When Felicia Lerner and her husband decided to finish the basement in their suburban Chicago home three years ago, she thought the project would be relatively straight-forward.

That was before Ms. Lerner picked up the phone.

Once she did, the stay-at-home mother of four and former corporate executive discovered what numerous homeowners already know: Many contractors operating in the $192 billion U.S. home-remodeling industry dance to the beat of their own drummer when it comes to communication and time-management skills.

A handful of companies never returned her initial phone queries, and she even had to track down another one at his home to wrangle an estimate. The general contractor she hired stood out from the pack because he was quick to answer her call, meet with her and turned around an estimate in a day.

But that responsiveness lapsed soon after the Lerners signed the contract. Her project to add a bedroom and bath to the basement -- planned to take 10 weeks -- was still unfinished after seven months. An incomplete heating system, partially installed baseboard and electrical receptacles without covers were among the items that remained on the final punch list as the couple tried to reach their contractor by phone to get him to finish. They ended up sending a letter by certified mail as well as a fax to terminate the contract.

"The irony was he was so persistent at the beginning -- his communication skills were outstanding," says Ms. Lerner, who now believes the contractor was initially motivated to get her first payment to pay subcontractors from other jobs. "We had trouble firing him because we didn't even know if he received our fax," she says.

Some in the industry chalk up the problem of poor communication -- at least in response to initial calls from potential customers -- to the boom in the industry, according to Melanie Hinton, a spokeswoman for the Remodelors Council of the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, D.C. The remodeling business has grown by about 20% since 2001.

In some areas of the country, contractors have 12-month backlogs and are reluctant to return calls that might generate even more business, she says. " 'We're not rude, we're just busy,' " is the perspective that Ms. Hinton has heard from some members, although the association is always urging members to return calls promptly.

As for tardiness in returning calls after jobs are underway, many contractors point out that the majority of remodelers are smaller companies without a dedicated support staff. And forget about checking in with the office -- for many, that's just their pickup truck.

Still, as anyone who has ever been to a cocktail party knows, the stories generated by rifts between remodeling contractors and their customers are legendary. In fact, gripes about remodelers were among the top complaints filed with state and local consumer agencies over the five years ending in 2002, according to a study released last year by the Consumer Federation of America and the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators.

While it's not clear exactly what role poor communication played in the complaints tallied by the study, the problem is at the root of all the complaints received by the Virginia Board for Contractors, says Mary Broz, the board's spokeswoman.

The remodeling industry's consistently high numbers of complaints are an indication that consumers can't seem to communicate well enough with the businesses to resolve issues directly, says Jean Ann Fox, director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation, a group behind the study. Sometimes the need for communication can mean much more than not linking up to approve the right paint swatch. "On one end of this continuum you have fraudulent behavior, on the other end are folks too busy to answer the phone," Ms. Fox says.

Some of the miscommunication can be traced to the individualistic personalities that are attracted to the industry, perhaps in part for its very flexibility, says Greg Miedema, president of Dakota Builders Inc. in Tucson, Ariz. The general-contracting company he runs works hard to identify trades people who are dependable and predictable, he says. He rewards their work ethic by repeatedly hiring them for jobs.

"We stopped working with the guy whose standard line was, 'Call me again tomorrow and remind me,' " says Mr. Miedema.

In other cases, personal problems may sabotage the interaction.

For Steve Calloway, a 36-year-old Houston framing contractor, the bottle got in his way. Now a recovering alcoholic, he recalls that before getting sober three years ago, he routinely let calls go unanswered for days. His poor time-management skills once cost him a $30,000 job because he showed up late. These days, punctuality is important to him, and he makes a point of returning calls from job sites using his cell phone throughout the day. "Today, it's all about putting the customer first," says Mr. Calloway.

While his case may be unique, homeowners can take action ahead of time to improve the lines of communication, consumer advocates and general contractors say.

Many suggest the following:

• Get three estimates and look not only at price, but the professionalism of each contractor.
• If licenses are required in your state, make sure remodelers have them.
• Don't be put off by a contractor who can't get you an estimate right away. Ms. Broz, spokeswoman for the Virginia Board for Contractors, says often the good ones are busy.
• Decide with the contractor the best form of communication, whether in person, by phone, fax or even e-mail. And get as many contact numbers as possible before the job begins.

And most importantly, while hammering down the contract and the work in general can be anxiety producing, don't vent your frustration on the contractor. Try to find a middle ground.

That might mean agreeing to pay a small fee for an estimate, accommodating the contractor by meeting him during business hours rather than at night or on weekends and not haggling unreasonably on the price, Mr. Miedema says.

"If homeowners want to be treated in a professional way, they need to be reasonable," says Mr. Miedema.

But the easiest homework you may do to prepare for your next remodeling job could be as simple as finding your old friend who is in the remodeling business and taking him or her out for coffee -- that is, if you can't just hire your friend outright. A contractor's reputation often speaks for itself, and insiders know best.

Shelly Katz Biederman, a New Yorker who has overseen the renovation of two apartments in Manhattan, got her most reliable painter through her friend who is an interior designer. While she paid top dollar, Ms. Biederman got what she wanted.

"He was about 25% more expensive than the others," Ms. Biederman says. "But he would call me back within a day and says what he does and does what he says."

-- Ms. Webber Sadovi is a free-lance writer in Chicago. Article provided by Real Estate Journal.com