Why do contractors never show up on time?
Contractors frequently miss scheduled arrival times by hours, leaving homeowners waiting around and wasting time off work. When projects begin, communication often drops off completely, leading to missed appointments, unfulfilled commitments, and weeks of delays with no actual work done.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1hiring better or higher-end contractors who communicate well
- 2getting a fixed quote instead of paying hourly
- 3Sending firm and respectful demands via email or phone
- 4Considering demanding a full refund and firing the builder to find someone else
- 5Attempting to manage and be patient with the contractor to keep the project moving
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“They say they'll be here around 8am and don't show up until 11am or noon. It happens like 9/10 times. Why do they even bother saying a time they know they won't make? They charge by the hour yet don't give a F about their customer's time. I have to take time off work to meet with them.”source ↗
“Since permit approval however, communication dropped off.”source ↗
“We’ve gotten the run around, including missed appointments and commitments since then and now we’re 6 weeks after permits, quickly approaching cold weather for concrete pour, and an unacceptable lack of communication, no show site visits, etc. no work has commenced.”source ↗
“My dilemma is that if I go scorched earth on our builder, we won’t have a garage until spring at the earliest if I have to claw back our deposit and find another builder.”source ↗
“It seems that when I email or call with firm but respectful demands, I just get the smiley avoidant customer service and no action.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3Taking customer orders right at closing time
- 84How to handle a bad contractor who won't fix poor work
- 2How to finance big contracts when customers pay in 90 days
- 13Clients who ghost after you finish the work and don't pay
- 2How to tell management a deadline is impossible
- 6Why do restaurant buildouts and renovations always take months longer?