Episode 2024
Contractor Ghosting: Why Can't They Call Me Back?
Are you feeling the frustration of contractors ghosting you when you’re just trying to get some home improvements done? Well, you’re not alone! In this midweek update, I’m diving into the woes of waiting for callbacks and the oddball experiences I’ve had while reaching out for help. We’ll also chat about some alarming product recalls that you absolutely want to be aware of—like those sneaky water bottles that might turn your picnic into a slasher film! Plus, I’ll throw in some highlights from previous episodes that you should definitely check out if you missed them. So, grab a snack, kick back, and let’s get into all the juicy details of this week’s home improvement adventure!
Let’s dive into this midweek update where Eric G serves up a fresh platter of home improvement gossip and gripes! Have you ever tried to get in touch with a contractor only to be met with the deafening sound of silence? Well, if you’re like Eric, you know the struggle is real. He shares his own saga of reaching out to contractors who seem to have ghosted him faster than a bad date. With projects piling up and the clock ticking down, finding someone to help out can feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The take-home message? Don’t let your home improvement dreams fizzle out due to a lack of communication. Communication is key, folks! Eric encourages listeners to be proactive in their search for help and to share their own contractor horror stories. Maybe we can form a support group or something!
In addition to the contractor chat, Eric also dives into some alarming recalls that are sure to make you double-check your home safety checklist. From hazardous water bottles that could launch their lids like rockets to safety gates posing serious risks for children, Eric breaks down the details and reminds us all to stay informed. It’s a wild world out there, and safety should always come first! And if you think that's it, Eric also encourages listeners to check out some previous episodes packed with golden nuggets of wisdom about home improvement. From aging in place tips to creating your own backyard oasis, there’s a treasure trove of information waiting for you to discover. So, grab your tools, tune in, and let’s get our homes in tip-top shape together!
Takeaways:
- Eric G. shares his frustration with contractors not returning calls, highlighting the importance of communication in home improvement.
- Walmart's Ozark Trail water bottles recall raises concerns about safety and potential hazards for consumers.
- A deep dive into recalls reveals serious risks from products like Dewalt grinder discs and Harbor Freight power stations.
- Catch up on past episodes for insights on aging in place and creating a backyard oasis for summer fun.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Monument Grills
- Walmart
- Amazon
- Trane
- American Standard
- Dewalt
- Harbor Freight Tools
- Positec
- San Vin technology
To get your questions answered by Eric G give us a call in the studio at 833-239-4144 24/7 and Eric G will get back to you and answer your question and you might end up in a future episode of Around the House.
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Information given on the Around the House Show should not be considered construction or design advice for your specific project, nor is it intended to replace consulting at your home or jobsite by a building professional. The views and opinions expressed by those interviewed on the podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Around the House Show.
Mentioned in this episode:
Baldwin Hardware
Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker B:The House with Eric G. Your go to source for everything home improvement.
Speaker B:Whether you're a DIY enthusiast or just looking to make your space shine, Eric.
Speaker A:G. Is here to guide you through.
Speaker B:The latest tips, tricks and trends.
Speaker B:So grab your toolbox, put on your thinking cap and let's get to work right here on around the House with.
Speaker A:Eric G. Welcome to the around the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Speaker A:I'm Eric G. Thanks for joining me today.
Speaker A:This is our midweek update.
Speaker A:This is where we didn't fit the stuff into last weekend's show and of course not fitting it into this weekend show.
Speaker A:And this hour is brought to you by my friends at Monument Grills.
Speaker A:Check them out@monumentgrills.com if you're looking for that brand new barbecue, I've got two of these things.
Speaker A:One at the beach house, one of my girlfriend's place.
Speaker A:I tell you what, this is a great way to barbecue.
Speaker A:I'm tired of people out there wasting money buying that three year barbecue tops and you throw it away and buy a new one.
Speaker A:Get something real for a little bit more.
Speaker A:Trust me, it'll save you a ton of money in the long run.
Speaker A:Spend a little more.
Speaker A:Get a lot more@moneymcrills.com today I wanted to talk about something that I've been running into and I wanted to know, are you guys running into this?
Speaker A:Because I tell you what, I am and I'm trying to get this house ready for sale.
Speaker A:I'm running out of time and you know how the schedule goes.
Speaker A:Just need a couple more days.
Speaker A:It takes a little bit to get these things done.
Speaker A:Here's the thing, I'm going to have some stuff done around my house and I'm into paying for it because I need to get it knocked out and there's only so many hours in the day and I, it's going to save me money to pay to get it done.
Speaker A:So that way they can be working on that while I'm working on other things.
Speaker A:Here's the thing, can I get anybody to call me back?
Speaker A:I've had a couple companies call me back.
Speaker A:Really?
Speaker A:One so far and another one text me from some computer robot.
Speaker A:But when I'm trying to get a bunch of texture work done on a ceiling and some other stuff that I just don't have time to go in there and do right now.
Speaker A:You'd think that you'd have people calling back.
Speaker A:They have a website all the, they spent all the money on the marketing the website but nobody will call Me back and I tell them I got a pretty decent sized project to do.
Speaker A:And three days later, no phone calls, no messages, no automated thing even.
Speaker A:It's interesting.
Speaker A:So I had a window company, because I had a fogged up glass I need to do.
Speaker A:Reached out to four companies.
Speaker A:One got ahold of me and something, they're getting my business because I really like it.
Speaker A:We'll be talking about them a little bit later.
Speaker A:Super good customer service.
Speaker A:Right on it.
Speaker A:They've been great.
Speaker A:Now the other one, I did get one on the texture comeback.
Speaker A:But I tell you what, you could tell it was an automated high pressure.
Speaker A:I'm gonna have somebody right next door to your house at this time tomorrow.
Speaker A:Can they come?
Speaker A:Oh, man.
Speaker A:There is not thing that turns me off as a consumer and that's more of a warning than, oh, I've got a guy right in the area and he could be there tomorrow.
Speaker A:When it sounds that canned and it sounds like a door knocker, I'm not impressed.
Speaker A:I don't want to know that.
Speaker A:So maybe I'm a little picky.
Speaker A:Maybe I've had too many people over the years knock on my door and say, hey, I'm just in the neighborhood, I noticed you need a roof.
Speaker A:And they don't even realize that.
Speaker A:Maybe I had a roof done earlier in the year, but that's how that stuff goes.
Speaker A:So I tell you what, that stuff sets off warning signs to me.
Speaker A:So all you guys out there that are selling stuff out there, be really careful on one, maybe calling people back.
Speaker A:Two, don't hit me with all those sales pitches like that right off the bat.
Speaker A:I'm calling to get a number and I appreciate you being fast and courteous, but don't just tell me what time you'll be here and set an appointment up and text it.
Speaker A:I'm not gonna be there.
Speaker A:We should have probably a conversation before you just book a time and assume that I'm gonna be in there in the afternoon when I got someplace else to be.
Speaker A:So are you guys seeing this out there?
Speaker A:Are people not calling you back when you're trying to get work done?
Speaker A:I'd love for these to be DIY projects.
Speaker A:I just don't have the time and I wanna get this done so I can enjoy a little bit of my summer.
Speaker A:Cause all I've been doing is working on this house and taking a little bit of time for myself.
Speaker A:But really I just need to get this thing done on the market and moved on to the next one.
Speaker A:So that's interesting.
Speaker A:Let me know.
Speaker A:Head over on the comments.
Speaker A:I'll post this up on social media on our Facebook just look for the around the house show or even put a tease up on Instagram over there as well and just curious to see or you can send me a message over to aroundthehouse online.com there are a few recalls out there.
Speaker A:This is where I like to hit these recalls.
Speaker A:Walmart recalls their Ozark Trail 64 ounce water bottles doo doo series impact and laceration hazards.
Speaker A:Be careful of those out there.
Speaker A:Now there is a dear lomium retractable safety gate recalled due to risk of serious injury or death to children from entrapment hazard.
Speaker A: news is these are only about: Speaker A:So good news is they probably have you on their system.
Speaker A:The one that really got me worried about there's some bicycles, kids stuff, furniture, that kind of stuff, some kids mattress.
Speaker A:Of course that water bottle is concerning.
Speaker A:They basically the lid can forcibly eject posing serious impact and laceration hazards when a consumer attempts to open the capped bottle after food carbonated beverages or perishable beverages such as juice or milk are stored inside over time so if it expands there's no way for it you could launch those lids out.
Speaker A:So that's the one.
Speaker A:The other one here is train recalls gas electric packaged units due to risk of gas leak fire hazard.
Speaker A:So it looks like there is a.
Speaker A:They don't really show much about it but it's a American Standard find your dealer thing.
Speaker A:So it's Trane and their American Standard what looks like a furnace unit right here.
Speaker A:So they've got about 4,790.
Speaker A:So that's a train or American Standard.
Speaker A:The other one that I thought was really sketchy that I was like oh dewalt.
Speaker A:Look for these Dewalt recalls grinder flap discs due to laceration and injury hazards.
