Philadelphia, PA, Apr. 15--A survey released today by Opinion Research Corporation on behalf of the Scott Rags in a Box business reveals a love-hate relationship with the people we hire to renovate and repair our homes.
The top three complaints about contractors from respondents who had used an outside contractor in their homes within the last few years were:
--Not showing up when they say they will.
--Jobs that take longer than expected to complete.
--Waiting a long time for work to be scheduled.
As for pet peeves, the biggest ones reported by this group were:
--Not cleaning up after the work is finished.
--The mess and the dust.
--The invasion of "personal space."
Respondents who had hired contractors were also asked to describe how they felt when contractors were in their homes. While one third said it didn't bother them to have workers around, 17% reported feeling like they had to stay home all the time to protect their possessions from theft.
Thirteen percent said they felt "creepy" with strangers roaming all over the house, and nine percent said they wished they could leave for vacation and come back when it was over. Six percent reported feeling like they were living in a demolition zone.
How can home improvement contractors improve their image? One way, according to 80% of respondents, would be for them to wear gloves, shoe mitts, disposable coveralls and provide their own clean-up products, such as drop cloths, pre-moistened hand wipes or disposable towels that remove dirt, dust and paint.
Despite these concerns most people will still need outside contractors because they don't have either the time or skills to do many home improvement jobs themselves. Nearly half of those who had hired contractors said they did so because of their own lack of skills, while one quarter cited lack of time.
There were gender differences here with women more likely to select lack of skills and men lack of time.
Overall impressions of the final outcome of a job by an outside contractor were largely positive, with close to half saying it generally met but did not exceed expectations. Nearly a quarter said it usually exceeded expectations.
Only a small number said jobs rarely met expectations or boasted that they could have done the work better themselves. Ten percent reported feeling relieved not to have to do the work and 7% said they were happy the job was over, but wondered how they would pay the bill.
The jobs most likely to be turned over to a contractor were: additions or renovations, followed by outside work--such as roofing, gutters or siding, electrical work, window replacement, carpeting or flooring, plumbing, and kitchen or bathroom remodeling. The two home improvement jobs people were most likely to do themselves were painting and wallpapering. Saving money was the main reason people said they would undertake a home improvement job themselves. Next was pride and satisfaction in doing the job themselves.
Despite a proliferation of circulars, flyers and Yellow Pages ads, the vast majority of respondents (81%) said they would be most likely to hire contractors based on recommendations from neighbors, friends or relatives. No other referral source came close. More than half the respondents reported checking references all or most of the time.
The national telephone survey of 1,013 adults over the age of 18 was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation on behalf of SCOTT Rags in a Box. It was undertaken from March 11-14, 2004. The margin of error is plus or minus 3% for results based on all 1,013 respondents and plus or minus 5% for results based on the 397 respondents who had a contractor do work in their homes with the last few years.
