Dealing with a Sub-Contractor Where You Consider Work Was Not at Ageed Standard

YoursTruly on 01/10/2023 - 04:42
Last edited 01/10/2023 - 12:47 by 1 other user

Your honest thoughts and opinions on this scenario is appreciated.

Thanks in advance for going through the long texts.

————

The Scenario:

In an interior project setting where you are the main-consultant (in a new unfamiliar town you are working for the first time) and a sub-consultant is hired by you & agreed to be answerable only to you.

  • The client is to act as pay master and approach you only for all project matters.

  • The client who hired you did so because they are impressed by previous projects you’ve designed and delivered to other clients in other towns.

  • You are a very pedantic & detail oriented professional - thorough in your work ethics and standards of quality.

  • The sub-consultant is from the town and selected by you from several you’ve reviewed - and it’s the first time to work with them. (since you are in a new town)

  • You find out through your interaction that the client is the type to be easily pleased and doesn't care about details; as long as the work looks good on the surface - they are happy.

  • You also find out later that the client and the sub-consultant have known each other in the distant past through another unclear to you context.

————

A dispute arises between you and the sub-consultant towards the end of the project:

  • The sub-consultant claims that they’ve completed a work they are hired to do and wish to be paid their final 10% payment.

  • On your review inspection of the last 10% of the works, you find that the works are visually rushed/ not complete as to the agreed quality and detail desired (a contract and specification/ design document exists and three of us have a copy).

  • You proceed to demonstrate and inform the sub-consultant that their work requires rectification first, then that it will undergo another review inspection, of which - if result is positive - they will be paid their final 10% of payment.

  • The sub-consultant upon learning this refuses to engage further and demands payment with repeat insistence that the work is fine and detail appropriately complete - despite the evidence pointed out to them earlier.

  • Upon your refusal to entertain further payment claims of the last 10% to the sub-consultant until they do their due diligence, the sub-consultant decides to approach the client directly (without your knowledge) and complains about you and your strict standards, and proceed to lie to client that the work is complete.

  • The client, being an easier, more forgiving going person than you, proceed to pay the sub-consultant the last 10% without your knowledge or consideration. The client genuinely thought the work is complete as well - as it visually looked fine to them when the sub-consultant showed it in your absence.

  • The sub-consultant thereafter leaves site and never seen again nor responds to further communications.

  • You are left feeling speechless to the events that transpired, and with works that is not to your usual quality standards - but with a somewhat chill accepting client.

————

How would you as the main-consultant react (or do) in this situation? and what actions would you take on the matter - considering it’s a new unfamiliar town?

Should the main-consultant be flexible and let this one situation pass, or?

Poll Options

  • 14
    Let this one unfortunate situation go…
  • 4
    Sue the hell out of the sub-consultant! Yeah, waste more time on them!
  • 1
    It’s your fault! be more flexible with your standards of quality ffs! It doesn’t matter!
  • 7
    Why be a hard ass? The client is happy! Move on!
  • 3
    Nice rant! breatheeee!
Education & Work

Comments

  • EightImmortals on 01/10/2023 - 07:14
    +2

    "The client, being an easier, more forgiving going person than you, proceed to pay the sub-consultant the last 10% without your knowledge or consideration. The client genuinely thought the work is complete as well - as it visually looked fine to them when the sub-consultant showed it in your absence."

    "You are a very pedantic & detail oriented…"

    I've found that working with perfectionists can be a PIIA but if the client is happy then that's the main thing.

    • Sinnerator on 01/10/2023 - 09:37
      +1

      happy today, but maybe a nightmare tomorrow?

  • MrHyde on 01/10/2023 - 07:25
    +1

    Client being happy is the main thing. They are your source of further work through word of mouth.

    • Make sure you have in writing from the client that the work has been completed to their satisfaction. You wouldnt want them to turn around and say its not good and demand rectification in the future as I doubt you'll get the sub-contractor back to fix anything.

    • Now you also know not to use that sub-contractor in future work in the town.

    Win Win

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 01/10/2023 - 08:14
    +1

    visually rushed/ not complete as to the agreed quality and detail desired (a contract and specification/ design document exists and three of us have a copy).

    Well go on, you’ve got us to read a small essay for something that could have been summarised in a few lines. Give us an example of an aspect the contract / DD has specified and where the work hasn’t met it?

    The work carried out by the subby isn’t reflective of your ability to design and project manage - and at face value eg photos for social media , will it even be visible? If no, just let it go and move on to next project.

    town

    If you’re talking a more rural place, got to remember things work differently out in rural areas.

