GENERAL RULE:

An open dialogue helps ensure that both parties are staying on top of the project, and are setting clear and reasonable expectations of how the project will go.

At the end of the day, it’s in the contractor’s best interest, to be honest and trustworthy because he wants you to recommend him to other potential clients or do business with him again.

When disputes happen, we give the contractor an opportunity to fix them.

Most things can be resolved with proper communication that is mature and professional.

Please remember that oftentimes, the conflict really isn't about the work issue at hand. Oftentimes, a person is stressed out about things in their personal life, and it shows up in their work. Examples of this are fighting with a significant other, issues with children or parents, feeling sick, withdrawing/craving certain substances, sleep deprivation, or, very often - money issues.  Please remember that we are all people trying to make a living, and if we understand each other better, that can often help us achieve our goals. 

As most communication happens through email, in all conversations, try not to give off a negative vibe/use accusatory words. What you should be doing instead is try to clarify and ask for more details in order to better understand the situation. 

1. WHEN YOU HAVE ISSUES WITH THE PRICING OF AN INVOICE

Here are some questions to ask:

• Did you encounter any problems or run into some issues

• Did you need to do extra work

• Did you need to grab extra supplies

2. WHEN YOU NEED THEM TO BE MORE CAREFUL WITH THEIR TOOLS AND BE MINDFUL NOT TO MAKE SCRATCHES OR DAMAGE WALLS AND/OR SURROUNDINGS

• State facts - what you saw or noticed

• Ask them to be more careful next time and mention that you would like for it not to happen again or something like we would like to avoid incidents like this

• Make it clear that you are not upset and you look forward to doing more projects with the person

BELOW IS AN EXAMPLE: