networking may have cost me a customer

[huggytree]

i did a bathroom refresh for a builder...the homeowner wanted to reuse her 1920 pedestal sink and faucet and wanted me to snake the drain and rebuild the faucet...i told her i dont fix things that old and it should be replaced....she said it 'must' stay.

so i gave her a phone # of a friend who specializes in service/repair to do the work for her...i thought i was doing her and my friend a favor.

he gets there and opens his BIG mouth....he tells her what a horrible idea it is to refresh the bathroom and not gut and remodel...he tells her how every things going to fall apart in a few years and it shouldnt be done this way....it sounds like he never even fixed her faucet or drain...he just opened his big mouth...

now the homeowner is all upset (for 2 days now)...ive gotten 3 calls from the builder asking whats going on...they are trying to salvage this project (which is 1/2 done)

i will not be referring this guy ever again (3 year relationship w/ him)

i apologized to the builder and told him he's out of my network....what else can i do or say? i explained how i was trying to do the homeowner a favor and that this plumber had never done this before....the builder is extremely angry......were talking about $40k in limbo with $20k owed....

any thoughts of what i can do or say at this point?

im not planning on giving out networking leads when its a job from a builder anymore. too much to risk if it goes bad....when its a homeowner thats 1 bad job....this builder brings me $40k a year in business

im considering talking him out to lunch to talk about it and schmooze him a bit?

[nealrm]

First - give your friend a call and find out first hand what was said and why. Maybe it is a bad idea to to just refresh the bathroom. He may have saw problems that would have caused the homeowner issues in the furture and pointed them out. You walked away from this project stating that the sink and faucet should be replace. It sounds like he may have had simular concerns.

It could be that the owner is just not happy that her 1920 bathroom is falling apart and two plumber have told her that.

After talking with your friend, I would take the builder to lunch and tell him what happened.

[Harold Mansfield]

Sounds like you didn't set the tone with the guy before he made contact with the client. I work with a company doing their WP work for their clients and they always give me a heads up of what they want done and how they want things presented and what they have already told the client...that way nether of use comes off looking like an idiot or making the other one look bad.
It is also stated that when I do work for their clients that I am to represent myself as a sort of a division of their company.

Maybe you should set some guidelines and expectations before you pass the client off....either that of the guy is just an idiot.

[huggytree]

he didnt fix her faucet and didnt charge her...he just ripped on everyones work..

he know it was for one of my builders...so he knew it wasnt 'his' job....it was the builders job....he e-mailed me and said i should be ashamed to work on such a project and not to call him anymore...i wrote him a long letter explaining how the real world works and he may have cost me $40k a year in business...its like he's angry with me.

i understand him telling her he wont touch the faucet....since thats what i told her....thats where it should have ended...it shouldnt have gone onto what everyone else is doing in the bathroom...if he kept his conversation to that sink/faucet there would have been no problems....its a golden rule in contracting...dont rip on other peoples work...especially when your a SUB

im taking both builders out for lunch next week....i think its salvageable.. its been over a year now and both guys are understanding...ive reassured them it wont happen again...