OH BOY, STUCCO BOY!…read more
I met with Jereme (the owner of Stucco Boy/Builder Boy) to discuss an exterior refinishing project. We've got some TEX-COTE that the prior owners added that is failing and in need of repair.
To their credit, Jereme is knowledgeable about TEX-COTE and the company even has a landing page on their website describing how to fix a failing application. They offer services to repair and re-apply, and Jereme mentioned this would be an option for us, in addition to a more involved re-plastering. Jereme said he'd break out different options for us. Despite Jereme's demeanor coming off a bit slick and salesy, them being a local company with experience with TEX-COTE gave me some confidence.
I received a proposal that I felt was reasonably priced. Before selecting the company for my project, I had some follow-up questions I asked the office staff via email regarding coordinating the project with other work being done-namely a re-roof project that I'd be undertaking.
After a little back-and-forth, Jereme called me directly. I was able to ask my questions about coordination with the roofing company, and he put my mind at ease. He described how the roofing company would handle tear-off and paper the roof, and then Stucco Boy would come in and water blast and prep. He was pretty specific about his recommendations and that fully addressed my questions. He said that I'd be able to put them into contact with the roofer to work out the specifics and "when roofing companies hear that, they are relieved"-indicating to me that there'd be a proactive direct coordination that would help streamline the process. WONDERFUL!
After receiving HOA approval for the project, I reached out to Builder Boy and said I'd like to proceed with them. I followed up with a few questions including one about timing and order of operations to coordinate with the roofing and solar to take place (roughly, at this point) in January. The responses I got from the office staff to my questions were different than what Jereme had indicated; instead of coordinating with the roofers, they said that it would be better for them to do their work after the roofers had completed. There was some back-and-forth where I tried to reconcile the differences in the office staff's answers/recommendations of doing work after everything else was done and what Jereme had indicated to me on our earlier phone call.
Two days after not hearing anything back, I received a phone call from Jereme. He indicated to me that he'd heard from his team that I was "frustrated" and that I had taken an "aggressive tone" with his staff and he hoped to understand my frustration but also see if there was a path forward. He indicated that he cares about his staff; the implication he was stepping in to shield them from unfair treatment. I told him that I was confused, and asked if he'd read the emails-my hope was to ensure we were on the same page about what my issue actually was and for me to understand what about my correspondence was "aggressive." He replied he'd "skimmed" the email-so I asked him if I'd be able to read it to him--much of my confusion stemmed from what the office staff was suggesting and how it was much different than what Jereme had indicated regarding coordinating steps with the roofing company. He responded "I get it, you're a good guy" as if my primary intent in reading him the email to was somehow clear my name, and he followed up with "I'd rather not live in the past and instead just move forward."
Wait, seriously?! You imply I'm mistreating your staff, you're only vaguely aware of what my issue actually is and when I attempt to talk in specific terms about either of those things you suddenly want to "move forward"?
I tried to explain to Jereme the disconnect, and how the staff's recommendation wasn't what he and I had discussed earlier, so I was confused. He said "it can be done either way" and "it's up to the customer"- but kept insisting that his staff was correct in their suggestion without acknowledging it was different than what he himself earlier had suggested, and that was the source of my confusion. The whole time it felt like Jereme was trying to gaslight me, and whenever I tried to be specific about our conversation or clarify what my issue actually was, he'd deflect and say dismissively "it's up to you; just tell us when to show up and we'll be there."
I was pretty floored at this point and couldn't shake the feeling that I was getting hustled by this guy. I knew that as he kept insisting he wanted to "move forward" without actually talking about the nature of the problem, it was a sign that this wasn't the kind of company, and Jereme the kind of person, I could trust. So I calmly told him that it was clear to me it wouldn't be a good fit, he said "OK," and that was the extent of my experience with Builder Boy.
Jereme: because you didn't bother reading the email exchange before, I posted it here for your convenience.
