If you really want to build trust and customer loyalty, accept punch lists with humility rather than get defensive. We all make mistakes, and the vast majority of people understand and accept that unless you offer resistance instead of cheerful acceptance. That said, fair is fair, and there will come a time when others in a position of authority may attempt placing blame on you for their own mistakes. In virtually all cases, we simply accepted and resolved punch lists in as rapid a fashion as feasible. Like all rules, there are exceptions!

“You will have to redo the plumbing for the laundry room because it’s backwards.” Unrolling the blueprints provided by the builder, it was obvious we had installed the plumbing for the not-yet-finished laundry room exactly as drawn by the architect: laundry tub; washer; and dryer left-to-right. As if defying plain sight, the owner stated: “No, that’s backwards. It was to be dryer - washer - laundry tub left-to-right. You will have to get the carpenter to pull up the plywood and move the plumbing.”

Fortunately, we were not the only ones to be the beneficiaries of her wrath.

She was adamant that the high-end Baldwin Brass door hardware was installed upside-down and windows were in the wrong locations. You see, the homeowner was not inclined to agree with the architectural prints, but rather, pictures she had from the same identical model 12,000-square-foot home she had taken in a development in another state. The builder and homeowner had altered the laundry room plan, but the door hardware being installed upside-down exposed the otherwise hidden fasteners.

Given it was a relatively easy fix to redo the tiny portion of plumbing for the five-bath home and that we had also installed the multi-zone hydronic heating plus three separate central air conditioning systems, we did not argue and did not charge an extra for the plumbing alterations. As a result, they became a long-term customer until both eventually passed and the new owners, who saw our stickers on the home’s equipment, became customers. Over those decades of trust and customer loyalty, we upgraded the boiler from 83% chimney-vented to modulating/condensing 95% efficiency, induction to ECM self-regulating circulators, WiFi thermostats, and two-stage high efficiency central air conditioning systems with ECM blowers.

While I could have stood my ground over the original absurd punch list demand, that probably would have ensured a termination of our relationship once the warranty period, during which time no warranty work was required, expired and they would have called someone else. It helps to have an understanding of each customer’s personality, too, for making judgment calls. I had witnessed her interactions during the initial few weeks during jobsite visits and felt certain my demanding an extra for the plumbing alterations would have left an unfavorable, indelible impression.

On a commercial bathroom building at a local County Park, we were extra careful to be precise regarding the toilet plumbing rough-in work because it was slab-on-grade with the flush valves concealed behind the concrete block walls. The builder assisted in laying out finished wall locations, so we could get the closet risers pinpointed. The project went as smooth as silk until the toilet partitions contractor arrived and began installing the individual stalls. In the ladies room, where there were multiple side-by-side toilet partitions, the corner ADA stall was perfect, the next stall toilet was not centered and the third stall definitely would not have room for the toilet bowl, which would be bisected by the partition wall!

Yikes! We immediately checked the architectural P1 print, which clearly illustrated the underground drainage and locations for each closet riser from an overhead view. According to the drawing’s scale, we were spot-on. The toilet partition contractor’s drawing, which was an illustration drawn by the architect depicting the partitions from the horizontal view, had somehow been drawn listing an incorrect scale that did not match the P1 mechanical print. The custom-made solid material toilet partitions would have to be remanufactured, and the architect not only refused to accept responsibility, he blamed us and told me plumbing is never installed according to the plumbing drawings but by the elevation drawing instead! Fortunately we had a long relationship with the parks staff and had established trust from many years of service. The architect ended up footing the bill.

Walking past the architect and builder, who were meeting with the homeowners, I heard the architect say the supply register in a centrally located half bath was missing. I stopped to respond that the half bath was surrounded on all sides by conditioned space and had no heat loss or gain and, therefore we had not installed a supply register. You’d have thought I shot his dog by the way he reacted! “I paid a mechanical engineer good money to provide mechanical drawings and they will be followed to the letter.”

No wonder all the other contractors had told me they did all they could to avoid his wrath and tried to stay out of his way on job sites. “Don’t get on his bad side,” they warned me and now I was - yikes.

The problem was, the builder had not provided us with the mechanical drawings and we had designed the HVAC ductwork and distribution system for this custom 6,800-square-foot home! As soon as the architect and homeowners left the jobsite, let’s just say the builder and I had a conversation and the missing engineered drawings appeared as if by magic.

Proactively, I made an appointment with the architect, provided him with our Manual-J and Manual-D calculations plus drawings of our already installed ductwork system for his approval. The only thing that ended up on our punch list were the register’s screws where white paint had been slightly marred by screwdrivers during their installation. As a result of my being proactive in seeking out the architect and providing him with the full background details of our HVAC design, we became friends and received the benefit of referrals from him. Where other contractors dove for cover on jobsites he visited, we sought him out to go over our work.

Don’t avoid the tougher by-the-book inspectors. L&I (Labor & Industry) PA inspections for commercial job sites and boiler inspections are required before an occupancy permit can be issued. We were in the food court of a local mall where we were waiting for the L&I inspector who was due shortly.

The general contractor was from another state, traveling for the chain store doing build-outs in malls around the country. This dude was from Texas and had a huge personality. Spying the L&I inspector at a nearby table, we struck up a conversation when the Texas general contractor swaggered on up and confronted him about being late for his inspection. It’s never good to poke the bear!

“I’ll see if I can fit you into my inspections today. If not, I don’t know when I’ll be back. Might not be till next week or the week after.” Back on the work site, we waited for the L&I inspector to arrive. The Texas contractor had lost his swagger, become humble, and had not one complaint about the punch list required to pass the L&I inspection.