OPENING THE DOOR/THE PRICE IS WRONG

Doors. Neither Howard nor I can remember when we had the side door to our 41 year old house replaced. But however long ago it was, we needed a new one now. Years of kids running in and out, storms battering the exterior, birds dropping their unsightly “gifts”. All of this and more left that old door weary and ready for retirement.

Doors can be the entry to exciting places. There's House of Music in Vienna where we saw the door to the last home where Beethoven had lived. Apparently he moved 68 times! And in Paris, there are huge ancient portals, doors to places where incredible events had occurred. Alice’s rabbit hole was a kind of doorway that led her to crazy adventures. While our life is a bit more mundane than those of Alice, Beethoven or ancient Parisians, in replacing our door, memories of doors past came flooding back.

I’ve lived in 5 homes. South Philadelphia where I was born. The move to Levittown when I was 3 or 4. After we got married, our first apartment in a Center City high rise. Down the street from that apartment to a new townhouse. Then out to the suburbs, where we are presently. Now, installation of a new door sent me back through time to door adventures.

I found that I could make magic in Levittown. One evening when I was home from college, my mother and I were talking about the history of the house across the street. Only 2 families had lived there, the first having departed when I was about 10. Thinking back, I said to my mother, “I wonder what happened to the Irwins?” They were the first owners, who had moved to Georgia many years earlier. About an hour after my musing moment, there was a knock on the door. It was Helen Irwin, that first neighbor across the street. She had come back to visit friends and thought that she’d stop by. Coincidence or psychic? Better yet, one night my parents were out for the evening and I was home with my sister and brother. There was a knock at the door. When I went to answer it, a man stood there, a stranger. My sister and brother looked at him blankly. I looked at him for a minute. Then I said “Are you my Uncle Harry?” And he was. I have no idea how I knew. I hadn’t known him well and hadn’t seen him since I was very young because my aunt, my father’s sister, had died and Uncle Harry moved away. Again, coincidence or psychic? Although not knowing who was at the door, maybe I shouldn’t have answered—it may have been psycho rather than psychic. But things were different back then.

The best door was at our apartment. Howard and I didn’t know our neighbors very well because we were working a lot and everyone had different schedules. There was a young woman in the next apartment. We’d say hello and exchange pleasantries, but that was about it. Once I saw her in a nurse’s uniform. Our door was the entrance to interesting spectacles. Entrance for us since we’d hear a knock and look out from our door’s peephole. We’d see a stream of men ringing her doorbell. I said that she had a lot of friends and still thought that she was a nurse. Howard was sure that she was a hooker. We’ll never know.

Back to the present and our side door. A few years ago, we’d replaced a patio door and been happy with the contractor. We made an appointment for someone from that company to come out to give us an estimate. The guy was nice enough and seemed to know what he was talking about. But then came the price. He gave us an absurd price, then told us about several discounts, bringing the charge down to another silly price. He implied that they used an exclusive door manufacturer. Trying to justify the price? Although we’d been happy before, at this point in time, the owner of the company had retired and sold to his daughter and son-in-law (a guy in the finance industry). After we told the salesman that we’d think about it and get back to him, we started to receive high pressure calls from someone else in the company. Neither Howard nor I liked the whole experience. Just give us a real price and stop playing games with “discounts”. And don’t high pressure us—it feels weird. Although we were happy with our patio door, was it really the same company now, given new ownership? Time for a second quote—which should happen any time there’s a construction project, the only exception being if you have a longtime contractor who hasn’t changed in any substantive way.

I sent an email to several neighbors asking if any of them had a contractor recommendation. One of them did, and we contacted their contractor. Although Company #1 touted their “special” door resource, as it turned out, Company #2 used the same door manufacturer. And the price was $1200 less—significant difference, no “special” discounts, no games. We signed on.

The installation was supposed to take a full day, possibly into the next day. The installer did a great job. He found some termite damage below the door that had to be repaired. But he had the lumber and the damage wasn’t extensive. (Our long-time exterminator says that there are two types of homeowners—the ones who’ve had termites and the ones that will have termites in the future. We’ve since found out that he’s right.) As the installer was finishing up, Howard received a call from the salesman. He’d have to charge us an additional $400 because of the termite damage. His rationale—the job took a little longer and the installer had to go out to get more wood. Howard pushed back—the job was supposed to take a full day. The repair didn’t require extra labor time—we were still within that full one day time frame. And he didn’t have to go out for lumber—it was on his truck. So the amount of lumber was minimal and didn’t require leaving the job site. The salesman hesitated and agreed to drop the price to an extra $350 rather than an extra $400. Howard emphatically said that he was being backed into a corner and wasn’t happy. About five minutes later, the salesman called back and said that there wouldn't be an extra charge for the repair. Good move, since we have since recommended the company to a few friends. This wouldn’t have happened if had we been inappropriately surcharged. And the salesman was smart enough to realize that. If there had been a real reason for additional cost, that would be okay. But Howard argued that there wasn’t any reason for a surcharge. “I did a Mauree!”, he said. “A Mauree’ invariably works!

WHEN YOU’RE DOING HOME RENOVATION PROJECTS, DON’T BE BULLIED BY HARD SELL, MANIPULATIVE PRICING AND ILLEGITIMATE CHARGES. EXPRESS YOUR ASSESSMENTS AND STICK TO YOUR GUNS. DO “A MAUREE”!