractor has made enough orders to know what brands will deliver the highest-quality materials. Additionally, some contractors have built a good ordering rapport over time, leading to savings a normal customer would miss out on.
Third, customers do not realize they are assuming all the risk by ordering their own materials. A good contractor will use the customer’s input to make a decision with both parties’ goals in mind. Taking a contractor’s expertise out of the equation is tempting folly. If a customer supplies parts, they are agreeing to supply the materials on time. Failure to do so means compensating the contractor for their time to get the parts delivered. A customer supplying parts also means they are assuming the costs if something should be wrong or missing with the parts.
That’s only a few of the potential pitfalls that come into play when customers order their own materials. It boils down to this: If you want someone to make you a great dinner, you should let them do the grocery shopping. Put MK Remodeling & Design’s experience to work!
