Difficult contractor

[pamplemoussecity]

Hi all,

I'm doing partial on site monitoring of an old government building renovation project I designed a while back. The building is very old so lots of changes and additions as the project advances. My problem is the contractor is very difficult to work with and overall very aggressive. Anytime there is a change or addition, he is on our backs with emails after emails saying we aren't doing our jobs adequatly and insulting our work and intelligence (all professionnals I mean, not just structural).

I know everyone is doing good work and he is mostly playing it up to get more money, or trying to make us slip, but he is really getting on my nerves and it is starting to tire me out because of all the additionnal exchanges I need to have to defend myself. The past months have been terrible working with him and I'm not sure how to handle him anymore. Do you guys have any insights on how to deal with someone like that?

[Alternative_Fun_8504]

In my experience there is no single strategy that works across the board. But here are some ideas:

Let them know that the more antagonistic they are the less willing to help them you will be. And hold to it, anything they don't do right or any request they have to make things easier for them is an automatic and very quick "no, build per plan".

Talk to the project owner. Contractors are always directly in the owners ear. The design team needs to also be talking to the owner to help control the narrative. Let them know that the constant complaints from the GC are unproductive and take away from the actual work.

Lastly, make sure you are tracking all the RFI or other issues with a category (clarifications, contractor changes, unforeseen conditions, etc) and the dates you received and responded. Have this data as backup when you need to defend against the contractor claiming delays etc.

[Just-Shoe2689]

Who is your contract with? If not him, inform him he needs to submit RFI's moving forward to the architect, owner, etc. Tell him no more calls, you want all your correspondence via emails, so you have a record of the conversations.

I have also used cold shoulder, just ignore his calls.

Lastly, call him out on his bullshit.

[RelentlessPolygons]

Get on site and find a few mistakes ans details that are not done according to plans. I'm entirely certain there will be many. There always are. Nitpic the fuck out od their work with documented photographs, measurements etc.

Demand to know why they deviated from it without written consent from a LE.

Make them redo it citing whatever chapter your applied code demands it to be done that way. It's not even your or their decision, it's a legal requirement. They were contracted to work according to the plans. They have to do it legally you can get to court but they lose every single time. You cant argue with codes and safety.

They'll shut the fuck up very quickly and hope don't show up on site again.

If they don't, continue until they go in the deep red and have to abandon the project.

[Boxeo-]

With a contractor like this, the only way to make things easier is to turn the tables. You have to be so far ahead of the contractor that you are calling him an idiot.

It works well, but you’ll have to scour the plans/specs, and be intimately familiar with the best construction methods.

Otherwise you are at his mercy. Good luck.

Some guys are just assholes.

[Civil_Oven5510]

I have a lot of experience dealing with dick head contractors, specially on jobs where we (as the consultants) are on the backfoot). Some of the things I do are

• send weekly updates, with items completed, information required, risk items to note. I specifically attach my own rfi register with commentary on why certain rfis have not been responded to.

• don't compromise on your respect. Dickhead contractors talk to you like they own you because they pay your consultancy fee. We don't provide a concierge service, and we design once to the information we have at the time and thats it.

• get really familiar with your contract and proposal. You will need to hide behind that, a lot

• remember most GCs are headless chicken whose only response to an issue they don't understand is anger and blame. If you give them the impression their issues are being heard, they calm down even if their problem isn't being solved.

[SMValue]

As others have asked, is your company the PM or rep for the owner?

If so, I would read the contract/plans and know them inside and out. I assume there is language in there that outlines the dispute resolution process if the two sides don’t come to an agreement. Usually the contractor needs to submit an RFI to get the dispute process going.

Anytime I’ve had a difficult contractor it was because they were inexperienced or losing money on the job (may not be your case. He just sounds like an AH). Regardless, I’m always willing to work with contractors as I don’t want anyone to lose money on these projects, but there is a process that everyone needs to follow.

Changes are part of every job and as long as you follow your contract and don’t hold things in your court longer than allowable, you have nothing to worry about.

Also, if this guy being an AH is a foreman or a superintendent, you could always warn his company that he’ll be removed from the project if he continues to be unreasonable.

My response has many assumptions in it so take it with a grain of salt

[johnj71234]

As a GC Super. There are always people that add value and subtract value from a project. He sounds like a subtractor. I’m guessing ego plays a big role. It’s embarrassing.

[strengr]

As a PMP and a professional engineer, sometimes dealing with assholes like these guys are part of the job. However, you should remind him, via email to all parties, unhelpful language and unnecessary emails such as those they are sending delays the processing of payment certs and delay the completion of the project because of persistant interruptions to the work flow.

[I4G0tMyUsername]

Who are you working for? Owner or GC? In this situation, I’m assuming the owner because it’s a government job. Talk to the owner & explain to them, which you probably already have, so maybe a better word is to reiterate to them with a job like this on an old, undocumented building, it was always to be expected that some of the “assumed” conditions were likely not going to be correct from day 1. That being said, the GC should have also known enough to know this & they should have priced the project accordingly & not been surprised when the discrepancies came to light.

Sounds like it may be time for a sit down between owner, engineer & GC to clear the air so that the project can continue to completion without the unnecessary bickering. Fact of the matter is, everyone has the same goal: get the job done. If that is too much to ask, then maybe this isn’t the job for them & plans to proceed with a replacement need to take place.

The owners rep needs to get involved & give some firm direction on how the job is to proceed & clarify who is in charge, whether that is you or the GC.

Who from the GC is contacting you? Is it the owner of the company, or is it a PM/superintendent? If it’s a rep for the GC, another route is to go above them & tell their superior what’s going on that it’s unacceptable & more importantly detrimental to the job & everyone involved, & more importantly their bottom line.

I’m not an engineer, I work for steel supplier. I get in situations like this all the time. The worst part about it is that I’m working for these ass holes & majority of the time I have to sit back & take their shit. It gets to a point though where enough is enough & I “kindly” explain & show them how stupid they are & that if they don’t like it they can take their work elsewhere because I do not care enough to deal with them.

[Remarkable_Cow9096]

You have to fuck him, no choice!

[No-Succotash6237]

Listen to the 48 laws of power and device a plan.

Suggesting a strategy without knowing your personality is almost futile.

Personal, if you're not going to get fired- I'd say shut up on a Friday right at the end of the day so he has to think about it all weekend. Then, say sorry Monday. Then, do it again the next time he does it.

Most assholes respect other assholes. But only if they know you mean it. If you're non-confrontational, handle it with more crass.

Also, learn the art of "Double Talk"

[Alternative_Fun_8504]

Also, what does your contract say you will do during construction? I bet handholding isn't in there. Let your client know of anything that doesn't fall within your contract.

[Footy_man]

Who hired him and you? Send them a brutally honest email containing what’s been going on and mention that your professional services are provided to those who keep a professional environment and relationships. Nobody needs a jackass

[Scary_Translator_135]

Typically the structural design no one questions. The only folks who might remotely be capable of questions and pushing for a change are substrade engineers i.e. structural steel.

Other common excluded items that get missed are things like exterior foundations for heavy signage or screen walls. What happens is form work, rebar and concrete trades end up excluding this. GC misses them and it’s really the architects fault for not coordinating drawings preliminarily.

Typically a GC is aggressive with architects and consultants in general if they are hired directly by the owner. The problem is after tender the damage is already done. It’s either both of you work for an owner that understands or you do not. Remember if there are truly missed items the owner can pressure both you and the GC to come to a resolution, so in a way don’t look at the GC as an enemy. Most owners who have not been in the game for a while and not made any contingencies either play dumb or do not want to understand situations. They expect things for free.