My Florida Home Services

tl;dr I bid on a job today with no stated timeframe I arrived at the property to a much larger job than advertised I left to get a trailer and the proper equipment The client attacks my character, says I left him hanging, as I am driving to get the tools to complete the job. I chose to decline the job after it was obvious that the demands were unreasonable. 6 hours after my bid was placed, I received a negative review Since this is my first negative on any site for any reason I feel like it warrants a full account of the actual facts so future clients can make an informed decision. Consumers are very smart and more than capable of weeding out unfair reviews, I trust thats what will happen here. This client wont copy and paste the entire story where he disparaged me and thats fine. Heres what happened: While traveling between appointments this morning I noticed Jon's project ad on thumbtack. It is important to note that I was given a negative review and accused of leaving a client "hanging" within 5 hours of the bid being placed. Although I had a full day I also noticed his time was going to expire on his listing and he had no one provide a bid so I quoted him our minimum charge to come by after our appointed rounds to try to help him get the tree branch cleared. At no time did Jon ever mention a timeframe, had he mentioned a timeframe I would not have bid. I only bid on what I can deliver. Thats what I do is provide services, I provide quality services at reasonable rates, I work efficiently, I deliver results and I have happy clients. I was in contact several times over the course of the 5 hours that all of this transpired (as I was working on another clients home). My last appointment of the day ran long, the homeowner wanted a few extra things done. I let Jon know I was running late. I drove to his location and the job turned out to be much larger than it appeared on thumbtack. This was not a few branches, thats untrue. Jon had taken a photo, but he must have been 100 feet away because this thing was huge compared to how it looked in the photo, but no big deal, people embellish, people mitigate, it happens all the time. I let him know via thumbtack message as this was the only way we communicated that I was outfitted for handyman services for the day and did not have my saws or lawncare trailer. The project ad made this sound like it was a small tree branch we could throw in the truck, that wasnt the case. We would need the trailer and chainsaws and a few hours time. Nevertheless, it was getting late but we were on the way back to our shop to hook up the trailer, get the chainsaws and go back and take care of it, because thats what we do. I was bringing my 17 year old son Jake to help because my hired help had gone home for the day. Jon proceeds to lay into me. How dare I leave the site, Telling me I should have used a saw he had in the garage, I should have done this, I should have done that, it would only take this amount of work etc etc. He didnt ask me "what the story was", he indicated that I was making excuses and was stringing him along etc., etc., keep in mind up until this initial visit I was the one who initiated contact about clearing the fallen "branches". I reached out to him, I hadnt been to the site, I had not seen the scope of the project and no money had changed hands. He had no reason to be upset, I was simply going to get the correct tools for a job that was not as advertised. No good deed goes unpunished. Jon wanted someone to answer his ad, while driving to his house and do a job 4 times the size he advertised for a cut rate while using who knows what methods of removal etc. Who knows where it would have ended. He was out of control and the job hadnt even started! The bottom line is Jon snapped his fingers, and when I didnt jump to do the job without my familiar tools and implements that I am comfortable working with he derided me and attacked my character. Rather than just wait 45 minutes or so for my return. Over the course of this debacle, Jons tone, demeanor and statements were derogatory and uncalled for. As I drove in the truck with my eldest son by my side, impressionable as ever, eager to learn and always soaking up everything I can teach him, ready to work, ready to do whatever he had to do to help me get provide and get us home quickly, I replayed all of this in my head. We teach our children alot of things, of the most important of those things is value. There are many important values, the value of a dollar, the value of time, the value of honesty, the value of hard work, but most importantly is the value of self. Never let someone demean your value. On this day I chose value of self over the value of the dollar. I chose to not expose my son, I chose to not show him that people will actively attempt devalue the worth and character of others for no good reason. I turned the truck around and headed home for dinner with my family. I don't regret it. A verbal argument may have ensued, I may have said things that my son shouldnt hear. I may have acted in a manner unbecoming of a good father. Neither of those things are goals of mine While my son may never know the circumstances surrounding this, the only negative review I have ever received by any client ever, he was spared being exposed to an individual who clearly held no value for us, the service we were providing, not to mention Jon was clearly oblivious to the underlying motivation of me even answering his ad in the first place: To help someone out, when no one else had enough interest to even submit a bid. I dont even cut trees or branches or brush by trade. But I will to help someone out that has no one else. Jon isnt that person. He told me he would just cut it himself and put it to the curb for tomorrows pickup. Thats why I left him with "Good luck with the project". I meant good luck with th project. You have to be careful when dealing with hanging limbs, and chainsaws arent exactly childs play if you arent used to operating one. I leave you with this final thought. Please bear in mind that Jon went out of his way to besmirch the reputation of a service provider, for a job that was never even started, not a half finished job, not a poorly executed job. I believe Thumbtack bears some responsibility in this as well. They have created a platform on which the clients are not aware that contractors will be paying for the privilege to bid on projects. Thats right, we pay $5 up to $15 to place EACH bid. I don't know where Jon's vitriol comes from but I believe that it may have been tempered a bit if Thumbtack would let clients know that we as contractors have a vested interest in landing and completing jobs in an efficient manner to maximize our investment. We arent just sitting at a computer working up bids for fun, they have actual value. If you made it to the end of this, thanks for hearing me out. Thumbtack does not allow reviews to be edited or removed, even if the reviewer requests a removal. So, as you can see, my rating could use some help! I would love to complete a project for you an earn a positive review. We are in Cape Coral, we offer handyman services from Punta Gorda to Naples. However, we keep our lawn care route centered in the Cape. If you need anything, Feel free to contact me personally at: myfloridahomeservices@gmail.com 941-479-2MOW 941-479-2669 Sincerely, Jason and Jake