  • Benoffie on 01/10/2023 - 08:45
    +1

    Welcome to country towns. If you're planning on taking gigs in the country, you have to anticipate that people know each other and that those relationships will 100% go round you.

    If I didn't know better, Id have thought Barossa. But something tells me this might be Central West NSW.

    • AustriaBargain on 01/10/2023 - 10:26
      +1

      Yeah reminds me of Casino where the Casino manager refuses to give a job to the nephew of a local judge, and it bites him in the ass later when he gets his casino management license denied.

  • Muzeeb on 01/10/2023 - 09:12
    +1

    All I can picture is Martin Short playing Frank in Father of the Bride.

    Thanks for the laugh OP.

  • AlienC on 01/10/2023 - 09:34
    +1

    Sorry if this doesn't make sense but basically this is what I would call a "just take the L and move on its not worth it bro" kind of situation.

    Things didn't go as perfectly planned sometimes there are hidden or unforeseen hiccups such as this and it is definitely not worth your time.

    It is out of your control and as others have said as long as the customer is happy then just move on.

    Now if the client was not happy then you could pursue the individual involved.

    I have been in the client's position before in this scenario and I just wrote it off as a loss and told myself it's not worth my time and effort which was honestly a fail for me but it is what it is.

  • JIMB0 on 01/10/2023 - 09:41
    +2

    What kind of town is this? Where's the bikies option?

  • payless69 on 01/10/2023 - 09:58
    -2

    OP keep throwing unknowns at us

    maybe a case for Whirlpool?

  • debb on 01/10/2023 - 10:01
    +1

    This reads like a page out of a textbook or uni/Tafe assignment.

    What exactly is this work that requires rectification that the forgiving client is happy about and the pedantic main-consultant (sic) is not?

  • Protractor on 01/10/2023 - 10:10
    +1

    "Your honest thoughts and opinions on this scenario is appreciated."

    OK, I'll give it me best shot.
    It appears to be fictional dross. Poorly written, boring inconsequential crap. The kind of thing if read on continuous loop and narrated by Martin Freeman would be ideal audio "water boarding" content for peak GITMO.
    The same audio could replace ipecac syrup as an emetic (or whatever agent they use these days) in ED for poisoning cases.

    Happy?

  • AustriaBargain on 01/10/2023 - 10:25
    +1

    Sounds like a situation of your own creation. People behave how they think they are supposed to behave, and the subcontractor felt he was meant to go over your head after dealing with you.

    • Protractor on 01/10/2023 - 10:58
      +1

      It's an upcoming episode of The Block…

  • bobbified on 01/10/2023 - 13:01
    +1

    You are a very pedantic & detail oriented professional - thorough in your work ethics and standards of quality.

    In your position, some flexibility and adaptibilitiy is necessary. It sounds like you might have the technical know-how, but not the right set of soft skills.

    At the time you found out that the consultant you hired and the employer are known to each other and are on good terms, it would've been good to have joint discussions with everyone around the setting of expectations re delivery standards. Instead, it seems like you've assumed that everyone will play-by-the-book (thankfully, it never happens like that!) and you've tried to "pull rank". Instead of respecting your position, it's back-fired and the sub-consultant and employer seem to have casted you out. You're left standing there holding your dick.

    Respect is earned.

    Your honest thoughts and opinions on this scenario is appreciated.

    Is that honest enough? (I'm a Prog/Proj Manager myself).

  • YoursTruly on 03/10/2023 - 08:36

    Thanks for the input all

    This was a joinery project in a smaller town for a client from a nearby city. Happened not long ago actually - concluded fully about two weeks ago.

    I’m not fully satisfied how the client is surprisingly happy/ content with the works - yet somehow I feel bugged by the sub-consultant and the way they didn’t have the job reach climax in select detail areas to the way I usually have them documented - and as I typically have the subby team guided & collaborate together to achieve the desired results.

    Feels a little like a breach of trust by the subby - with the subby being a lazy cheap ass and still have the guts to lie through their teeth about the job being done fine.

    Perhaps it’s only me and my colleagues in the same field who see minute pristine details, or maybe it’s just me. But I feel the subby cheated and let me down on this.

    Looking back at how I wrote this post - yes it could have been streamlined much more, but I wrote it as it came (and edited lots)

    Thanks for your patience in reading it and contributing to it. The poll results are especially affirimng.

  • boretentsu on 14/10/2023 - 19:35

    You might have standards but if the client is willing to accept a lower standard, that's their call. They call the shots.

    The best thing to do is to ensure this doesn't come back to bite you. Write up all the ways the work was substandard and that you tried your best to have them fix it and that by paying them off, you accept the work in that condition and that it's not on you if anything happens in the future.

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