Speaker A:So the ceramic cloth abrasive flaps on the disc can detach while in use on a grinder.
Speaker A:And we should all be wearing protective gear with those.
Speaker A:But it looks like there's about 17,680 of those that sold and wow, that's not good.
Speaker A:So they'll get you a refund on that.
Speaker A:So basically don't use those.
Speaker A:And then consumers will be asked to rate recall on the disk and upload a photograph to the where to the website and certify that they dispose of it in the trash to receive their refund.
Speaker A:Nobody needs to get hurt on those.
Speaker A: reight Tools recalls Predator: Speaker A:Here's the problem.
Speaker A:The wires in the power stations AC outlet receptacles are reversed when the product is an emergency power supply EPS mode.
Speaker A:So that's really bad.
Speaker A:There's 6,500 of those out there.
Speaker A: you've got that Red Predator: Speaker A:That could bite you, seriously.
Speaker A:And then there is a Positec off brand recall electric quarter chainsaws and pull saws.
Speaker A:Due to laceration hazard, the main switch on the chainsaws and the pull saws can fail, allowing the saws to continue to run after the switch is released.
Speaker A:So there's about 49,000 of these electric units here.
Speaker A:So be careful of that.
Speaker A:So that's the main ones there.
Speaker A:And there is one more.
Speaker A:It's just really not a big one.
Speaker A:It's a San Vin technology recalls these handrails.
Speaker A:There's only about 360, so they didn't sell snot of those things out there.
Speaker A:So those are toast.
Speaker A:And then really we're into the stuff that we had last week.
Speaker A:So that's it right there.
Speaker A:I wanted to talk a little bit about, if you're just catching us for the first time today before we go out of here, I wanted to talk about some of the things we've had in the recent episodes.
Speaker A:I want you to go back if you haven't caught it on the podcast.
Speaker A:Last week we were talking about unlocking your forever home aging in place.
Speaker A:So if you've got somebody coming over that may be your mom, your grandpa, your uncle, or somebody that's going to stay at your house, or you just want to make sure that your house is going to be set up for you age, aging later in life, or maybe you get hurt a lot.
Speaker A:Maybe you do extreme sports.
Speaker A:Maybe you get hurt a lot and you want to make things a little bit easier to navigate when you've got that castor surgery that could be good.
Speaker A:And then I give you 10 tips here for your home to how to turn into a luxury retreat without breaking the bank.
Speaker A:And then talking about we had a couple reruns that were during the fourth of July weekend.
Speaker A:So we were talking with Fred about storm proofing your home, getting it ready for hurricane and fire season.
Speaker A:And that was a good one.
Speaker A:And then we had DIY tips for fresher indoor air.
Speaker A:Then I had a countertop buyer's guide.
Speaker A:And of course, really we're talking about high schoolers coming in crafting their future.
Speaker A:We were talking about high school programs out there for getting those kids into the trades.
Speaker A:And then we talked about the outdoor oasis, designing your perfect backyard escape.
Speaker A:So there's a lot of different stuff going on out there on the show.
Speaker A:Make sure you go back.
Speaker A:I even talked about doing not getting burned, the hidden dangers of custom cabinetry finishes.
Speaker A:And then we talked about grilling for good Barbecue relief.
Speaker A:My friends over there in Operation Barbecue Relief with Stan Hayes, we've had a lot of great topics out here.
Speaker A:Please go back and take a look at those.
Speaker A:If you missed it.
Speaker A:We've really had some great episodes as of recently, so take a look at that.
Speaker A:And we even talked with the founder of Country Craft Cabinetry here a few about a month ago, a month and a half ago.
Speaker A:That was a great discussion about somebody that started the table saw and built a multi million dollar cabinet brand out of their barn.
Speaker A:Pretty cool stuff.
Speaker A:All right, everybody have a great rest of the week.
Speaker A:I get back out to work.
Speaker A:I have a lot to get done around this place and so I got to get back to swinging the hammer and pretty much got any demo stuff done.
Speaker A:Now I just got to put it back together and make it look right so that way we can get this thing on the market.
Speaker A:I appreciate everybody out there.
Speaker A:Thanks for tuning into around the House.
Speaker A:We'll see you Saturday.
Speaker B:Make sure to follow us on social media.
Speaker B:Just head to aroundthehouse online.com for all the links.
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Speaker B:Just type in at around the House with Eric G and click subscribe and ring the bell for updates.
Speaker B:We will see you next time.
Speaker B:Be lovers we're all over the radio Take my hand out Nowhere to go all over the rodeo with you.
