The three groups of people whose vulnerabilities shoddy contractors exploit are day laborers, salespeople, and homeowners. These unethical and immoral practices have stained the industry to no end, ruining the reputation of the whole industry. Ethical contractors must work together to overcome the horrible stereotype and build a business worthy of your hard-earned dollars.
VULNERABLE WORKERS
We all know that there are a lot of migrant workers in the roofing industry, some with dubious legal status to be in the country. The working poor, even as “aliens and sojourners” in our country, cannot be deprived of their just wages. The Bible lists this as one of four sins that cry out to God for vengeance. Yet, shady contractors will often take advantage of migrant workers and instead of paying them at the end of the day, will ditch them at the worksite and pocket the hard-earned money. After all, most day laborers are not going to go to the police.
Another issue with subcontractors and the business owners is the phrase you’ve perhaps seen or heard on contractor ads: “Insured and Bonded.” This means that we, Petrus Roofing and Solar, carry liability insurance and worker’s compensation for our subcontractors. If an accident should happen, God forbid, they will be covered and cared for. The type of contractor who would refuse to pay a person for their labor is probably not going to pay for extra insurance for the same workers.
VULNERABLE SALESPEOPLE
Another vulnerability the unscrupulous contractor takes advantage of is his own salespeople. Often, the best salesperson will actually out earn the owner of the business, which is OK because a strong salesperson means the whole company benefits. But what many bad actors in this industry do is once the roofs start going up, they fire the number one salesman and refuse to pay their commissions. Again, the pocket the money for themselves.
VULNERABLE HOMEOWNERS
The vulnerabilities of homeowner ignorance are often exploited. You don’t know what a whole roofing system looks like, so they leave out the water and ice barrier or the drip edge, causing water penetration during the next big storm. You don’t know what’s happening on top of the roof, so inadvertent damage is covered up, but not fixed, making your home no longer worry free. They pull you into insurance fraud by suggesting you don’t need to pay your insurance deductible. You think they are keeping more money in your pocket, but they are cutting corners, committing fraud, and drawing you into it. We are also “bonded”, which means that if for some reason our company folds, the bond ensures your project will still get finished.
ETHICAL CONTRACTORS
None of us know everything about everything, so our ignorance makes us vulnerable to exploitation and scams. This is why in the contractor field it is important to go with a company that values education. In our ethical outlook, more knowledge means more agency. You are an informed consumer and now, armed with knowledge, you have significantly more leverage in hiring a contractor. You have expectations that are clearly communicated and must be met.
Those who work on your roof are skilled, compensated, and protected by insurance. Those who sell to you are valued, trusted, and respected members of our company. And we will never cause you to commit insurance fraud, submit a false claim, leave off required materials for a complete roof, or push you into a project or solution you don’t need.
We educate and never manipulate because we plan on seeing you again in the future. A satisfied customer is a returning and a referring customer! Every roof, every time.